Security network collapse led to Mpeketoni killings

What you need to know:

  • According to officers with whom the Sunday Nation spoke, the raiders, whose identity is in question, took advantage of a change of guard of General Service Unit (GSU) officers to launch the raids that killed at least 59 people.
  • While President Uhuru Kenyatta later claimed that political networks were responsible for the killings, Al-Shabaab had earlier claimed responsibility for the attacks on their radio station broadcasting from Mogadishu, Somalia, on Monday.
  • The Sunday Nation has established that GSU officers had been deployed in the area a week before the attack after the government received intelligence reports that an attack was in the offing.

A spectacular collapse of the security network led to the killing of 60 people in Mpeketoni last week, the Sunday Nation has established.

The lead-up to the tragic events was reminiscent of what preceded the September 21 attack on the Westgate Mall when intelligence on the impending attack was available a week before but was not acted upon.

A chain of tragic incidents that span nearly a year puts into question the credibility of top security chiefs led by Interior Secretary Joseph ole Lenku, Defence Secretary Raychelle Omamo, Principal Secretaries Mutea Iringo and Monica Juma, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) boss General Julius Karangi, National Security Intelligence (NIS) director general Michael Gichangi, Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo and Criminal Investigations Department (CID) director Muhoro Ndegwa.

According to officers with whom the Sunday Nation spoke, the raiders, whose identity is in question, took advantage of a change of guard of General Service Unit (GSU) officers to launch the raids that killed at least 59 people.

While President Uhuru Kenyatta later claimed that political networks were responsible for the killings, Al-Shabaab had earlier claimed responsibility for the attacks on their radio station broadcasting from Mogadishu, Somalia, on Monday.

The Sunday Nation has established that GSU officers had been deployed in the area a week before the attack after the government received intelligence reports that an attack was in the offing.

On the night of Sunday June 15, a fresh platoon of GSU officers had arrived in the area to take over from those who had held the fort for seven days.

The Sunday Nation learnt that after the new platoon arrived, the one that had patrolled the area for a week left. The new officers had not familiarised themselves with the area when the raiders struck that evening.

According to some of the officers, the attack caught them flat-footed as their bosses – County Commander Leonard Omolo and County Commissioner Stephen Ikua – who were to take them through a familiarisation tour of the area, were not in town.

While Mr Omolo was said to be in Mombasa, Mr Ikua, who is the head of security in the county, was said to be in Nairobi that evening. Officers claimed that when the shooting intensified, the officer in charge of the platoon tried in vain to get orders from his seniors.

During a debriefing, Mr Omolo, who has since been interdicted, is said to have told his seniors that he did not find “people to work with” on the night of the assault, which lasted close to eight hours. However, in a bizarre move by the government, Mr Omolo was interdicted while Mr Ikua was transferred for failing to respond to the distress call.

Curiously, the island town of Lamu is one of the most secure in Kenya. There are several Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) bases in the immediate area that were involved in operations Linda Nchi and Sledge Hammer in nearby Somalia.

Apart from the GSU camps in Witu and Mokoe, KDF has a naval base in Magogoni, and a Kenya Army base in Bargoni. KDF intervened in the Westgate attack that claimed at least 67 lives and wounded more than 100 people.

Yesterday, security expert, Mr George Musamali, said Kenya was back where it was after the Westgate attack. “We are grappling with the same issues we were dealing with after the Westgate incident when we should have set up a National Emergency Command Centre in Nairobi that can respond to such emergencies in real time. This did not happen. This should be a priority now,” he said in an interview.

Mr Musamali wondered why the security machinery did not respond to the attacks.

“These GSU camps and KDF bases are within 30 minutes’ drive from the scene of the attack. Either they did not have a proper operational plan or someone decided not to act. There is no excuse. I came from the place two weeks ago, and I also served in the area when I was still in the service. I do not understand why it should take them eight hours to respond to an emergency. The whole thing was handled badly,” Mr Musamali said.

He argued that the weather could also have given the attackers an undue advantage.

“When it rains, the terrain turns into a swamp. So officers who do not know the area well will find difficulties navigating it. The raiders were aware of this,” he said.

Sunday Nation established yesterday that the goodwill top security officers enjoyed from President Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto seems to have run out, and changes could be in the offing.

On Monday, Mr Kenyatta read the riot act to the security chiefs at a State House meeting where he homed in on Mr Ole Lenku, Mr Kimaiyo and Mr Ndegwa whom he called to account.

Mr Ndegwa, who was scheduled to travel abroad for a seminar, was cautioned by State House to do that at his own risk while Mr Kimaiyo, who had planned to attend a police vetting session at the Coast, was recalled.

At the meeting, the President sought to find out why the CID, which is an investigating arm of the police service, was “inactive”.  He is said to have used harsh words against Mr Ndegwa who he is said to have claimed tells “a lot of stories” instead of acting.