Heavy Police Presence as Chaos Break out in Parliament due to Security Bill

Police patrol outside parliament. Photo: Nation Media

 Kenya News -- Hundreds of police officers were deployed outside parliament and nearby streets following fears that protests could occur in a bid to stop the debate on the controversial security bill. The intimidating police officers in full riot gear were already at Parliament Road and Harambee Avenue by 6am Thursday. However, there presence did not deter chaos from breaking out inside parliament.

 Kenya has experienced a wave attacks blamed on Alshabaab, the terrorist group based in Somalia. In the past weeks the government has been blamed for violating the rights of citizens in its attempt to curb rising insecurity. This has particularly occurred in Nairobi, Coast, and North Eastern.

 The proposed amendments were intended to give the president and spy agencies more powers. The opposition and rights groups have opposed the bill, terming it “Draconian”, and protests had been planned outside parliament to oppose the bill. Some of the controversial elements that sparked chaos include:

• The right for police to detain terror suspects for up to a year 
• Empowering intelligence agencies to tap communications without consent 
• The requirement for journalists to obtain permission from police for conducting investigations or publishing stories relating to security and terrorism. 

 Chaos in Parliament 

 Opposition members of parliament tore copies of the bill, shouting that Kenya was now becoming a police state. Officials were forced to adjourn the debate twice as opposition and pro-government lawmakers engaged in fist fights. Two opposition MPs threw water to the Deputy Speaker, Joyce Laboso, after she ordered them out of the house.

Opposition MPs had vowed to scuttle the process unless they be provided with more time to scrutinize the document. Previous incidences of rivalry between the two camps are widely reported in Kenya News.
The government has faced challenges while dealing with terror suspects as they law forbids it from withholding the suspects for long, unless a reason is provided and the detention approved by the courts.

 Publishing of graphic images after terror incidents has caused anxiety and fear in the public to the point of triggering protests like it was witnessed recently. It’s on the two accounts, that the government thought the bill was necessary for the country’s security needs.

By: Sheriff Mako On Thursday, December 18, 2014

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Security Chiefs Sacked after Mandera Massacre

Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku

The Interior cabinet secretary Joseph Ole Lenku and the Police inspector general, David Kimaiyo, were forced out yesterday after it became apparent that their leadership was not helping with the country’s security situation. While the inspector general announced his retirement, the fate of Joseph Ole Lenku remains unclear after the president nominated Kajiado MP, Joseph Ole Nkaissery to the docket. The ODM parliamentarian has to go through vetting before assuming office.

Kenya has witnessed a spate of attacks from Al-shabaab, Somalia’s al-Qaida affiliated militant group. The group is lodging guerilla style attacks in Kenyan towns bordering Somalia and dominated by ethnic Somalis. In less than two weeks, 64 people have been killed in Mandera. The latest attack took place last on Tuesday night when 36 people were ambushed, some short and some slaughtered at a quarry. Here is the story: 36 Killed in Fresh Alshabaab Attack

Some of the 36 people Killed at a Quarry

 The first attack was on a bus heading from Mandera to Nairobi in which 28 of the passengers were lined up and shot. The bus attack stirred up Kenyans leading to protests in the streets of Nairobi and an uproar on social media under hash tags such as #ManderaBusAttack and #OccupyHarambeeAve. Most of those killed were in the Bus Attack were teachers returning home for festivities.

Kenyans were enraged and only one more attack was enough to seal the fate of the two security chiefs and it happened. The president has no other choice otherwise Kenyans would be protesting this very minute. All the victims in the two attacks were non-Muslims as the militant group always separates Muslims from Non-muslims before perpetuating the heinous acts.

The attacks have sparked a mass exodus of civil servants, who mostly are non-Somali and non-Muslim from the Somali dominated border town. Most of the escaping people are now camping at the military post in Mandera. Most unions have urgent their workers to shun the North Eastern Region (borders Somalia) until their security is assured. 

