Wall meant to forestall forays by Somalia gunmen

Construction of a wall on the Kenya-Somalia border to contain infiltration by militants failed to take off yesterday as earlier announced by the government.

There was no activity at the site with the heavy construction equipment still lying in Mandera Town.

An administrator in the county, who declined to be named on grounds he is not allowed to comment on the matter, said the construction was now scheduled to start on Monday.

County Commissioner Alex Ole Nkoyo had on Tuesday said that the construction of the wall would start yesterday.

“There are surveyors already on the ground and any time from Wednesday we shall be starting the project which is to be undertaken by the government itself.

“The government has not contracted the project and the amount involved shall be known once the designers are with us anytime from Wednesday(today),”Mr Nkoyo said.

Mr Nkoyo yesterday said the wall was part of the government’s response to terror attacks by the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab militants.

“The government is building the wall mainly as a precautionary measure to ward off further encroachment on our territory by terrorists from Somalia,” he told the Nation.

However, Mr Nkoyo did not disclose how much the project would cost.

The county commissioner said the wall would prevent criminals from entering Mandera town and escape towards Bula Hawa town in Somalia.

Mandera and Bula Hawa are about two kilometres apart.

Mr Nkoyo said there was serious encroachment on Kenya’s territory at the border, particularly on the Somalia side where people have even built structures on the ‘no man’s land’ - the buffer zone between boundaries.

Mandera Senator Billow has welcomed the idea and appealed to locals to cooperate with the government in securing the county.

“We welcome the idea of building a wall between these two towns because it will control militants,” said Mr Kerrow, while addressing a public rally on Monday.

Meanwhile, Somalia Ambassador to Nairobi Mohammed Ali Nur told the Nation his government has not been informed officially of the proposal to build the wall.

“We have not seen any official communication; we have only seen this in the media. But Kenya is a sovereign country which can do anything within its territory,” he said.

NKOYO MUST LEAVE

Mr Nur said for Al-Shabaab to be defeated, the two countries must have a joint strategy.

“We respect the contribution of the Kenya Defense Forces which means that Al-Shabaab are on the run. This means that the two countries have to cooperate to ensure the group is entirely defeated,” he told the Nation on phone.

But even as the issue of the security wall took centre stage, Mandera Governor Ali Roba insisted that Mr Nkoyo must leave the county.

“Our agitation to have the county commissioner changed is informed only by the continuous failure of security in the county, particularly as it relates to terror attacks. I personally have no problems with the county commissioner,” Mr Roba said.

In a statement to the Nation, Mr Roba who has received support from Mr Kerrow and some Members of County Assembly said: “The leadership of Mandera has decided enough is enough.”

“Our schools, hospitals as well as the construction industry have been affected because of these terror attacks. We have no place for nice-natured individuals who are non-performers on issues of security,” he added.

The county boss took issue with Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery’s move to defend Mr Nkoyo’s continued stay in the county.

He termed Mr Nkaissery’s remarks that Mr Nkoyo’ performance was beyond reproach as inaccurate, coming after more than 90 Kenyans were killed in different terrorist attacks.

“I beg my brother to take time to analyse the events and circumstances before airing his views and risk presenting himself as a clueless leader of a very sensitive and important docket.”

Mr Nkoyo has denied claims that he is lax and that he relays wrong information to Nairobi.

Additional Reporting by Aggrey Mutambo