Kenya: 'We owe no one terror suspects list', says National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale. [PHOTO: FILE/ STANDARD]

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale has made a U-turn over his earlier statement that he will expose financiers and sympathisers of Al Shabaab in the country, saying that he has no such list to disclose.

Speaking in Garissa town yesterday while issuing Uwezo Fund cheques, Mr Duale said he has no list of terror suspects and people should not expect one from him.

The Garissa Township MP said North Eastern leaders had played their role of fighting terrorism and radicalisation of Kenyan youth by making recommendations to President Uhuru Kenyatta on how to win the war.

“The leadership of the region has always been working closely with the government to defeat terror groups and following the recent increased terror activities we have been tirelessly working round the clock to make sure our country wins the terror war,” he said.

He added, “As north eastern Parliament group including ministers and governors we have a responsibility to lead our people and Kenyans to make sure we fight to defeat al-Shabaab and we have made serious actionable recommendation to the president which are being implemented,”

Duale said appointment of former North Eastern Provincial Commissioner Saleh Mohemed as the regional coordinator was one of the recommendations they made, adding that the leaders are not playing politics with criminals bent on dividing the country along religious and ethnic grounds.

“We are not playing politics, we are not answerable to anybody and we don’t owe anybody any kind of list, as the leadership from the region, our responsibility is to work with the security agencies to make sure the region and Kenya at large is safe from al-Shabaab,” he said.

The Majority Leader called on the other leaders across the country regardless of their political, religious and ethnic affiliations to join hands in the fight against the Somalia-based militia instead of trivialising the war against terror as responsibility of certain a community’s leadership.

Ijara Member of Parliament Ahmed Ibrahim Abass said Al Shabaab have now become desperate after the leaders campaigns to win the war on terror adding that, that is the reason why the militia has now resorted to preaching anti-government sentiments to residents along the border.

“We are also telling the Interior Cabinet Secretary to leave politics for politicians and if he wants politics let him step aside and engage us politically since we are not his employers,” he added.

North Eastern leaders made a public promise to unearth financiers and sympathisers of Al Shabaab within 30 days after the terror attack on Garissa University on April 2.

Earlier when confronted over the issue, Duale, who led the team in making the promise to Kenyans said: “Why is everyone charging at me over the list of Al Shabaab financiers? This is not a Duale affair. It is an undertaking of leaders from the region and I only read the press statement on their behalf.”

Asked by The Standard On Sunday whether leaders from the region had fulfilled their promise, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaiserry said: “We receive intelligence reports from various sources, hourly and daily.” The CS, however, declined to confirm whether a report from the Duale group was part of what was in his custody.

On Wednesday, while meeting governors over insecurity, Nkaiserry appeared to distance himself from the claims by the Duale group when he told reporters: “Go and ask them instead, not me, whether they have shared any intelligence reports with my officers. They are the ones who made the promise to do so within 30 days, not me.”

However, Mandera County Senator Billow Kerrow divulged that “a lot of information” had been provided to county security offices, following the leaders’ sensitisation trip across the region. “We have also secured a hotline, through which locals have been sharing information with security officers based in Nairobi. We also came up with an action plan, which we presented to the President. Basically, we have done our bit, what remains is action from the national government,” Mr Kerrow said.

Efforts to get an update from Garissa Governor Nathif Jama on the matters were fruitless as his phone was switched off. However, his chief advisor on security issues, Major Aden Sahal, explained that the April tragedy was an isolated incident.

“Naturally the tragedy, which was very regrettable, put county officials and political leaders from the region, under immense pressure,” he said.

It is probably under such circumstances that about 34 leaders from Garissa, Madera and Wajir counties, in a hurried press conference, decided to immediately “do something”. But the notion of this “something” did not go down well with some.

Col (Rtd) Benjamin Muema, termed the proclamation by the leaders “mere political gimmick”. Muema, who is the New Ford-Kenya Secretary General, says if the leaders knew who the Al Shabaab financiers were, they ought to have exposed them earlier to avert the Garissa deaths and earlier attacks.

“Insecurity in the region is largely tied to cross border illegal trade. The lords in this business make huge sums of money, which they in turn use to fuel instability along the borders, to allow room for their businesses to thrive,” claims Muema.

Among the recommendations leaders the counties have made to the President is deployment of security officials – the National Police Reserve, allocation of at least 60 vehicles to the county and sub-county security teams and sufficient funds.

The leaders also propose registration of all public transport vehicles, a ban on all importation of vehicles through Somalia, as well as enforcement of a policy on registration of hotel guests by county governments.

The call for vetting of all businesses with a view to flashing out Al Shabaab financiers and sympathisers. They also hope to eradicate rampant corruption in the illegal trade of smuggled sugar along the border.

There is also a proposal to register all foreign students learning in the region, as well as developing a national anti-radicalisation strategy “jointly with all stakeholders including school curriculum”.

Separately, following the leaders’ sensitisation initiative, Kerrow expressed concern that their gains are quickly getting eroded: “It is disturbing that suspected members of Al Shabaab are taking over villages and lecturing locals for hours against our efforts. Yet still, chiefs perceived to be unfriendly to these gangs, like was recently the case in Mandera are being abducted. We need urgent help.”