Clearly we are on our own! We are under siege and have nowhere to run because our government has seemingly abdicated its responsibility in ensuring security and safety of its people.
How can heavily armed raiders waltz into the country without so much as a blip showing on the intelligence radar? How in this day and age of the internet, heightened awareness, shared intelligence and other clearly failed initiatives like ‘Nyumba Kumi’ can what seems like a well-planned, coordinated and financed mission have gone on unnoticed ? When the British government chose to close down its Consulate offices in Mombasa last week probably as a result of resourceful intelligence gathering pointing at an impending attack somewhere in the Coast what did the security organs do with that information or is it still sitting on someone’s in tray unread and gathering dust?
As we mourn the 48 people that have now been confirmed dead in Mpeketoni, Lamu County though eye witness accounts put the deaths at many more, hard questions need to be asked. God knows how many other lie dead somewhere in the bush while many more are injured. Perhaps in the fullness of time we shall get the correct numbers of death and injured Kenyans if the government statements are to be believed which is becoming increasingly difficult given the confusing and conflicting information issued through government statements during the Westgate siege 9 short months ago.
Boko Haram tactics of wanton and callous massacre of innocents and destruction of property seems to be the modus operandi in this instance and probably portends to bloodier attacks in other areas where Kenyans live with no security sooner rather than later if the apathy and ineptitude of those supposed to ensure the lives and properties of Kenyans are safeguarded is anything to go by. What is to prevent these terrorists from raiding bigger towns and settlements in Kenya with more loss of life and property for they can only be emboldened by their past successes?
But surely, we can’t keep on saying that we have competent security in place in Kenya while heavily armed raiders, looters, poachers, bandits, militants…….or whatever other name you want to call them come into the country with impunity, carry out their dastardly raids and attacks on our animals, innocent people and our police stations and then just vanish into the night after an orgy of violence lasting several hours. Is there no rapid response machinery in place to respond to just such situations? Don’t we have any military bases close to our borders with our neighbors that should respond to external threats from our warlike northern neighbors close to Mpeketoni, Lamu and other towns lying along the access route into Kenya from Somalia?
And why are those tasked with ensuring the safety and security of Kenyan still in office promising fire and brimstone to those responsible for the continuing terror attacks but doing nothing that seems to remove the threats from our midst? They should have been relieved of their duties through summary dismissal a long time ago and charged for dereliction of duty for they have the blood of almost 150 people that have been killed in terrorism related attacks since that fateful day in September 2013 when 67 people lost their lives at Westgate.
A nation under attack needs to be more responsive and better able to respond to well publicized threats to the security of its people and their property and it appears that they are clearly off the mark on this. We have been promised swift and tough action by the responsible government functionary, but this is not the first time that this tough talk has happened and nothing concrete can be seen.
Kenyans are crying out for justice for those who have lost their lives and been physically scarred by terrorism and the government must be unrelenting in the quest for the perpetrators and financiers of these terror activities before they close our country down.
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