Our country’s national security under great threat: This is what must be done

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) arrive on September 22, 2013 at the Westgate mall in Nairobi. KDF troops did not fare very well in the terrorist attack. PHOTO | SIMON MAINA | FILE  AFP

In Summary

• National security implies a circumstance that exists as a result of military or defence positions capable of successfully neutralising or repulsing hostile actions from within or without.
• Our security forces have performed dismally, even in clearly defined situations.

By BEN MWARANIA
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Kenya is embroiled in a multiplicity of conflicts which are shaking the nation to its core. The incursion into southern Somalia, retaliatory terror attacks by Al-Shabaab on Kenyan soil, insurgency by armed militias, inter-tribal and inter-clan conflicts in Tana River, North Eastern Kenya and Baringo/Pokot boundaries, are cases in point.

 

Cattle rustling among the Turkana and Samburu, extra-judicial killings, including those of both extremist and moderate Muslim clerics, and suspected Al-Shabaab sympathisers at the Coast, as well as the ravages of illicit killer brews are the others.

It is the government’s duty to maintain the security of the State and its people through the use of economic power, diplomacy, and political power projection.

National security implies a circumstance that exists as a result of military or defence positions capable of successfully neutralising or repulsing hostile actions from within or without.

It is threats to our national security which led us into Somalia to uproot Al-Shabaab from their strongholds in that country and secure our borders. It is well over three years since the incursion, and Al-Shabaab are hitting back.

FORCES REELING

While our forces are doing a great job in Somalia, the same cannot be said of their performance in the country. The unpredictable nature of the terror attacks has left our forces reeling. They need to employ a mix of strategies to combat these attacks.

Sadly, our security forces have performed dismally, even in clearly defined situations like the Westgate Mall attack, and the current ones in Lamu and Tana River. The politicisation and tribalisation of the attacks have not helped matters either.

The government needs to chart a road-map to counter these threats to our security. The issues that should inform the blueprint may include the following:

1. Acknowledge that the country’s internal security is under threat and mobilise national resources to combat the threat, including activating enabling legal mechanisms.

2. Declare insecurity, corruption, tribalism, poverty, drug trafficking and illicit brews national disasters, and come up with workable mechanisms to combat them.

3. Sensitise Kenyans on the magnitude of the security threat and advise them on basic security measures to take in the event of terror attacks.

4. In the interest of our international obligations and national security, maintain our forces under African Union Mission to Somalia (Amisom) for the earliest conclusion of the war against Al-Shabaab and the stabilisation of the Mogadishu government.

5. Tap much needed experience from retired officers and men by activating reserves under the Kenya Defence Forces Act.

6. Mobilise the military to have a permanent presence in identified trouble-spots for prompt reaction. The military and specially trained security forces must be in the vanguard of countering armed aggression and insurrections. Government must stop using police as cannon fodder as was witnessed in Suguta Valley in November 2012.

7. Activate community policing in accordance with the Police Service Act, and the recall of able-bodied retired police officers back to service. A mechanism can be established where they are appointed as reservists or other legally acceptable arrangements.

8. Professionalise the guarding of vital installations and resources by establishing minimum standards for civilian security companies.

9. Impose limited curfews where citizens are likely to be caught in cross-fire between the security forces and terrorists.

10. Engage warring communities in a search for enduring peace, even if it means the sharing of natural resources among clans in the North Eastern areas.

11. Stop politicising and tribalising every aspect of our lives. The ‘nusumkate’ of the Kibaki/Raila regime, or the sharing of spoils in the UhuRuto government, are hurting this country.

12. Let’s be polygamous in our foreign relations. Dance with the East, and dance with the West. International relations is about national interest, not friendships.

Our leaders must rise above partisan party politics and promote the public good. They need to come together in the national interest. They must realise that this country is in a state of war, not between Jubilee and Cord, but with Al-Shabaab on one hand, and the numerous internal challenges facing us, on the other.

Lt-Col (rtd) Mwarania is a consultant in management, leadership and sustainability (benstephr@gmail.com)