Just as Kenyans were coming to terms with the attack on
policemen in Turkana in which more than 20 officers were killed, they
received news of the brazen attack on a military barracks and an AP camp
at the Coast.
The two incidents point to a worrying
trend in which security installations and officers are the target of
attackers either seeking to stop the enforcement of the law or have the
more sinister motive of seizing weapons from government hands.
Although
the President last week warned that tough action would be taken against
those who target security agencies, not much appears to have been done
to indicate that the government is firmly enforcing its directive on
security, law, and order.
Often, when police and other
security installations are targeted, it is the harbinger of a
deterioration of peace as the weapons stolen during such attacks are
often used against civilian populations.
This is a
dangerous trend and the police must do more, first to gather
intelligence on impending attacks and, second, to always be adequately
prepared to deal with such scenarios comprehensively and in a manner
that sends out the message that such missions are suicidal for those who
attempt them.
This is what the military did when it
killed five of those who attempted to attack the Nyali barracks Sunday
and it is a lesson that the police would do well to internalise. That
means that police officers and their work stations must be adequately
secured at all times.
It will also require that the
relevant agencies of government identify insecurity hotspots, the root
cause of the problems, and the most effective solutions to guarantee
lasting peace and harmony.
Security agencies must
never be seen to be vulnerable to lawless elements as this would be a
precursor to the breakdown of the rule of law
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