By: Sheriff Mako On Wednesday, December 03, 2014

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36 people Killed in Fresh Al-shabaab attack in Mandera

Al-shabaab Militants

News just coming in indicates that 36 people were killed early Tuesday morning. The attack is suspected to have been perpetuated by Al-shabaab militants who killed 28 people barely two weeks ago in the same area. 

Those killed were sleeping in tents at a quarry. The attack took place at around 1am.

The incident has been confirmed by Police and the Kenya Red Cross. The quarry is located at Koromey, 15 kilometers from Mandera Town.  There are teams on the ground still assessing the situation but it is believed that those attacked were quarry workers who were ambushed by heavily armed Alshabaab militants.

All the victims were non-Muslims and most of them hail from Kiganjo, Nyeri County. Survivors have said that Muslims were spared in the night attack. The victims were made to line up and shot at a close range. Most were shot in the head while some were beheaded.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that a number of workers could have been kidnapped by the militants.

Kenyans took to the streets last week to protest against the government’s inability to offer adequate security. Most of those killed in the Mandera Bus attack last week were teachers returning home for holidays.  The attack triggered mass exodus of non-native professionals working in the area.

The latest attack is bound to worsen the already grave situation at the Kenya-Somali border town.

By: Sheriff Mako On Tuesday, December 02, 2014

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Are the Police fully responsible for Sorry State of Security in Kenya?

Kenya News -- Kenya is currently witnessing unprecedented levels of lawlessness: Terrorism, cattle rustling, violent robbery, ethnic clashes, sexual assaults, carjacking, just to mention a few. The recent unfortunate incident in Mandera in which 28 Kenyans travelling to Nairobi were ambushed and executed in cold blood by Al-Shabaab militants has led to public saying “enough is enough!” The killings were followed by #OccupyHarambeeAvenue protests in reference to the president’s office. Many Kenyans feel that the government is not doing enough to protect them. 

 The Inspector General, David Kamaiyo, and the Interior Cabinet Secretary Ole Lenku have been accused of incompetence and calls for their resignation are coming from every corner, including the two houses (senate and parliament) and the civil society. I’m not sure whether the resignations of the two top officials will help matters. What I know is that the problem with Kenya’s internal security apparatus is far deeper than many people can admit.

Serious human resource capacity

Kenya has around 45 million citizens and a police force of roughly 42,000 officers.  This means that the public policing ratio is currently above 1:1000.  A figure that is far below what the UN recommends (1:450). Before devolution, a quarter of the police force were involved administrative duties, acting as drivers for top government officials and guarding the elite. Kenya now has a devolved government and 47 governors and a slightly higher number of senators and many more MPs have joined the list of officials who special security and other services from policemen. Don’t forget that MCAs are also requesting for improved security. 

 This implies that the number of policemen left to prevent crime and offer services to the public could be less than 35,000. How can such a law number of policemen watch over 45 million people?

The serious manpower challenge plays out in every major incident of lawlessness. For example, After the Mandera Bus Attack, it was reported that the police could not respond because they had a shortage, both in regard to manpower and equipment. The attackers were many and with more sophisticated weapons, including rocket launchers and automatic weapons. Even with intelligence of an impending attack, there is very little a policeman with a G3 riffle can do if they are outnumbered and outgunned.

Host of other Policing Challenges

Even though the public condemns the police of incompetence, which is true by the way, there are many other factors that hinders there service delivery and they include the following:

·         Transport issues – the police have very few vehicles to effectively carryout their duties. The few that are available are also poorly serviced and fueled, and this makes it extremely hard for police to respond to crime incidents.

·         Poor Conditions – There is a feeling in the police force that they are not adequately compensated for their services. This is seen in both facilities and logistics. The poor pay has led the police to indulge in corrupt activities, taking bribes to release sometimes very dangerous offenders. More on corruption here The Deadly Vice that is Corruption in Kenya.

·         Budgetary deficits and Misappropriation - It is no secret that the annual budget allocated to the police is never enough for the force to discharge its duties well.

