How our well-intentioned acts aid and give comfort to murderous terror groups

Some of the 70 suspects arrested inside Masjid Musa, shown after appearing in a Shanzu court on February 12, 2014. It is not clear what the motivation of these radicalised youth is, but there is a parallel with the emergence of other terror gangs in Kenya. When these jobless and despondent youth are presented with the possibility of a fortune in exchange for the Kenyan soul. PHOTO/FILE  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Over the last couple of years, terror masterminds have infiltrated, converted and radicalised a small but dangerous cohort of youth who do not fit in the traditional terrorist narrative. These are recent converts to radical Islam from non-Islamic backgrounds.
• Terrorists understand that Kenya has a long winding love story with corruption and will not hesitate to take advantage of the loophole to achieve what they want.
• We need a collapsed building or floods in Budalang’i to get us talking about disaster preparedness; a post-election violence to discuss electoral laws; a drought to talk food security, and yes, a terrorist attack to discuss national security.

By ERIC O. MOMANYI
More by this Author

In 2011, President Mwai Kibaki ordered the Kenya Defence Forces into Somalia to drive out Al-Shabaab and create a buffer zone on the Somalia border to weaken their ability to launch attacks in Kenya.

Since then, Al-Shabaab has evolved from a well-organised group into a fluid and unpredictable guerrilla rag-tag terror gang. They have stepped up attacks on Kenya by exploiting security vulnerabilities that we have for too long taken for granted.

There are a number of well-intentioned ways in which we unknowingly aid the cause of terror. These include: 1) our knee-jerk reactions to acts of terror; 2) our governance; 3) our dilly-dallying with unemployment and inequality, and 4) our thinking on strategic national issues.

Reaction to acts of terror:

After each terror attack, the government rounds up hordes of suspects, some innocent, for questioning with some languishing in detention for extended periods of time.

Some of these people, while initially having no links with terror are given reason to sympathise with the terrorist cause.

Innocent people affected by the purge form a disgruntled pool that can easily be recruited to take part in future attacks. The indiscriminate purges, therefore, serve terrorists.

Unemployment and inequality:

Over the last couple of years, terror masterminds have infiltrated, converted and radicalised a small but dangerous cohort of youth who do not fit in the traditional terrorist narrative. These are recent converts to radical Islam from non-Islamic backgrounds.

It is not clear what the motivation of these radicalised youth is, but there is a parallel with the emergence of other terror gangs in Kenya. When these jobless and despondent youth are presented with the possibility of a fortune in exchange for the Kenyan soul, Kenya has placed no counter offer.

Whether they launch attacks or provide intelligence to terrorists, they represent a subtle yet dangerous shift in terror dynamics.

There is an undeniable link right here between terror and economic management. As long as youth are not finding opportunities to make a living, they will begin from a weakened position when confronted by the lure of crime and terror.

These orphans of the economic system, when paired with disgruntled innocent victims of police reaction to terror, form a new category that shares a vulnerability to terror the government wishes never existed.

Our governance:

The government’s commitment to the war on terror is not in doubt. But this commitment must be shared by every arm of government to bear fruit. 

Terrorists understand that Kenya has a long winding love story with corruption and will not hesitate to take advantage of the loophole to achieve what they want.

Any dalliance with corruption by immigration officers or police or any other security-related agency is enough to frustrate the best effort of government. 

If ever the government needed an incentive to tackle corruption, it must do so with the understanding that graft has national security implications.

Whereas it has been “acceptable” for public officials to put self-interest first, corruption in this context is a treasonable crime.

Strategic national issues:

Our government has been accused of knee-jerk reaction to terrorist attacks with significant escalation of security precautions which predictably taper off with time.

As a country, we have conditioned ourselves to wait for disaster to strike before we get jolted into action.

We need a collapsed building or floods in Budalang’i to get us talking about disaster preparedness; a post-election violence to discuss electoral laws; a drought to talk food security, and yes, a terrorist attack to discuss national security.

But by the time we move into action after a disaster, we have missed the chance to set the agenda, failed to protect lives, and failed to dictate how the war evolves.

The government must commit to sustained work to combat the root causes of terror. Sustained anti-terrorism efforts will enable us to feel the terrorist pulse, anticipate their next course of action, and pre-empt it.

A holistic perspective will inform what possibilities are open to terrorists, while identifying linkages to non-obvious threats like corruption and their central role in escalating the rise of terror. The day we set the agenda will be the beginning of a changing tide in the war on terror.