Uhuru has realised that his government is weak

President Uhuru Kenyatta at a past function. PHOTO | PSCU 

In Summary

• Most of the criticism is informed by over flowing raw emotions. Others are propelled by poisonous political biases of the critics. That is exactly why when the President returned after a forgettable trip from Abu Dhabi, he tried to explain the pillars and tenets of the country’s security policy.
• The people of the north know more of the brutal and abusive powers of the state. The government has rarely being effective or in control in the classic sense of state control over its territory.
• Since independence, Kenya has been in occupation of the north. It has never ruled and reined. It is highly doubtful whether Kenya’s sovereign exercise of much of its territory in the north will ever improve.

By AHMEDNASIR ABDULLAHI
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“Only by legal fiction or diplomatic courtesy can Chad be described as a state. After eighteen years of civil strife, half its national territory is under the control of Libyan backed insurgents, its jurisdiction within the other half is severally contested, with a situation of chronic anarchy prevailing in some of the southern prefectures; the capacity of its political institutions to maintain order and execute policy is virtually nonexistent beyond the perimeter of the capital city and the few major towns”, — Rene Lemarchand, The Crisis in Chad, (1985).

The security challenge facing Kenya is not unique in the African context. Similar or even worse challenges face almost every country in the continent with few exceptions. Just look at our neighbours and you will appreciate the fratricidal contest over the state in Africa.

Africa has weak governments that face armed challenge within their borders and Kenya is not an exception.

The sovereign powers of governments to exercise full control are strongly contested by competing powers within their borders. Look at the impotence of Nigeria in the face of the war waged by Boko Haram!

The political and crippling security challenges facing the Uhuru Kenyatta administration has not been properly contextualised or appreciated by many Kenyans and especially the critics of the regime.

Most of the criticism is informed by over flowing raw emotions. Others are propelled by poisonous political biases of the critics. That is exactly why when the President returned after a forgettable trip from Abu Dhabi, he tried to explain the pillars and tenets of the country’s security policy.

PLAY CENTRAL ROLE

When he tried to tell Kenyans that individual Kenyans must play a central role, Uhuru was wildly jeered and lampooned. But Uhuru was right, though he explained his idea poorly.

The President was simply making a very passionate and personal confession. Reality has finally downed on him. He finally realised despite his bravado and penchant for military uniforms that his government is vulnerable. Powerless. Weak.

Kenya after all is not in full control of its territorial boundaries. He is but a President of a poor corrupt third world country.

The north and coastal regions of the country are basically lost. Kenya is in nominal control. If the President was academically inclined I would have recommended him to read the seminal work of Robert H Jackson and Carl Rosberg Why Africa’s Weak States Persist: The Empirical and the Juridical in Statehood. After reading this he would have cooled down.

He will understand better that whereas the legal status of the country is unchallenged, factually or empirically most of the north and the noast are contested.

This brings me to the bus attack in Mandera and the government’s response. Again Kenyans were very harsh even though the government shot itself in the foot. For those of us who hail from the county of Mandera we know how tenuous and contested the sovereignty of Kenya is over much of the north. The state exists juridically, legally but it is scant empirically or in terms of reality.

The people of the north know more of the brutal and abusive powers of the state. The government has rarely being effective or in control in the classic sense of state control over its territory.

NOT HELPED

Since independence, Kenya has been in occupation of the north. It has never ruled and reined. It is highly doubtful whether Kenya’s sovereign exercise of much of its territory in the north will ever improve.

Matters were not helped by Deputy President’s claim that Kenya in response killed over 100 of the attackers. That was greeted with utter contempt.

Does Kenya have the capacity to map, locate and then launch a cross border attack and decimate the Mandera bus attackers within hours of the attack? The simple answer is no. Our air force has about a dozen F-5 jets of great antique value.

They were bought in dubious scandal from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Precision and target bombing are alien to these jets. They are slight improvements on bombing a terrorist camp using a Cessna aircraft.

That is why I am in total agreement with the President. He called us to civic duty. Our security lies in our individual hands!

 Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi is the Publisher, Nairobi Law Monthly