Sack security chiefs, President Kenyatta told

Leaders on Monday piled pressure on President Kenyatta to sack the security bosses following the killing of 48 people in a Sunday night attack in Mpeketoni, Lamu County.

The leaders from across the political divide said officials at the Interior ministry had failed to ensure the safety of the people and should be sent home.

They said Kenyans continued to be killed while top security officers stayed put.

The National Assembly Majority Leader, Mr Aden Duale, urged the President to act immediately.

“Security in our country needs urgent measures and the President must act now. The President must take charge of the security,” he said on his Twitter account.

MUST RESIGN

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale said Interior minister Joseph ole Lenku must resign for failing to prevent terrorist attacks.

“Ole Lenku must step down. Kenyans’ lives are not to be gambled with,” said the UDF Senator. “We also need to pull out of Somalia.”

UDF Party leader Musalia Mudavadi asked the government to appoint a commission to investigate security lapses that he said had allowed terrorists and other criminals to kill hundreds of Kenyans.

Speaking in the wake of the Mpeketoni attack, he demanded an urgent review of security agencies, describing them as “ailing and malfunctioning”.

He warned that Kenya was being plunged into a crisis by terrorist and criminal gangs, causing fear, division, blame and disaffection among Kenyans.

“As an urgent long-term measure, President Uhuru Kenyatta should appoint an independent commission of inquiry to inquire into operations of security structures with the sole objective of recommending an overhaul,” he said. The commission, he added, would be able to find out the officials sleeping on the job or establish if the security crisis was due to lack of coordination.

“Is there no security detachment against terror stationed in Lamu that could respond in real-time? In the context of recent debilitating travel advisories, why was this attack not anticipated through intelligence?” he posed.

BLAME GAME

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen said it was wrong to engage in a blame game without offering solutions on the ongoing security challenges.

“Everyone is looking for someone to blame. No one is willing to blame self. No one is fired or resigns and some claim to have a solution but won’t share,” he said.

After the Westgate terror attack last September, Kenyans called for Mr Lenku’s sacking. Some 67 people were killed in the shopping mall attack Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for.

MPs made the same call, asking President Kenyatta to sack the Interior minister, Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo and Director-General of the National Intelligence Service Michael Gichangi.

A parliamentary investigation, however, failed to pin responsibility on any of the individuals. The investigation report was rejected by MPs for that reason. Several other terrorist attacks have occurred since, but no one has been made to take responsibility.