Matiang’i says Shabaab to blame for insecurity
Acting Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i addresses members of the press after a security meeting at the Mombasa County Commissioner's office on September 14, 2017. He has said Al-Shabaab is responsible for insecurity in Coast region. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- A series of attacks have been witnessed in Lamu in recent weeks, with both officers and residents being killed.
Acting Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has said the attacks witnessed in Lamu County were purely orchestrated by suspected Al-Shabaab militants.
Dr Matiang’i thus ruled out intercommunity conflict as the cause of insecurity in the volatile region.
His remarks contradict that of senior security officials in the Coast region who have repeatedly claimed that some attacks witnessed recently were as a result of a running dispute over pasture between farmers and pastoralists.
TERRORISM
Speaking at Uhuru na Kazi buildings in Mombasa town on Thursday, Dr Matiang’i said that besides terrorism, there were no other serious security issues in Lamu and Tana River counties.
“As far we are concerned we have a security crisis and that is terrorism. But someone else wants you to think it’s a local communal conflict or resource conflict so that we are all thrown off balance and take our eyes off the ball,” Dr Matiang’i said.
LINDA BONI
He further dismissed reports that the ongoing Linda Boni operation had failed, just a few days after Coast regional coordinator Nelson Marwa said the operation had not borne fruits.
“We have a multi-agency team on the ground that is working hard to ensure that part of the country is kept safe,” Dr Matiang’i said.
Mr Marwa had told officials that the national government would not tolerate incompetent officers following ‘failure” in securing the area.
EXPLOSION
The contradiction among the officials came even as Dr Matiang’i assured that the security agencies were prepared to dealing with the state of insecurity in the region.
Dr Matiang’i was accompanied by Director of Criminal Investigation Ndegwa Muhoro, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet and a number of Coast security bosses.
A series of attacks have been witnessed in Lamu in recent weeks, with both officers and residents being killed.
On Sunday, an AP officer died and six others were injured after their car ran over an improvised explosive believed to have been planted by the militants.
