President's remark puts his security advisors on the spot

Kenya: When attackers descended on Mpeketoni on the night of June 15, Somalia’s Al Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the attacks that have so far left at least 87 people dead.

But in a strange move, President Uhuru Kenyatta absolved the group of responsibility and blamed what he termed as “local political networks”. He said intelligence reports indicated that the attacks were planned by certain politicians.

Joseph ole Lenku, the Interior Cabinet Secretary, intimated that the Opposition was responsible. However, no politician from the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) has been questioned in relation with the killings since.

But Lamu Governor Issa Timamy was arrested and charged over the incident. The State has preferred murder, forcible transfer of people and terrorism charges against him.

President Kenyatta’s statement took many by surprise, given the fact that the attacks bore the clearest indications that it was the handiwork of jihadists: the victims were being identified on the basis of their religion and not their tribes.

The President’s statement elicited interesting debates in local and international media, but information, including intelligence reports prepared by the National Intelligence Service (NIS), clearly indicates that the attacks were committed by the Al Shabaab.

George Musangali, the Director of Centre for Risk Management in Africa, said the President should not have committed himself by way of apportioning blame until investigations were done and concluded.

“The President unnecessarily spoke much earlier than he should have. He should have given himself some time for the picture to become clearer before commenting on who was responsible. Now that he boxed himself into a corner, how will he regain his position in light of new emerging evidence that seems to contradict him?” asked Mr Musangali.

The President’s position also had the effect of derailing investigations, albeit briefly, according to a senior police officer leading the investigations who did not wish to be named.

“When the President said the attacks were political, we were somehow forced to look at the case within those confines. But with subsequent attacks, we realised that though they might have backing from politicians and businessmen here, the people who were actually doing the killings were Al Shabaab. We simply could not overlook that bit of information anymore because it was glaring,” he said.

The politicisation of the attacks might upset the tentative ethnic harmony the region has enjoyed despite the low level tensions between communities in the area brought about by unresolved issues on land ownership, said the officer “We lost the plot and played into the hands of terrorists. This will definitely give rise to politics of persecution in future. Communities will harden their positions. This sets the stage for ethnic conflicts,” said the officer.

The President’s decision also calls to question the quality of intelligence given by his security chiefs. “Do they tell him the truth or do they tell him what he wants to hear? It is time he forced some of those responsible for misinforming him, if at all that was the case, to quit their positions,” said Mr Musangali.