Let's unite in honour of fallen KDF soldiers

Last Friday’s surprise attack by Al-Shabaab militias on the El-Adde military camp occupied by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) who are part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) left an unspecified number of Kenyan soldiers dead and several others nursing serious injuries. The wounded have since been airlifted to hospitals in Nairobi for specialised medical care.

While paying tribute to the fallen soldiers Sunday, Chief of the Defence Forces General Samson Mwathethe promised Kenyans the lives of the dead soldiers will not be in vain. He said the country remains unbowed despite Fridays attack and that the military will spare no effort in tracking and hunting down the attackers until Kenyans get the peace they deserve.

It cannot be lost on us that these sons and daughters of Kenya, despite the dangers inherent in their work, went to lawless Somalia to defend our motherland. Kenya has for a long time been a target of the Al Shabaab terrorists who are chasing an elusive dream and one which we must unite to defeat; religious fundamentalism and extremism have no place in society today.

As a result of incessant aggression on Kenya by the Somalia-based Islamic fighters, retired President Mwai Kibaki ordered KDF into Somalia in October 2011 to engage them on their own turf and drive them out of Somalia. Until then, Somalia was a jungle of lawlessness following the ouster of President Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991. International mediation efforts had, for decades, failed to restore political stability to this horn of Africa country. That instability has threatened countries neighbouring Somalia.

By breaking down established networks of the Al Shabaab in Somalia and driving them beyond the port town of Kismayu, KDF soldiers acquitted themselves well and have managed to restore a semblance of order in Somalia and significantly reduce the number of attacks on Kenyan soil.

In many parts of Somalia, schools, businesses and hospitals have reopened and people are enjoying their benefits. Hitherto closed industries had begun to operate, thereby creating employment opportunities for locals. KDF efforts have allowed a vibrant parliament and government to operate in Mogadishu unlike before when they operated from Nairobi.

At this time of sorrow, our leaders must put aside their political posturing and unite the country against a common enemy who has been trying to divide us along religious lines. There is a lesson in the attack on the military base in Somalia which, to wit, is that the enemy does not have the luxury of distinguishing between Jubilee and Cord supporters. Leaders must therefore strive to build a strong united country and confront issues facing us on their own individual merits away from the tendency of condensing every national issue to a political contest between Jubilee and Cord.

The tendency by some leaders to capitalise on such unfortunate happenings for political mileage must be discouraged. There are those who will make outrageous or inciteful public statements while articulating their positions on the matter of the KDF presence in Somalia. While the Opposition has demanded the withdrawal of KDF troops from Somalia, the Government has indicated it will not bow to pressure from the Al Shabaab militia and until they are defeated, KDF will remain in Somalia.

What should be of greater concern at the moment is how best our soldiers’ tour of duty in Somalia can be made safe. This latest attack on their camp is only one in a string of fatal attacks. On September 3, 2015, an Al Shabaab attack on a military camp in the town of Janaale, Somalia, left 12 Ugandan soldiers and 25 Somalia government soldiers dead. Efforts must be made to starve Al Shabaab of funding and arms supplies.