Praying for peace, preparing for terror

By KIUNDU WAWERU

The bad and ugly of the Westgate Mall siege also brought out the good and beautiful in people. Heroes were born, and as the media sought experts to make sense of the tragedy, one man stood out.

He graced television, radio, newspaper and even the online platforms. And when we caught up with Mbijiwe Mwenda, a former airman, he revealed how, even before the Westgate violence occurred, he had been trying to educate people on terror attacks.

Mwenda runs Eye on Security, a counter terrorism firm that trains people in churches, schools and matatus on counter terrorism measures.

“Eye on Security was founded after the July 1, 2012 grenade and gun attacks in the Garissa African Independent Church and Catholic Church, where scores of people were killed and injured,” Mwenda says.

The born-again Christian quit the Force after he was told there was no chance of training as a chaplain officer.

STRATEGY

With a permit from the Commisioner of Police, now the Inspector General, through the community policing initiatives at police stations, Mwenda has trained more than 4,000 church members in different regions of Kenya on counter-terrorism.

Meanwhile, churches and pastors, especially at the Coast, have continued to be attacked, to the extent that they have thought of carrying arms to protect themselves.

For the school programme, Eye on Security works with school heads, and 350 have already been trained through a partnership with the Ministry of Education. These trainings take six hours, in which time the headteachers are taken through strategy, and arms and explosives recognition.

The firm partners with police officers from the area where the trainings are being conducted.

On December 14, 2013, an explosive device went off in an Eastleigh-bound matatu in Nairobi’s Pangani area. Soon after, the National Transport and Safety Authority okayed an application by Eye on Security to train matatu operators in counter-terrorism.

“On December 23, we launched the matatu programme, through which we have reached 200 operators in Nairobi and Nyeri,” says Mwenda.

The operators are taken through explosives and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) recognition. This training is free of charge.

“We instil in them the cardinal rule of explosives: ‘Do not touch, do not shake, and do not lift’.

“Security cannot only be left to the authorities. Wananchi must be made aware of how to protect themselves in case of an attack, how to keep vigilant at all times, and also on the tell-tale signs of possible threats.”

The ordained minister at the National Family Ministries also publishes the monthly Eye on Security magazine, which offers tips on terrorism watch. He is convinced that, with the increased terror threats to the public in places like churches, matatus and malls, Kenyans must be vigilant at all times.

“This is especially so as the face of terrorism has changed dramatically since Osama Bin Laden came on the scene.”

Mwenda explains that before Al Qaeda, terrorists would take hostages and hold them until their demands were met. “But today, the terrorism modus operandi has been, kill, kill, kill… Osama indoctrinated his radicals to kill in the name of ‘religion’. Al Shabaab and other modern-day terror groups are all offshoots of Al Qaeda.”

And this new face of terrorism has borne ruthless attacks like the one on Westgate. Mwenda says this calls for the security forces to train and equip special forces that will be able to immediately plan a counter-offensive to defuse an attack before people are maimed and killed.

“Also, the Kenyan authorities have intelligence about buildings and places — malls and entertainment spots that have been targeted by terrorists. It is prudent to get blueprints of these spaces, study them and formulate a retaliatory and rescue plan in case of an attack.”

Unfortunately, many people are not security aware, and most times, after an attack, there is a tendency to panic and run helter skelter, which puts them in more danger.

“The first line of defence is to lie down and stay down,” advises Mwenda. “But even in times of peace, be prepared always, and be aware of the security threats in the places you frequent.”

Mwenda commends the “brilliant work private gun owners did at Westgate”, and recommends that capable Kenyans apply for firearms licences. However, it has recently emerged that civilians who have received these licences have not undergone the stringent vetting process, leading to the Government stopping issuance of firearms to civilians until the process is streamlined.

Mwenda says his passion for security matters dates back to his Boy Scout days in primary school. After high school, he decided to follow in the servicemen footsteps of many of his family members, including his late father who was in the General Service Unit (GSU).

Mwenda ended up as a senior private in the 845th Squadron of the Kenya Air Force, which deals with ground-to-air missiles, counter-terrorism and rescue operations. The squadron was among the first responders at the 1998 terror attack on the former US Embassy in Nairobi.

“I was a freshman, and the bombing was my first brush with a terror attack. It was devastating,” says the former missile operator of the elite squadron.

But he was to quit soon after, in 2001, serving for four years. “As is indicated in the Green Book — the Certificate of Service.”

SCHOLARSHIP

His plan was to study theology in South Africa, but his girlfriend, now wife, introduced him to a Nigerian bishop, who set him on the path to the West African nation. With a full scholarship, he studied for a diploma in Pastoral Theology at the All Nations for Christ Bible Institute International.

In 2003, Mwenda authored the first of his many mostly Christian books, Seated with Christ. In 2004, now married, he returned to Kenya and in the same year, together with his wife, authored three books: Identifying and Breaking Sexual Altars, Say No to Rape and Understanding Dreams and Visions.

The world terrorism threat, including the infamous 9/11 attack in the USA, inspired Mwenda to pen America Fear No Evil. “I was surprised to receive a letter from President George Bush thanking me for the book.”

On that note, Mwenda thanks the Kenyan Government for supporting his security initiative; a partnership he hopes will play a key role in preventing and preparing Kenyans for any eventuality.