Security headache as the ‘people’s Pope’ visits Kenya

Barely a week after Pope Francis led mass at St Charles Barromeo Basilica in Philadelphia during his recent US tour, the carpet he had walked on on his way to the altar was cut into pieces and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to anyone who sent an e-mail to the store that donated it.

The pure woollen 9 by 75 foot red carpet that had trimmings of gold medallions, whose design had been copied from the stained-glass window designs at the St Peter’s Cathedral in Rome, had taken Langhorne Carpet Company six months to produce.

Although he is known for his simple lifestyle, his overseas visits are always economically overwhelming for his host countries, sometimes at the expense of residents while companies in need of sacred links to the Pope go out of their way to donate their most prized wares for his use.

In his US visit last month, one company donated 40 pieces of 24 carat gold trimmed ivory dinner sets while another donated a queen size memory-foam mattress with laminated medical-grade gel and an organic-cotton-quilted cover as “specified” by his handlers.

Another one donated home décor items designed with the Papal Crest that were to be used in the room he was to sleep in, whose last visitor was Pope John Paul II in 1993, while the State of Philadelphia spent $12 million (Sh1.3 billion) for the 48 hours he was in town.

International attention has now shifted to Kenya, his first stop on his maiden visit to Africa since he was made the 266th leader of the world’s largest denomination in February 2013.

The last Pope to visit Kenya was John Paul II in September 1995.

PRESIDENT OF VATICAN

During his reign, John Paul II, who served from 1978 to 2005, made pastoral visits to Africa a number of times. He came to Kenya three times: In 1980, 1985 and 1995.

Pope Benedict XVI came to Africa just once during his eight-year tenure when he visited Angola and Cameroon in 2009.

An itinerary of Pope Francis’ visit, provided to the Sunday Nation, shows that apart from holding mass at Uhuru Park and meeting the President, he will visit the Unep headquarters. He will also hold another meeting with youth from around the country and after that meet religious leaders from all sects to discuss tolerance and strategies for co-existence.

Additionally, “he will visit one of the slums in Nairobi to highlight the plight of poverty in informal settlements and listen to the experiences of slum residents and the different church agencies undertaking projects in the slums,” says the itinerary.

The Catholic Church in Kenya is careful not to divulge too much information on his visit and is guarded on the exact details of his movements for security reasons.

“We are cognisant of the fact that the Pope is also a Head of State and this is also a government affair and because of his security, we cannot give out certain kinds of information even as we prepare for his anticipated arrival,” Bishop Alfred Rotich said.

Apart from being the Bishop of Rome; the headquarters of the Catholic Church, the Pope also doubles as the Head of State of the Stato della Città del Vaticano (Vatican City State), a 110-acre walled enclave within the city of Rome. Created through a treaty in 1929, it is the smallest internationally recognised independent state in the world. Apart from his papal duties, the Pope exercises principal legislative, executive, and judicial power over the state.

“But Kenyans should expect a message of hope especially to the youth and the poor. When we visited him in Rome, he asked about the Garissa terrorist attack and he mentioned that he will be coming to comfort the people of Kenya,” said Bishop Rotich.

As part of the religious preparations to pave way for the Pope, the Catholic Church will lead the country in a national prayer day on a date that will be communicated later. It recently held a Eucharistic congress attended by all the bishops, the clergy and laity from all the 25 dioceses.

This included a vigil, Eucharistic adoration and a ceremony known as following the rosary.

A team comprising the Kenya Episcopal Conference, security agencies, officials from State House and a delegation from Vatican are working round the clock to ensure that the visit is successful. 

But hosting the leader of the world’s largest denomination can stretch the authorities of any country to the limits as shown by his US visit. 

Just as a pointer to what Kenya should expect when Pope Francis comes, the US Government classified his six-day visit as a National Special Security Event.

This level of security in the US is only reserved for national political conventions and the presidential State of the Union address and allows for the enhanced co-operation of local, state and federal partners. Visiting heads of State from other countries are not accorded similar treatment and, with President Obama personally welcoming the Pope at the airport, something he rarely does, Kenya’s work is clearly cut out.

With hundreds of thousands expected to gather in Nairobi when the Pope jets in for the three-day visit from November 25 to 27, the logistical and security challenges will be immense.  

This is in addition to the blend of Vatican and Kenyan Government protocol plus Catholic traditions. 

ALL ARE WELCOME

Police Inspector-General Joseph Boinnet has ruled out a lockdown on Kenya’s capital during the visit perhaps in what is seen as a move to keep to the Pope’s preference of wanting to be close to the people.

“No businesses or major disruptions will arise from the visit as major roads will not be closed for hours,” he said. 

“When the Pope comes, Kenyans will be allowed to line up the roads to welcome him,” he added, while assuring that security will be tight during the visit. He did not reveal details of the security plans as these are classified. 

During President Obama’s visit in July, several roads in Nairobi were closed for hours and businesses incurred massive losses as most residents kept away from the city centre.

About 13,000 security personnel were deployed and, with the Pope’s visits usually characterised by people camping on roads and venues for hours just to see him, the number of security personnel could be higher and they should prepare to stay on guard for long.

In the Philippines early this year, traffic officers, who had to stay on the roads for hours, were made to wear diapers to ensure they did not leave their stations not even to answer a call of nature. 