Things are however changing now and many of the challenges mentioned above are being addressed but some are painfully slow. For instance, more than 7,000 police cadet graduated in April and this really boosted the force. Senior policemen were also subjected to vetting a few months back to make sure that they are fit to serve. Challenges such as housing are also being addressed. We appreciate all the improvements but they should be fast enough as Kenyans seem to have run out of patience.

By: Sheriff Mako On Thursday, November 27, 2014

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The Never Ending War in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Suffering children:photo from www.glogster.com

     Deadliest War after World War II. 

 Africa News -- The never dying war in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the biggest conflict in the 21^st century and the worst after the 2^nd World War. It’s commonly referred to as “Africa’s World War.” What is happening in the Iraq, Syria, Pakistan or even Somalia is a child’s play when compared to the conflict in DRC. It involves 24 armed groups, and 9 African States bordering the DRC have a direct stake in it. 5.4 Million People have died since the war started in 1998.

     What started the War

The second Congo War began in 1998 after the Mobutu government reportedly sought to regulate mining activities conducted by foreign companies, mostly American. According to Project censored.org “U.S. military-trained leaders of Rwanda and Uganda invaded the mineral-rich areas of the Congo.”  They also helped Kabila to march to the capital in takeover power through a coup. The brief end of the war in 2003 saw many foreign companies jostling for mining licenses.  The war continues to rage to this day and allegedly involves multinational corporations, arms brokers, terrorist organizations, and thirsty governments eying Congo’s wealth.

    Foreign Interests 

Truth be told. Congo is kept in war by foreign interests so that they can keep smuggling tons of copper, diamond, manganese, uranium, niobium, Cobalt, Coltan, and tantalum.  80% of the world’s coltan deposit and 60% of cobalt are in DRC.  Computers, smartphones and other electronic devices with processors cannot function properly without Coltan.  Chances are the devices you are using to read this page has a component made of coltan smuggled from the DRC. It’s safe to say that Militias backed by Rwanda and Uganda protect the illegal smuggling of minerals from the DRC.

According to project Censored, Congolese coltan brings more than $20 million in monthly revenues to Rwandans and their allies.  Furthermore, “Rwanda’s diamond exports went from 166 carats in 1998 to 30,500 in 2000. Uganda’s diamond exports jumped from approximately 1,500 carats to about 11,300.” The final destination of most this minerals is the old wise USA. Uganda and Rwanda have always defended their involvement by stating that they are fighting militias targeting them, such as the FDLR, and LRA.

Coltan extraction: photo from treehugger.com

     United Nations

DRC hosts the largest UN force in the world numbering 17,000 troops. The combined effort of the Force and DRC government troops have been unable to bring the situation under control because the foreign-sponsored militias they are fighting are well trained and very well equipped, obviously supported by foreign state actors (Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi), corporations, arms dealers, etc.

 

The UN force in DR

          Who is fighting who in the Congo War

The War directly involves up to 20 Militia groups, some backed by Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. While others are tribal militias are roped in to protect or benefit from the illicit mineral trade. The country has more than 200 ethnic groups. The remnants of Interahamwe (The Hutu force responsible for the 1994 Rwandan Genocide), now known as FDLR, are also based in Eastern Congo. In this war, there are permanent Rwandan enemies like the FDLR, permanent Ugandan enemies like the LRA, and many permanent enemies of the DRC government. Other smaller militias switch sides regular depending on who offers a favorable deal. The FDLR has on several occasions helped DRC government to fight foreign militias. The FDLR is one of the several Anti-Rwandan Hutu militias.

 

photo from www.usatoday.com

      Humanitarian Crisis

Most of the 5.4 million people who have died in the war have perished due to disease and starvation.  Millions more have been displaced from their homes, seeking asylum in neighboring countries. Numerous cases of rape and maiming by the brutal militias are reported daily.

Victims of the Congo War: photo from the commune.com

     Hope in Sight

Though much of the world remains silent on the on-goings in the Congo, there are renewed efforts by the UN and African union to bring the situation under control. Part of the proposed solutions include a strong and inclusive government.  Hopefully, there is a bright future for the people of Congo.

By: Sheriff Mako On Thursday, November 20, 2014

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