Opinion and Analysis
President Kenyatta rode to power on the promise of digital service delivery. Photo/FILE
The insecurity problem that has rocked parts of the
country has now reached alarming levels and something must be done
quickly to restore order. Kenya stands to lose immensely if the
situation is allowed to get out of hand.
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For example, the attacks in Lamu last Sunday and Monday in
which nearly 60 people were brutally killed beg the critical question as
to whether the government can sincerely assure each and every Kenyan of
their security.
While the government has been accusing the Western
nations of frequently issuing travel advisories because of terrorist
attacks in the country, their warnings have only been justified by the
numerous insecurity incidents we are witnessing.
Our economy urgently needs capital injection from
foreign investors for it to grow steadily. However, no investor would
willingly put their money into the country if they cannot be assured of
security for the investments.
During the Lamu attacks, the gunmen burned business establishments causing damage amounting to millions of shillings.
Our tourism industry is currently on its knees and
the attacks only dealt another deadly blow. Failure to attract visitors
will only lead to more hotel closures and job losses.
The government must now convince Kenyans that it is
in control of the security situation. Kenyans have been living in fear
of being bombed or shot for too long. They need to be assured of their
security.
The present state of heightened security is
replicated everywhere with people being searched before entering
shopping malls, places of worship, offices and even some residential
areas.
Our security mandarins must step up to the plate
and convince us that they are doing something about the deteriorating
insecurity. We need action and the perpetrators of the heinous attacks
must be brought to book.
Kenyans have been asking very pertinent questions
among them being whether we have sealed our porous borders. Can a large
group of people armed to the teeth move from one place to another
without attracting the attention of people in the vicinity?
We aver that the National Police Service has
alienated wananchi who should be its source of information about the
goings on at the grassroots. As we have stated before, security
personnel must always work with the people not against them.
They must now work hard to restore the public’s faith in them by regaining their trust.
Rolling out a security operation does not mean a
licence to harass, loot or maim innocent in the name of looking for
culprits. Harassment only turns the common man against the law
enforcement personnel.
Time and again we keep on promising that killings
of fellow Kenyans will never be tolerated only for the same to recur.
The time for mere words is over. What Kenyans want now is action and an
end to the spate of deaths.
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