Beef up security in Fafi, MP tells government

Fafi member of Parliament Salah Yakub converses with some of his electorate in Fafi constituency [Abdimalik Hajir, Standard]

Fafi MP Salah Yakub has appealed to the government to beef up security in the border constituency following the killing of a man by suspected Al Shabaab militants.

The constituency has witnessed a series of attacks orchestrated by the suspected militants where several police officers, police reservists and civilians have lost their lives and communication masts blown away.

The MP was speaking in Yumbis after he went to condole with the family of Abdirashid Hassan Hanshi who was shot dead by the militants.

He claimed the militants are having field days carrying terror attacks and kidnappings, a trend he said should be stoped.

During the incident on September 26, the armed militants broke into the home of Yumbis Chief Yakub Kusow Hanshi at 3am and proceeded to question the wife of the chief's whereabouts.

She then told them that her husband was not around when in the real sense he was hiding under the bed. They then proceeded to lock the house.

Unfortunately, the chief's brother woke up from the next door and the militants tried to abduct him unsuccessfully before shooting him dead.

Speaking to the press, a visibly angry Yakub said that his numerous appeals to the state to beef up security by deploying more security and recruiting more National Police Reservists have not been successful.

He said that some schools and hospitals have been closed saying that some roads remain unpassable due to insecurity.

"Al Shabaab's presence and sightings continue to be witnessed in my constituency. The situation is much worse in rural villages and those that sit at the border like Yumbis, Harbod, Dagega, Degbon, Dekaharia and other parts," he said.

He said that because of growing insecurity in the constituency, he cannot freely move around for development since he is also a target by the militant as a result of his constant denouncement of their actions.

Yakub said terrorist attacks only served to create fear among the residents and that there was a need for concerted efforts in dealing with the insurgents.

"As we speak 3 people are still being held as captives in Jilib by the militants. Not long ago they killed two Police reservists in Harbod village. Local administrators in border towns for fear of their lives are staying away from their areas of jurisdiction in the villages and opting to stay in major towns, surely this is unacceptable," he said.

Yakub who is the only MP from the County who was elected on a UDA ticket said that while the Kenya Kwanza government promised to address the insecurity challenge in his constituency and other parts of the region, not much has been done on the same.

He called for the opening of all security roads disclosing that all the roads in the constituency are unclassified, only the Warble-Bura Road is classified as class C. The rest are considered pathways.

"Let us also have more Police reservists recruited. More administrative units opened so that assistant chiefs could be recruited so that they could provide intelligence to the security apparatus. We also need to have more informers recruited with some stipend so as to motivate them. But above all we need more special forces camps spread across the constituency," he said.

Early this year, the MP organized a special security meeting in Bura East that was attended by top security officials by a section of political leaders, chiefs and elders.

During the meeting, elders pledged to cooperate fully with the government in the war against terrorism.