It's time we withdrew KDF from Somalia

In 1993, the US encountered an incident that will forever remain embedded in the history of the superpower.

American soldiers went to Somalia first as humanitarians to give food aid but several months later, soldiers in their thousands had been sent to Somalia to try and restore peace and order in the country.

During an incident that is nowadays referred to as Black Hawk Down, the US soldiers set out to arrest two warlords in Mogadishu; Somalia’s capital city, an operation they approximated would take 45 minutes.

Unfortunately, it did not turn out as the Americans had expected as they were fighting rebels in their” homeground”.

The simple operation turned into a war where the hunter (US) became the hunted. The ensuing battle lasted 15 hours with America losing 18 soldiers, 73 were injured and a pilot held for 11 days by the militants. There was public outcry until the soldiers withdrew from Somalia.

How many soldiers have Kenya lost in the war with Al Shabaab? Again victory is counted when you achieve one of your goals. Our goal was to secure Kenya. At least, we do not see tourists being attacked at the Kenyan Coast and no ship being hijacked by pirates. Isn’t this victory for Kenya? The US, which had everything needed to emerge victorious, decided to quit. Kenya is a third world country with so much money-related problems. Why can’t we use the resources we are pumping in Somalia to grow the economies of marginalised areas like Turkana? The Government cannot lie that the Somalia war is not denting our economy in any way.

It is true our forces are trying to restore peace and order in Somalia but locals seem disinterested. The Government should protect Kenyans, who will fully appreciate them and pay taxes to sustain them instead of people who view them as intruders.