Bring criminal acts in Lamu County to an end

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi [Sammy Omingo, Standard]

The government imposed a 30-day dusk-to-dawn curfew in parts of Lamu County yesterday following the gruesome murder of seven people in Widho sub-location on Monday.

The victims were either shot dead or had their throats slit after their hands were tied. The grisly murders, no doubt, rekindled memories of the June 15, 2014 massacre of more than 60 people by Al Shabaab militants in Mpeketoni, Lamu.

The latest attacks are startling because although there have been sporadic attacks in the county, our security agents have largely decimated the militants in Lamu and therefore attacks have withered in terms of damage and regularity.

Perhaps that is one of the reasons that have led some government officials to suspect that this attack had nothing to do with Al Shabaab and everything to do with a land dispute in the area.

If some people have indeed borrowed a leaf from Al Shabaab - for this attack has  hallmarks of the terror group - they are as good as the terrorists. They are evil personified.

The government should urgently get to the bottom of this attack. Security agencies must find out exactly who is behind the atrocity—whether it is Al Shabaab or some wicked locals out to settle scores and bring them to book.

Lamu has been to hell and back and everything must be done to save residents of the county from further nightmare.

The deployment of a multi-agency security team to mop-up illegal firearms and activities in the affected areas is a good step.

But being one of the notorious entry points of Al Shabaab militants from Somalia, the eyes of our security agents must remain eternally trained not only in the areas affected by the latest killings but also in all corners of the county. Security personnel should never rest until all external and internal terrorists are exterminated so that Lamu residents can sleep in peace.