President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy William Ruto face insecurity nightmare

By ABDIKADIR SUGOW

NAIROBI, KENYA:  Insecurity across the county is posing a major test to President Uhuru Kenyattaand his Deputy William Ruto’s new government. The two appointed 16 Cabinet Secretaries but the Internal Security docket is yet to be filled.

Governors from affected areas have raised the alarm over escalating insecurity. They argue their hands are tied since security falls under national government. Responding to the national outcry on insecurity, President Kenyatta on Thursday assured Kenyans the Government would make every effort to curb runaway crime. He met top security chiefs and pledged to support the Police Service.

“We will ensure police officers are sufficiently facilitated to enable them perform their duties effectively and in a dignified manner,” he said, adding the Government would provide funds for immediate security priorities.

He appointed a team to identify immediate needs of the Police Service, saying his administration would not tolerate criminals. He said the Government had embarked on a comprehensive programme of modernising the police.

 He assured police officers he would improve their welfare, ensure adequate transport, equipment, housing and proper work environment.  National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said security issues had not featured prominently in previous budgets and the Police Service could not get adequate funds. This is expected to change after the President announced Sh4 billion would be set aside annually for the Police Service. Experts say political and policy leaders have become so predictable in the way they respond to and address waves of crime and violence. Criminal gangs have terrorised families in Bungoma, Busia, Narok, Mandera. Last year attacks were recorded in Tana River Delta, Mombasa, Garissa and Baragoi.

Police equipment

“Responses seem to be narrowed to just three - Give the police more equipment, order full use of force and commission an operation of an elite squad. Lately, orders of forceful disarmament have also been issued, though previous attempts returned minimal returns,” says Usalama Forum Coordinator Philip Onguje.

He says the country’s security cannot be compromised. “They adopt a tough language and resort to nationalistic sentiment to rally public support behind their positions. For some reason, relative calm often returns to the ‘hot-spots’ following highly-publicised tours and brief operation excursions.”

Governors, legislators, Kenyans and the international community have urged the Government to scale up its efforts to end senseless attacks.

“Cognisant of the recent security incidents in Tana River County, I urge the Government to take appropriate action to promptly stem insecurity in Busia and Bungoma in line with applicable international and domestic standards,” said United Nations (UN) Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Modibo Toure. Mr Toure condemned the attacks.

in Bungoma and Busia that have left nine dead and hundreds injured. He urged the Government to bring to book those responsible for the attacks.

“Tension in the area remains high and residents are apprehensive as the motive behind the indiscriminate attacks is unknown. Livelihoods and ordinary activities have been brought to a standstill,” he said.

The Senate National Security and Foreign Relations Committee has summoned the top security brass over the insecurity, as Deputy President Ruto summoned County Commissioners from western Kenya over the issue and ordered deployment of additional officers.

While the Government security agencies led by Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo and the National Intelligence Service Director General Michael Gichangi have been spearheading efforts to contain the situation, questions linger on who is behind the attacks. Are their political forces playing dirty tricks behind the scenes? Are there individuals or groups trying to sabotage national peace and cohesion by inciting criminal elements to spark of inter and intra-community strife?

Even as the Government and its security agencies ponder these questions and design radical measures to turn back the tide of rampant insecurity, experts are advising the national leadership to invest in preventable measures to stem crime.

 for long-term safety and security. Apart from the high cost of security operations on intelligence gathering and financing the security personnel, vehicles, fuel, rations and weapons, Kenyans are beginning to raise questions on how the security forces are spending the huge allocation in the wake of escalating crime. Security operations seem to have become the choice option for policy makers and implementers in the national security sector, but doubts are already being cast on whether they address the fundamental problems of crime and violence in the country. Who benefits from these security operations? Onguje says there is a tragedy of policy leadership when it comes to dealing with waves of crime and violence in Kenya and leaders, regardless of the political divide, seem to be groping in the dark regarding the matter of national insecurity. 

As top security officers demand for increased finances and firepower as a solution for the problem, it is also known that these channels offer tremendous opportunity for mismanagement, diversion of resources and outright compromising of the procurement processes.

Kenyans will want to critically interrogate all the other options available for the security agencies to curb insecurity even as they receive President Kenyatta’s Sh4 billion budget proposal for the Police Service.

They want to know which equipment or gadget has been purchased and why and for how much?

Every year, when heads of Police release crime records, they detail causes of crime and violence, often noting that a lot more can be achieved if the country invested in prevention. But do policy leaders take note?” asks Onguje, adding:

 “Yes, police need enormous investment in appropriate gadgets, facilities and infrastructure. But the place where this investment is needed the most is the unit at which police services are delivered - the police station.” He decries the deplorable state of police stations in areas hit by insecurity saying they lack even basic stationery and simple tools to detect crimes and complete a case file.