Police presence heightened as Nkaissery divulges anti-Shabaab strategy

Insecurity has been the biggest threat to Kenyans in 2014. Rampant incidents of killings that made security agencies seem clueless have seen even Parliament passing severe laws in the hope of making the country safer.

The President and his Deputy have on numerous occasions appealed to Kenyans to be extra vigilant and report any threats. Clearly, the lives of Kenyans have changed with the rising state of insecurity.

An unusually high presence of heavily armed security officers among merrymakers is now common in recreation joints in Nairobi and major urban centres this festive season.

The heavy deployment is planned to continue beyond New Year festivities because of the threat posed by Al-Shabaab.

In Nairobi, hundreds of prison warders were deployed in the streets to beef up patrols already mounted by the police.

And while Kenyans took a break from everyday hustles to make merry, all police officers, including those who had taken leave, were recalled to ensure maximum security.

Police spokeswoman Gatiria Mboroki said officers were placed on high alert and prepared for “any eventualities”.

“The security agencies are not taking chances. As Kenyans celebrate, we shall not be doing so, all officers will be on duty. None of us is taking leave so that we ensure Kenyans are safe, until after the New Year,” she said.

Ms Mboroki added: “Except in isolated cases, we have not reported any major incidents and we expect the situation to remain calm all through.”

As a result of the security alert, merrymakers had to contend with screening when shopping, travelling and entering entertainment joints.

TIME CONSUMING

The checks are rather a damper to the festive mood, as it is time-consuming and in some cases embarrassing.

The National Youth Service personnel have also been patrolling streets and helping in screening customers in shopping malls.

Almost all establishments and buildings with high human traffic have now adopted – as a norm – security screening measures and contacts with nearby police stations in case of emergencies.

Police directed that the owners of premises should acquire hand-held electronic screening gadgets.

Public Service Vehicle operators are also required to screen passengers and luggage to ensure no arms or explosives are carried on board. 

The threat posed by Al-Shabaab has increased since the Kenya Defence Forces crossed into Somalia to fight the militants. The Kenyan forces have since liberated large swathes of southern Somalia including Kismayu Port, which was the commercial and administration headquarters of the terrorist group. The group has on several occasions inflicted pain on Kenyans inside our borders.

The most devastating was the attack at Westgate Mall in Nairobi in September last year in which 71 people, including security officers, were killed.

Most recently, a band of terrorists killed 64 people in Mandera in November. In one incident, gunmen stopped a bus, pulled out the passengers and gunned down 28 people, most of them teachers.

A similar attack happened barely a week later in which 36 quarry workers were slaughtered in the same area.

KIMAIYO RESIGNS

Apparently this was the straw that broke the camel’s back because, just hours later, Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo was summoned to State House after which he announced his exit from the National Police Service, a decision which was well received by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The President also removed Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku and replaced him with Major-General (rtd) Joseph Nkaissery.

Speaking on television on Boxing Day, he did not mince his words while replying to questions on the Al-Shabaab threat.

“Phase one is the military. They should deny (Al-Shabaab) entry into our borders. If they manage to enter Kenya, we must deny them the freedom of movement. We must confine them to their hideouts.

Phase two will involve the intelligence and the public. They should provide the information and phase three will be the ideological war. Imams and pastors should be able to preach to our youth and de-radicalise them,” said Maj-Gen Nkaissery.

In the war against terrorism, radicalisation of the youth has emerged as a major challenge for security agencies.

Kenyan youth, especially in the Nairobi, north-eastern, western and Coast regions have been joining Al-Shabaab in the belief they are waging a religious war.

When President Kenyatta announced the changes in the security ministry as well as the police, he said: “These attacks follow a pattern identical to the attacks on Christians in Lamu, sporadic attacks in Mombasa, Kwale, Garissa and Tana River. The obvious intent is to create hostility and suspicion across religious and ethnic lines and to drive non-Muslims from certain parts of this country. The ultimate aim of this atrocious campaign is to establish an extremist caliphate in our region.”

KDF HANDLING

In using naturalised Kenyans, Al-Shabaab brought terrorism to Kenya, after suffering mass casualties at the hands of KDF.

For instance, the Mandera attack was led by a Kenyan Al-Shabaab commander, Mohamed Kuno from Garissa, who is now wanted by police.

Another Kenyan, Ahmed Iman Ali, from Majengo in Nairobi, is also wanted by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. He is described as the head of video production at Al-Shabaab’s media department and previously was the leader of Kenyan Al-Shabaab in Somalia.

Kuno is a former teacher and principal at Madarasa Najah in Garissa and has three aliases: Sheikh Mahamad, Dulyadin and Gamadheere.

Iman, also known as Abu Zinira, graduated with an engineering degree from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology before joining Al-Shabaab.