Some clans harbouring Al-Shabaab terrorists, says Governor Roba

Mandera Governor Ali Roba (pictured) has accused three clans in the region of harbouring Al-Shabaab terrorists.

Roba said Al-Shabaab militia are living among locals in Lafey-Fino- Arabia stretch, Rhamu-Banissa stretch, and Wargadud-Elwak- Kutulo stretch.

“One is left to wonder, how can one win against an enemy fighting in your backyard, aided by one of your own, whose targets are unknown, motives of fighting you are unknown, an enemy whose strength is unknown?” he said.

Roba made the remarks during a meeting in Mandera Town called to discuss violent extremism.

 He said herders had adopted the approach of “hear no evil and see no evil attitude” and by extension “don’t touch me and I don’t touch you attitude.” This he said has given safe passage for the Al-Shabaab in the area.

Roba also accused security agencies of failing to respond to actionable intelligence when given and claimed they go on terrorising the local villages near terror incidence sites.

“Creating a situation of distrust and resentment of our own security forces reinforcing the messages that the Al-Shabaab preach to the locals, that, “they are not the enemy, but Kenya government security is the enemy” which means double tragedy for the locals.”

He said Mandera Town suffered an average of 209 terror incidences between 2013 to 2015 translating to nine terror incidences per month for the first two years of devolution in Mandera town.

He, however, said the incidents have reduced due to various interventions they have put in place with the support of President Kenyatta.

“Between 2016-2019 we suffered only one incident of terror in Mandera town which the unfortunate the abduction of our Cuban doctors,” he said.

He added while there was a serious reduction of terror incidences in Mandera to near zero, terror was getting dynamic and changing tact more rapidly than they could change.

The resultant impact is a loss of lives in far-flung areas along the border targeting nonlocals and the use of IEDs which we were ill-prepared to counter, he said.

“In recent years, the severity of the attacks has lessened, and attacks remained isolated. But over the last eight months, terror incidents were on the rise again.”

He said the region is suffering from a tactical disconnect where security agents are operating during the daytime while Al-Shabaab is operating at night.

The governor said he held 15 different meetings with President Kenyatta to discuss security matters affecting Mandera County during the first term of Government and got maximum support.

He said they have established security camps in all areas we requested, their numbers was increased more than tenfold, been supported with adequate logistics, the military was gazetted to join patrols in the areas and special operations teams provided.

Roba said the latest trend shows the militants are now accessing areas that were considered safe zones which begs many questions to all concerned parties.

“We request for an open, honest discussion without blame games but that is centered on identification of gaps in our security and suggestions of how we can bridge the gaps both from the community perspective and our security team’s perspective,” he said.

 Roba said there is need to make local population understand that the terror group is imposing economic sanctions on them and killing the fabric of the society through targeting schools, healthcare sector, businesses, development projects and isolating them from the rest of the country.

“Our population must realise that we must find a solution or face the risk of total failure for all our generations.”

The meeting was attended by CAS Sports  Hassan Noor Hassan,  six MPs from the area including Omar Mohamed (Mandera East), Abdi Mude (Lafey), Adan Haji (Mandera West) Maj ret Bashir Abdullahi, (Mandera North)Kullow Ali Sheikh ( Mandera South) and  Kullow Maalim Hassan (Banissa). County Commissioner Onesmus Kyatha called for closer working relations with the community to root out the terrorists.

Recently, Al Shabaab militants have intensified attacks in the region targeting non-local teachers, Safaricom masts and security agents.

Northeastern regional commissioner Nicodemus Ndalana said the terror group will only be eradicated if residents cooperate with security agents to provide information if and when they spot the militants.

He said there was an element of a conspiracy between residents and militants in the attacks.

Ndalana said it was not possible for the militants to come to inside, more than 100km away, without the residents’ knowledge.