There is need to screen, weed out aliens

The killing of three police officers by criminals Police Commissioner, Matthew Iteere, says are terrorists confirmed Kenya’s poorly kept secret: Our security machinery leaks. For Nairobi residents who live in the sprawling Eastleigh neighbourhood, the grenade attack on the police did not surprise. It had been coming for a long time.

The nation has reason to fear for the worst given the brutality with which the attack was executed, and that it was premeditated. For a long time, local and foreign security experts have warned of looming terrorist activities in major towns.

Some of the warnings have been dismissed as alarmist. While that may be so, no or little if any, precautions have been taken to keep tabs on the influx of aliens and movement of illegal weapons.

The grenades should concern the security machinery greatly because Eastleigh hosts a disproportionately large population of Somali refugees, who still have strong links to war-torn Mogadishu, the Somali capital. Mogadishu has been for many years under the spell of al Qaeda terrorists. We must state, though, that we do not wish to pre-empt police investigations.

But what is of concern is the casual way security of Nairobi is handled. The congested Eastleigh is major security risk that grows by the day. For instance, Eastleigh hosts a key security installation, the Moi Airbase, which some security experts warn, may no longer be useful in the event of need for rapid response.

Two, it is no secret that uncontrolled settlement has obscured the neighbourhood from security agencies, which translates into the estate being a safe passage for illegal weapons blamed for spiralling insecurity.

It is mind boggling when members of the disciplined forces privately complain how high-rise illegal buildings being constructed by aliens have narrowed the flight funnel at the Eastleigh Airbase. It is curious when they allege the once middle-income estate is ‘semi-autonomous’ and any attempts to police the area can be repulsed by well-armed former Somali fighters.

One hopes that these are exaggerations of the reality on ground. Even if this were the case why would grenade-brandishing thugs target police on patrol? The grenade attacks in Eastleigh and Kasarani are strong pointers that our national security is ridden with serious gaps.

The attacks, which smack of a deliberate and co-ordinated attempt to scare the police, could not have happened had the security agencies been on top of their job. What is even disturbing is that a week before these attacks, some members of the public seem to have been aware of them.

We do not know if the police knew, but if they did not then that lends credence to perceptions the intelligence and security agencies are not always alert.

The attack also confirmed that the Al Shabab threat not only hovers around our common border with Somalia, but also is also alive within the capital and across the country. It is incumbent upon the Government to flush out illegal aliens and transfer asylum deserving ones to designated refugee camps in Kakuma and Daadab.

The Government must also address the ease with which illegal arms get into the hands of criminals. Finally, the Government must assure the wary public of its security by moving with speed to bring to book those behind these attacks and put in place measures to ensure that they never reoccur.

The question in the minds of most Kenyans is: If police officers could be brazenly attacked in broad daylight, how more afraid should ordinary citizens be?

Lest we forget over the past two years there have been about ten grenade attacks on civilian targets in Nairobi, Mombasa, Ngong and Karatina. The perpetrators of these heinous attacks are yet to be arrested. The police and other security agencies must get down to real business of guaranteeing public security.