Fight against Terrorism begs for unity of tactics, minds

The terrorist attack on the dusitD2 Hotel in Nairobi came at a time when the world’s intelligence agencies had been urged to become more sensitive to the evil.

Revelations of the identities of the attackers and the circumstances that prevailed before and during the attack are certainly startling, and should, by all means, inform us of the necessary measures to put in place to keep at bay the success of such heinous attacks in the future.

What perhaps keeps sinking following this attack, much as it has not necessary been fully accepted by the general public, is that this war has no tribe, border, nationality, religion, sex or race.

Just as it has been noted with the rest of the places in the world where terrorism has been experienced before, terrorism has to do with religious extremism and radicalization, both of which are absurdly baseless with no logical end goal beside the want to see innocent lives cut off; causing and spreading fear and terror.

As such, there is need to unite and have a consistent noble effort and desire to see that this vice is eradicated or kept under control not to erupt to such abhorrent and horrifying levels.

As noted by the new Chief Executive Officer of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) while taking oath of office, the pervasive nature of corruption in Kenya has a strong linkage to terrorism, to a large extent.

Security agencies

Subsequently, the fight on terror has to go hand in hand with the war on graft. It is the sad scenario that Nigeria is facing with its security agencies segment that continually sabotages the noble fight against the plight brought by Boko Haram militants.

Whereas the mere compromise deliberately embraced by the officers given the mandate to secure borders allows dangerous elements into our country, the end result of the brutal and senseless killings noted in the recent attack should awaken us to live for the higher values that have the interests of the country at heart.

The inherent understanding that the terrorists do not care much when they endeavour to kill those they perceive to be their targets, it should clearly inform those with intents of sympathising with them to withdraw any of their support in the context of patriotism and value for human life.

All social, economic and political classes were immensely affected in this attack, which calls for greater unity against the common enemy. We all want to live in a country in which the economic progress and betterment of livelihoods is not under threat, driven by the evil resolve to cause deaths.

Just as is the case for corruption, terrorism is thriving on volatility and the availability of the various gaps in communications and intelligence detection. It becomes sad when fellow Kenyans play accomplices of the terror propagators without being arrested in good time and prosecuted.

Terror attacks

Further, the profiling on the terrorists involved in the attack, more so the suicide bomber, Mahir Khalid Riziki, who hailed from the Mombasa’s Majengo, indicates that we are in some sense involved in the harbouring and growth of the radicalisation.

Parents and spouses have always held insider information that could help intelligence officials curb the eruption of terror attacks, but they are never ready to release it. This eventually ends up affecting the nation on a large scale.

Whereas talking of utterly obliterating the spirit of terrorism maybe a farcical demand to make, curtailing the progression and spread of its roots is an effort that together, we can achieve along with the like-minded global community.

The resolve and urgency with which our forces responded to the attack outbreak and the corresponding unruffled behaviour exhibited by Kenyans during that horrendous operation succinctly informs that we can be united against a common enemy.

Going forward, therefore, if we are to be more proactive in the fight against this global menace, then we have to keep uniting and sharing information that helps the trained agencies tackle it.

As we come to terms with the damage this attack has caused us, it is prudent that we purpose to grab any manifestations of terror by the horns and become more united in voice and action in our resolve to tame it, even as it revolves in its forms and guises.

Mr Boi is a Monitoring and Evaluation [email protected]