Museveni urges Kenya to target individuals in war on terror

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni (left) with Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto during the Madaraka Day fete at the Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi. PHOTO | SAMUEL MIRING'U 

In Summary

• “Al-Shabaab are already defeated. In war, when you have the capacity, you confront the enemy combatants. If you don’t have the capacity to attack their stronghold, or when they are on the move during ambush, then you have been defeated,” he said.
• “Don’t be excited when it itches and you cut the foot, no! The foot belongs to you. It is just the jigger. Be slow and patient and remove the jigger alone.”
• President Museveni who was attending the third national function in Nairobi under President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime, revisited the Garissa University attack in April in which 142 students were killed.

By AGGREY MUTAMBO
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Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni on Monday urged Kenyan authorities to target individuals associated with extremism in the country.

In a speech laced with metaphors during Kenya’s Madaraka Day celebrations, the Ugandan veteran leader called Al-Shabaab “defeated thugs” who are hiding in communities like “jiggers.”

“When the jigger attacks your foot, your entire foot itches. But you must be careful, you may cut the whole leg because the jigger is in your foot. You don’t do that, you take the needle and carefully remove the jigger without harming the whole foot,” he told a gathering at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.

“Don’t be excited when it itches and you cut the foot, no! The foot belongs to you. It is just the jigger. Be slow and patient and remove the jigger alone.”

GARISSA UNIVERSITY

The president who was attending the third national function in Nairobi under President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime, revisited the Garissa University attack in April in which 142 students were killed.
He sent his condolences, again, saying the militants had cut out the life “of our children” before revisiting a letter he wrote in April when the attack happened.

In that letter published in newspapers after the attack, Museveni called for “a common strategy and joint efforts by all countries in our region” to defeat terrorism.

“Uganda will continue to work with Kenya and all other countries of the region to move forward the frontiers of peace and eliminate terrorism from our midst,” he wrote.

Al-Shabaab acknowledged the incident but they have gone on with attacks targeting civilians and the police since. A police officer was killed last week at Yumbis near Dadaab.

But the Ugandan leader argued the Shabaabs “have reached their end” since they no longer want to confront the military. Invoking his own experience in dealing with terrorists in Uganda, President Museveni argued the latest behaviour of Shabaabs shows they are unwise to continue fighting.

DEFEATED

“Al-Shabaab are already defeated. In war, when you have the capacity, you confront the enemy combatants. If you don’t have the capacity to attack their stronghold, or when they are on the move during ambush, then you have been defeated,” he said.

“If they were wise, it would be better if they came forth to engage in peaceful talks. But if one is as stupid as the Shabaabs, you are unable to fight the military, you attack civilians.”

Al-Shabaab have often cited Kenya Defence Forces’ presence in Somalia under Amisom as the reason they keep attacking Kenya. But Ugandan Forces were the first in Somalia in 2007 when the African Union Mission in Somalia force was formed.

There have been more than 130 attacks on Kenya since KDF moved to Somalia. In Uganda, the last such attack was on July 11, 2010 when grenades were hurled at a club in Kampala where football fans were watching the world cup final in South Africa.

Seventy people were killed in the incident.