Masinde Muliro University launches special course to counter terror attacks

Western region police boss Moses Ombati with Masinde Muliro University students at the institution on Friday as part of police efforts to sensitise students on how to stay safe or behave in case of a terror like the one that happened at Garissa University College a month ago. [Photo:CHRISPEN SECHERE/Standard]

Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology has introduced an anti-terrorism programme to boost efforts aimed at combating insecurity in the country.

The university has introduced the course in the wake of increased terror attacks as terrorists have shifted their targets to universities and other institutions of higher learning.

The launch comes exactly one month after the Garissa University College terror attack, which claimed 148 lives and left many others injured.

The course to be taught to all staff and students at the campus will involve units on how to counter and respond to terror attacks, or any other security threat.

Those who will be joining the university in subsequent intakes will be forced to undergo the course, which has been made compulsory.

Apart from students and academic staff, security officers and hostel wardens will also be trained on how to counter terrorism in the campus.

Addressing students during the launch, the university's Community Liaison Officer Oscar Waswa, representing Vice Chancellor Fredrick Otieno, said insecurity and terrorism cases are becoming more rampant in the country and there is need for the university to train its students and staff on how to handle the same.

anti-terrorism skills

"Terrorism remains a major threat to our security interests. Efforts to combat the menace are hampered by lack of awareness and preparedness. As a university, we are starting this programme to equip our staff and students with ant-terrorism and counter-terrorism skills and knowledge," said Mr Waswa.

Accompanied by top security officials from western region including Moses Ombati (Western regional police commander), Francis Kooli (senior sergeant of police) and Ahmed Rage (Ant-Terrorism Police Unit-Busia), Waswa said the university was taking security measures to ensure they can respond to any insecurity threat.

"The programme has the support of the university management led by Prof Otieno, as one of the measures to equip staff and students with security skills and knowledge to respond to any threat," he said.

Mr Ombati said it is hard to clear or stop terrorism in the world and the only option is to train Kenyans on how to combat it.

"Kenyans should be trained on how to deal with terrorism because it is difficult to stop it across the world. They target crowded areas killings hundreds of people. The recent attack on a university is a clear indication that they target any place and that is why we need to equip all Kenyans with skills for self security," he said.

Ombati said many students at Garissa University College were massacred because they lacked skills on how to counter the terrorists.

In the attack, it is claimed the assailants ran out of bullets and they resorted to using knives to kill the harmless students.

Meanwhile, a senior lecturer at the university's Department of Disaster Management Stanley Omuterema said Kenya  needs a national policy on disaster management and rescue operations to avoid confusion whenever there is an attack.

emergency unit

Dr Omuterema said absence of the policy gives room to a lot of confusion during the response; which should be swift and integrated.

"We have had a disaster policy draft for decades. The policy should spell out the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder whenever we have a disaster," said Omuterema.

The policy is also supposed to provide a list of organisations capable of various disaster interventions and the command structure during intervention.

It was envisaged that the policy would lead to the formation of an authority that would deal with disaster issues in the country.

According to Omuterema, the unit that is currently undertaking the role does not have a comprehensive legal and institutional framework to handle disaster issues in the country.

"Due to the nature of training, the police are best placed to maintain law and order, St. John for ambulance and first aid for casualties, Red Cross for providing care and first aid to casualties," he said.

Poor and uncoordinated response by the security agents to the Garissa attack is has widely been blamed for the many deaths.