The long-term wisdom and strategic thinking behind the deployment of KDF inside Somalia is coming under increasing scrutiny.
Hundreds of Kenyans have died since 2012 in terror attacks that are directly linked to the three-year-long KDF incursion into Somalia.
The terrorism surge has taken place at a time of runaway crime, resulting in insecurity that has dealt the tourism sector a staggering blow throughout this year.
The occupation of a neighbouring country is never a good idea. Kenya can learn from Ethiopia’s experience with Somalia. That country has a much longer border with the failed state than Kenya’s, but is not reeling from a reign of al Shabaab terror.
Ethiopia has a much better neighbourhood watch system than Kenya’s. The Ethiopians also have a smaller corruption problem than Kenya’s. The bribery of Ethiopian security forces by Somali militants is so unlikely it borders on the inconceivable.
KDF should be redeployed throughout northeastern Kenya to secure the border.
Among other things, night patrols must be stepped up, including in Mandera, where the governor recently deplored the fact that there are no patrols after nightfall.
Kenya’s security and intelligence systems must be restored to functional and efficient levels before the country slides into a Nigeria Boko Haram-like mess.
Quote of the day: It is infinitely better to transplant a heart than to bury it to be devoured by worms.” — South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard performed the world’s first human heart transplant operation on December 3, 1967.
The Star