Additionally, for a leader whose down to earth style and progressive stand on key issues has propelled him to unrivalled global popularity, security experts say his proclivity to wade into public crowds could complicate his protection.   

“VIP security is supposed to provide a barrier between crowds and the person being guarded but for the Pope, his security should not interfere with his ministry, which makes it tricky,” James Ndung’u, Project Manager Arms Control and Policing at Safer World, said. 

“You have to balance between protecting him and allowing him to be close enough to the thousands expected to line up the roads to welcome him while being on a constant lookout for his spontaneous acts of passion like greeting crowds and kissing babies,” he said. 

In April last year, he allowed two Italian school boys to ride with him in the Popemobile (a specially designed vehicle used by the Pope for public appearances) during one of his tours at the Vatican Square.

During the tour, the Pope noticed a group of children waving at him and told his driver to stop so that he could chat with them before asking 11-year-old Livio Bastianelli and Davide Maria Bianchi to join him for the ride, which included sharing a packet of crisps and a drink also received from the crowd.  

On March 22, the Pope accepted a pizza that a man standing in the crowd gave to him as his motorcade drove on the streets of Naples, Italy, and in July he visited homes and shared meals with the residents of the flood-prone Banado Norte slum during his tour of Paraguay.

As Vatican Head of State, the Pope, on overseas tours, is usually guarded by members of the Swiss Guard – an elite security team whose history of protecting Popes dates back to 1506 and have sworn their lives to protect the Pontiff.

A key date was in May 6, 1527 when 147 of them were massacred by mercenaries fighting on behalf of Roman Emperor Charles V who had attacked St Peter’s Basilica. Those who survived allowed Pope Clement VII and his men to escape to safety through a secret tunnel.

By working in collaboration with the local security, the Swiss Guards start planning for an overseas trip by the Pope months in advance even before it is confirmed. While announcing his intended visit to Kenya, the Pope first said he was unsure if he would come.

SHEPHERD ONE ABOARD

“Adding Kenya to the journey was possible but not sure because of organisational problems,” said the Pope in June.

Security around Popes was stepped up after May 13, 1981 when Turkish citizen Mehmet Ali Agca shot Pope John Paul II four times as he entered St Peter’s Square. Security measures included placing a bullet proof glass around the Popemobile, which Pope Francis ditched in November last year, saying “at my age I have nothing to lose”.

Security preparations involve ironing out visas, passports, weapons permits, site visits to where the Pope will go, roads he will use, hotels screening and making bookings.

Considered a high value target by security agencies worldwide, it is believed that any visit by a Pope to a country could spur anti-religious groups or terrorist organisations to hit.

“The Pope’s visit is deemed to be a powerful motivator for groups or individuals with anti-Catholic or anti-Christian viewpoints who may justify violence for religious reasons like in recent attacks carried out by al-Qaeda or ISIS inspired groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria or al-Shabaab in Kenya,” said a security report by the US Government released this week. 

But even with such tight security, the Pope travels like a regular person but with a large entourage. He does not own a plane and flies in a chartered passenger plane whose flight call sign is “Shepherd One” whenever he is on board.

Unlike the US President, whose Airforce One is installed with special communication systems and fittings depicting power; Shepherd One is just a regular passenger plane whose only customisation is the Papal Symbol placed on the door.

Pope Francis, in particular, has always put an emphasis on simplicity, conservatism and rejection of today’s consumerist lifestyles.

One of the first signs of this was when he rejected the red shoes usually worn by Popes once he was elected, opting to use his old black shoes that he had been wearing in Argentina.

While in the US, he was using a modest Fiat 500L car that was hard to spot among the huge SUVs that were escorting it for protection. At the Vatican, one of his first gestures of modest living after being elected was to shun the Papal quarters for a regular residential flat.

During outward flights from Italy, the tradition for the Pope has been to use Alitalia Airlines flight AZ4000 but while overseas and during his return flight, his travelling entourage, that numbers about 100, uses a plane belonging to the national airline of his host country. In this case, Kenya Airways could have the honour of flying him to Uganda when he leaves Kenya on November 27.

And while in the host country, the Pope does not sleep in a hotel, he sleeps at the Vatican diplomatic quarters if they are available and, if not, he stays in Catholic Church property.

At the Philadelphia Seminary, one of the places where Pope Francis slept  during his US tour, the Washington Post reported that they had to commission new sheets embroidered with the Papal Crest, a custom made foam mattress that has never been slept on and may never be again.

“No one has used it as a bedroom since the Holy Father was here,” said the Rev Ronald Cattany of Denver’s Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, which hosted Pope John Paul II in 1993.

“The rectory room where the Pope slept has been kept largely as he found it 22 years ago, crested linen folded in the dresser, white coverlet on the bed, two chairs used by his security guards eternally stationed outside the bedroom door,” he said.

MORAL VOICE

And it doesn’t end there.

Pope Francis, whom UN Secretary -General Ban Ki Moon last week described as the global moral voice of reason (an unofficial title that used to refer to the late Nelson Mandela), is known to wade into political and polarising issues of the host country.

During his joint speech with President Obama at the White House, while embracing the administration’s efforts to combat climate change he pressed for immigration reform; a hot topic in the US.

“Humanity has the ability to work together in building our common home. As Christians inspired by this certainty, we wish to commit ourselves to the conscious and responsible care of our common home,” he said.