How four terrorists kept KDF special forces at bay for hours

Politics and policy

Interior secretary Joseph Nkaissery when he appeared before the House team in charge of security on April 30, 2015. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA 

By EDWIN MUTAI, emutai@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Interior secretary Joseph Nkaiserry tells MPs Garissa attackers were not defeated until Recce arrival.
• Mr Nkaissery revealed that the terrorists had secured strategic positions and engaged the Special Forces in a fierce exchange of gunfire for hours.

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Special Forces were kept at bay for hours by four terrorists who killed 147 people, among them 142 students of Garissa University College, Interior secretary Joseph Nkaissery told Parliament on Thursday.

Mr Nkaissery revealed that the terrorists had secured strategic positions, including two entry points to a hostel, and engaged the Special Forces in a fierce exchange of gunfire for hours.

The minister told the Administration and National Security committee that it was not until the elite General Service Unit Recce Squad arrived that the terrorists were overpowered.

“When the Recce Squad arrived, they used the military tank that had been mobilised to burst into the hostel.

‘‘The Recce crawled behind the tank as it progressed towards the terrorists who were firing using machine guns,” Mr Nkaissery said when he appeared before the Asman Kamama-led committee to shed light on what happened in the dawn massacre at the university on April 2.

He said there were only two approaches to Mt Elgon Hostel which was covered by the terrorists’ machine gunfire.

Mr Nkaissery said that when he arrived aboard a Kenya Forest Service plane at 10.30am, the co-ordination of security forces involved in the rescue mission at the university was disjointed.

“I quickly took charge of the rescue operation and directed that the Recce Company be brought in,” he told the committee.

He said the special KDF forces stationed in Garissa had taken control of the university following the attack, but were unable to gain access to the hostel to free student hostages.

“The government normally has assets on the ground. We had special KDF forces and we thought they would contain the situation. However, the terrorists had occupied special positions denying anybody entry through machine gunfire,” he said.

READ: 147 killed as gunmen attack Garissa University College

Mr Nkaissery was hard-pressed to explain why he and Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett took a flight to Garissa instead of the same being used to airlift members of the GSU squad.

“The IG and I took a four-seater KWS plane to the ground so that we could take charge of the operation. The plane could only carry four people,” he said.

Mr Nkaissery defended the KDF forces saying that like the elite Recce squad, they are highly trained to contain situations like the Garissa attack.
He said it took long to reconstitute the Recce squad because the unit has only 120 officers working across the country.

“As you know, we have a unit in Lamu and other parts of the country. Recce is scattered and we had to reconstitute the team and that is why it took a bit long to arrive in Garissa,” he said.