Poll shows majority of Kenyans unhappy with security agencies over Westgate

By GEOFFREY MOSOKU

Majority of Kenyans are disappointed with security agents because they believe the September 21 Westgate terror attack could have been prevented, according to a survey by Ipsos Synovate.

The survey, whose results  were released yesterday, indicates that 67 per cent of Kenyans believe the attack that led to the deaths of 67 people could have been averted.

When asked if they thought the attack could have been prevented, another 22 per cent of the respondents said it was inevitable while 11 per cent said they didn’t know.

During the survey, conducted between the November 1and 9, 2060 respondents across the country were interviewed.

 The survey also gives a harsh verdict on the country’s security agencies.

According to the poll, 40 per cent of Kenyans believe the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was culpable for failing to thwart the attack staged by Al-Shaabab insurgents.

Another 24 per cent believe the Kenya Police should be held responsible while five  per cent say President Uhuru Kenyatta, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku and Immigration officials contributed to the failure to avert the terror attack.

The survey also rates Lenku, Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) as the worst performers in handling the crisis, while the Kenya Red Cross, Individual citizens and local media were rated highly in the way the reacted to the incident.

Worst performer

Red Cross was rated at 96 per cent, ordinary citizens at 94 per cent, Safaricom at 91 per cent while the local media got 90 per cent approval.  Lenku was rated as the worst performer at 43 per cent, followed by Kimaiyo at 50 per cent and KDF at 53 per cent.

International Media, President Uhuru, private security guards, Recce Squad of GSU got approval ratings of 80 per cent, 74 per cent, 72 per cent and 70 per cent respectively.

When asked what they thought was the main reason why the attack succeeded, 46 per cent blamed weak or failure of intelligence systems while another 19 per cent attributed it to corruption in the Immigration department.

Another 16 per cent blamed  the attack on poor or insufficient co-operation between the NIS and police.

Sixty per cent of respondents supported KDF’s continued stay in Somalia, while 37 per cent said the military should be withdrawn.

Three  per cent did not have any preference.