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As the country’s attention focused on the requiem mass of fallen Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery, Al-Shabaab terrorists struck a remote village of Lamu County, abducting Public Works PS Mariam El-Maawy.
The daring daylight ambush exposed the Achille’s heel of the multi-agency security operation, as well as underlining the urgent need to address challenges facing officers, amid murmurs of discontent over various unaddressed issues.
At the height of the increased insurgency, the government in September 2015 launched Operation Linda Boni to flush out the militants believed to have been using the cover of the jungle to sustain attacks.
The operation has, however, not yielded much, attacks continue, peaking with the ambush of El-Maawy’s convoy as President Uhuru Kenyatta led the nation in mourning Nkaissery.
The militants struck at around 3pm when the PS was being driven along the Lamu-Mpeketoni Road. El-Maawy was held in captivity for close to an hour before she was rescued under baffling circumstances.
By the time the rescue team arrived, at least four police officers, including El-Maawy’s driver, lay dead. The PS’ nephew and another officer were missing, while her Prado had been reduced to a smouldering shell.
El-Maawy who was airlifted to Nairobi sustained bullet and burn wounds. No updates have been given regarding her condition. The charred body of her missing nephew Arif Kassim, 21, was found a day later.
The attack raised questions about whether the heavy presence of security agents comprising soldiers, police and intelligence officers, has had a deterrent effect.
That the Al-Shabaab could make mincemeat of the tight security in Lamu, snatching a high-profile and heavily protected personality, showed the low level of alertness and commitment of some of the officers, especially the Administration Police (AP), who have been grumbling over unpaid allowances.
Among the Kenya Police, the routine changeover exercise has been abused, with claims that a senior officer at Vigilance House is pocketing thousands of shillings in allowances of nonexistent officers on the ground.
“Officers are so mad, whenever a rotation is done, additional names are included on the allowance list. Allowances allocated to ghost officers are later pocket by few bosses. What is the purpose of the operation when it has turned into a cash cow,” lamented an officer.
The AP officers have been complaining that they have never received the “security allowances” enjoyed by their Kenya Police counterparts. Their boss, Samuel Arachi, the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) however says there is no such allowance and that it is only the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) that can determine whether the officers qualify for the allowance.
“There is nothing like a security allowance, unless you’re talking about a nightout allowance for officers operating outside their stations. In our case, we ensure that the officers are well accommodated in camps, where we provide food ratios. This arrangement means they are not entitled to the nightout allowance,” Arachi told The Nairobian.
The chain of command has also been another bone of contention. There are claims some officers are reluctant to take orders from superiors who do not fall under their formation.
“There is poor coordination among the KDF, Kenya Police and Administration Police officers, who seem to be operating as separate units,” said a source.
Career administrator James ole Seriani is the director of Operation Linda Boni, while Noah Mwivanda from Kenya Police is the officer in charge of the multi-agency security team.
Perhaps embarrassed by the continued emboldened attacks and complaints emanating from the ground, senior security bosses from Nairobi flew to the island on July 6 for a postmortem of the operation.
The meeting, headed by Chief of Defence Forces Samson Mwathethe and Arachi, was held at the Manda Naval Base. Mwathethe wanted to know from the heads of the operation why they had not secured the forest.
A source said Mwathethe and Arachi poured out their frustrations, recounting how the operation was consuming billions of shillings, costing the lives of many security agents and civilians as well as fomenting a sense of disillusionment among the public.
The meeting was arranged within hours after the insurgents raided Pandanguo Police Station, killed three policemen and took away a truck and ammunition among other booty, leaving behind a burning station with its 30 officers dead or in hiding.
“There was a general consensus that it was now turning to be a very costly operation estimated to have cost billions of shilling. It was some sort of an evaluation of the whole operation in light of the emboldened militants,” said a top security official who was in the meeting.
Others present were Lamu County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri, Lamu County Police Commander Pamiuns Kioi and his CID counterpart Prosper Bosire. Jaysh Ayman, an offshoot of Al-Shabaab made up of Kenyan and foreign fighters, has since mid-2014 carried out the attacks.
President Uhuru declared that the militants will be shot dead on the spot as he asked residents to move to safer grounds. “We have to deal with these terror mongers. I have no apologies to make over the tough measures we are taking,” declared a tough-talking Uhuru while on a campaign trail in Mpeketoni on July 17.
More than 100 people including police and military officers, have been killed since 2014 when Al-Shabaab militants killed 65 residents of Mpeketoni in a single strike, which Uhuru initially blamed on opposition leaders.
Some county officers are on the spot for failing to stop the resurgent attacks after a lull in 2015. Authorities are accused of ignoring intelligence passed to them by locals, while experts question the significance of the operation.
Last month, police refuted claims by residents that the about 100 armed militants had been sighted in Milihoi area along the Lamu-Mpeketoni road. In the July 6 meeting, our source said Kanyiri complained that he had been sidelined in the Boni operation.
Confusions and divisions in the security’s chain of command are being blamed for the continuous attacks, despite frequent transfers of security officers in the county.
Ole Seriani downplayed the challenges and assured normalcy. “We have deployed more troops and are aggressively pursuing the attackers. Very soon, we shall get them. We are appealing to the media and the general public to avoid spreading alarmist information about the operation,” he warned.
