Security strategy must be inclusive

The latest attack in Mandera, coupled with the assassination of an intelligence officer in Mombasa, is a shocking reminder that the terror threat is far from over.

Of course no one ever believed that Al-Shabaab could be targeted and defeated over night. They are much more organised, professional and dangerous than anyone first imagined and they remain a constant threat to the security of the nation and its citizens.

They recruited, trained and deployed Kenyan youths to do their dirty heinous crimes right under the noses of security personnel.

More worrying still is that the government consistently gives the impression that it does not need the support of the public, politicians, civil society or anyone else to protect its citizens.

In fact, it treats all of these parties with suspicion while charting out its own defence strategy that appears confused and is at best a secret.

Recently, the government organised a major Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) meeting in Nairobi but excluded key civil society actors like Muhuri and Haki Africa from the invitation list.

By excluding or screening key actors, while ignoring the advice of elected representatives and local administrators on the ground in places like Mandera, Lamu and Mombasa, the government is doomed to fail and prolong the conflict.

MEND FENCES

Ethiopia has just released bloggers ahead of the Obama visit, and surely it is time to mend fences with civil society by unfreezing the accounts of Muhuri and Haki Africa before he visits here.

Any efforts at CVE must be inclusive, holistic and aimed at securing the nation by enlisting the support of all parties. The state needs the support and input of regional bodies as well as civil society and the media if Kenya is to be secure.

Put another way, the state has no monopoly on wisdom, intelligence or the security of its citizens. Its role is clear but there are complimentary roles.

There is a trust deficit, however, between civilians and the security forces in the areas most affected by the attacks, and this must be bridged as a matter of urgency. The anti-terrorist laws have also been applied disproportionally and used as a pretext for targeting Somalis and Muslims, as well as Muhuri and Haki Africa.

But above all, the terror attacks have shown the cost of the utter reluctance and failure to implement security reforms. Police reform has not had an impact; community policing is threatened by police intimidation and corruption is found at the root of every terror attack.

Al-Shabaab has exposed what most feared, that the state’s long history of using the security machinery for its own preservation and self-interest has compromised the security of its own citizens.

In other words, the security crisis is much bigger than the terror attacks. We constantly witness genocidal attacks under the pretext of cattle rustling; mega corruption in terms of poaching, tendering and drugs.

Police still top the corruption polls and even the once trusted KDF’s reputation is tarnished over the charcoal stories emerging from Kismaiyu.

Yet, the opportunity is ripe and the potential and support is there if only the state can show leadership and be serious about security reform.

[email protected] @GabrielDolan1