Kenyans more united as war against terror gains strength
By Joyce Chimbi | Updated
Mon, June 26th 2017 at 00:00 GMT +3 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share on Facebook Share
on Twitter First batch of bodies of Kenya Defence Force soldiers killed in an
attack on their camp in somalia arrive at Wilson airport on January 18, 2016, a
day after an attack by the Al-Qaeda-linked militants on an African Union base
(AMISOM) in southwest Somalia. PHOTO JOHN MUCHUCHA When Gaga Balozi was
11 years old, he began to express a desire of becoming a policeman someday, a
desire that was later demonstrated by the number of times he responded to calls
for recruitment to the Kenya Police Service. His mother, Zeituni Hamadi (not
her real name) a resident of Kaloleni, Kilifi County, alleges her son
made 10 unsuccessful attempts and it was at that point in April last year that
he made a decision that changed his life and that of his family. “When they
said that he had not passed, I think out of anger, my son said the system was
giving him no choice but to cross the border. He said that he had resisted a
life of crime but he had reached the end,” the distraught mother narrates.
That was the last time
that Hamadi saw Balozi (not his real name). GOT ARRESTED “People told me that
he got arrested but until now I do not know whether he crossed the border into
Somalia or is still in this country,” she says. ALSO READ: Al Shabaab kills
five in latest Mandera attack Whether out of frustration with the system,
radical and extreme religious beliefs, poverty or mere curiosity, the
Al-Shabaab terror group has lived up to its name, which in Arabic means youth,
attracting thousands of Kenyan youths. “The profile is mostly similar, that of
poverty-stricken, desperate and overzealous youths who have become the enemy
within sympathising with terrorists and actively participating in terror
attacks,” says Simon Ndetei, the Officer Commanding Diani Police Station, Kwale
County. Police statistics show at least a quarter of all Al Shabaab’s 7,000 to
9,000 forces are Kenyans even as an estimated 4,000 Kenyan troops in the
22,000-strong African Union force continue to wage war against the Al-Shabaab
in Somalia.
Hassan Mwanzugwe, an
assistant chief in Diani, explains that unemployed youths are vulnerable and
tend to grow increasingly sympathetic to terror groups. Government statistics
show every year at least 500,000 young people enter the job market and of the
19.8 million of the working age population, at least 70 per cent of them are
young, aged 18 to 34 years, with about 65 per cent of these being unemployed.
Crime reports released by
police show that in every two crimes reported to the police, one has been
committed by a young person aged 16 to 25 years. As a result, terrorism remains
a high priority issue of concern that necessitated military action where the
Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), under the operation Linda Nchi, formally joined
forces with African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), in 2011, pursuing
Shabaab into Southeastern Somalia.
ALSO READ: Al-Shabaab militia kill policeman,
two civilians in Mandera A move that the terror group perceived as a
declaration of war and there have been consequences. The International Crisis
Group (ICG), an international NGO that works to resolve and prevent deadly
conflict states that between 2011 and 2014, “it [Shaabab] has built a
formidable and secretive support infrastructure in Kenya. A tiny, but
highly-radicalised, close-knit and secretive Salafi Jihadi fringe which looks
up to Al Shabaab as a source of emulation.” Kenya has previously suffered
devastating terror attacks dating back to the 1980 bombing of the Norfolk Hotel
where 20 people lost their lives and more than 80 were injured. But the most
devastating to date has been the 1998 bombing of the United States embassy where
at least 200 people died and hundreds were injured. In both attacks, Kenya
suffered for perceived links to international agendas. In 1980, Kenya was
accused of showing support to the Israeli while they were rescuing their
hostages from Uganda and so the attack was targeted at the Israelis. The second
attack targeted Americans.
ALSO READ: Community key in war on terrorism, NCTC
boss says “But things have changed and now Kenya is in the line of fire. Terror
gangs have been reacting to the Linda Nchi Operation going on in Somalia and
many lives have been lost,” says Ndetei. According to statistics by the Kenya
National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) at least 900 lives have been lost to
terror attacks since 2000 and the Al Shabaab has mostly taken responsibility.
As many as 6,200 people, including those affected by the US embassy bombing
have been injured in terror attacks.
The attacks escalated
between 2011 and 2014 where at least 370 people were killed and over 1,075
others injured which translates to one person being killed every three days.
Other Police statistics show that there have been at least 100 successful
terror attacks since 2011. “Out of the 47 counties these attacks have affected
nine of them, with Garissa accounting for about 32 per cent of all the attacks,
followed by Nairobi with 22 per cent of the attacks,” says Hussein Gullet of
the National Muslim Leaders Forum in charge of Northern Kenya. “Mombasa follows
with 16 per cent, Mandera with 11 per cent and then Lamu and Wajir with 9 per
cent each,” he adds. These counties have been vulnerable due to their proximity
to the Somalia border or the Indian Ocean. ALSO READ: Police hold 88 suspects
including 15 foreigners in anti-terror operation But NCTC has further revealed
that there are more counties where youths are beginning to show evidence of
radicalisation.
But Gerald Mongare of the
National Counter Terrorism Agency explains that terrorism has also made Kenyans
more united, “there is an increased sense of nationalism.” “There is more
public awareness on terrorism, detection and counter terrorism measures have
become more successful and terrorists are the ones going into hiding,” Mongare
observes. The economic toll to the country is astounding. Government statistics
show that at least Sh16 billion has been invested in the war against terror.
This is money spent on
various police equipment and medical insurance for Kenyan troops in Somalia
since 2013 among other necessities.
Government’s intended plan to build a wall
along part of the estimated 700km border with Somalia is likely to cost as much
as 1.7 trillion and still not comprehensively address the main drivers of
terrorism. “This is money that should be used to provide Kenyans with more
basic needs like health, education and better infrastructure,” says Agatha
Njoki, a peace and conflict expert in Nairobi. Destruction of property,
infrastructure and livelihoods has affected thousands of households and many
are still piecing together the broken pieces of their lives as was witnessed
when the Garissa University terror attack survivors marked the second
anniversary on April. But in the face of this devastating statistics the
Government remains confident that the country has not lost its grip on the
fight against terrorism.
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