Nurture Somali trust and use it to defeat Al-Shabaab, says Wajir North MP
Wajir North MP Ibrahim Abdi Saney. He says what North Eastern needs is a Marshal Plan. FILE PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- He said mistrust between government security agencies and local communities in the northeast has been the major hindrance to the flow of intelligence.
- The MP said terrorist attacks are largely attributable to Kenyans being poor gatherers and consumers of security intelligence.
- Mr Saney said local residents feel unfairly targeted in the current war against Al-Shabaab.
- He said people misunderstood National Assembly majority leader Aden Duale, who is accused of going back on his promise to produce a list of Al-Shabaab financiers.
Wajir North MP Ibrahim Saney has asked the government to focus on nurturing trust among Somalis in order to win the war against Al-Shabaab.
He said mistrust between government security agencies and local communities in the northeast has been the major hindrance to the flow of intelligence.
“By enlisting Kenyan Somalis, they will own the push,” he said. “That way, we will begin to see significant change.”
Mr Saney said local residents feel unfairly targeted in the current war against the terrorist group.
He claimed that apart from being left to their fate, those who have offered vital tip-offs to the police have been betrayed by the government.
He said terrorist attacks are largely attributable to Kenyans being poor gatherers and consumers of security intelligence.
The MP said that allocating and ensuring there is money meant for field officers like assistant chiefs and police stations in the northeast would ensure prompt service delivery.
“Right now, money is spent at the headquarters with no justification.
“We received complaints from security personnel that they are never given adequate supplies; even movement is a problem,” he said.
Mr Saney advised the government to recruit more pastoralists into the security forces and post them to border points, which he said are areas they are very familiar with, to help weed out terrorists.
Mr Saney said people misunderstood National Assembly majority leader Aden Duale, who is accused of going back on his promise to produce a list of Al-Shabaab financiers.
“Duale only felt that the attacks in Garissa University where 148 people died were gruesome and needed some drastic action.
“He is free to present a list if at all he has any but I feel it would be unfair to use his position in government against him.
“He has been instrumental in leading the war on terrorism given the kind of grass root mobilisation he has done in the past,” Mr Saney said.
Mr Saney criticised the government’s decision to construct a perimeter wall between Somalia and Kenya as a way of preventing cross-border attacks.
