Kenyan government must stop Al Shabaab from taking over North Eastern

Frequent Al shabaab attacks in Kenya have left many questions than answers on Kenyan minds. The recent change of tact saw the group mount their flag in Yumbis, Garissa County.

The terror group lectured the locals for close to two hours before disappearing into the forest.  Residents reported that they were looking for key information on the number of government officers working in the region. This is a serious concern that the government needs to be worried about.

Even though the Kenyan government responded by deploying the defence forces to monitor their movements, Al shabaab ambushed them leading to the death of one officer who succumbed to injuries.

Education Cabinet secretary recently told the senate that 95 schools have since been closed in Garissa, Mandera and wajir counties owing to high level of insecurity in the region. The education sector in Northern Kenya is now in a serious crisis with a majority of students thirsty of learning deprived due to inadequate teachers in the region. Joint teacher unions KNUT and KUPPET have since cautioned their members against returning to schools in N.E Kenya.

Another cause of concern is how al shabaab have been discriminately targeting non-Muslims in their wave of attacks across the country. Since the Westgate attack, all major terrorism activities seem to be aligned towards creating a conflict between Christians and Muslims in the country.

The leader of majority in parliament Aden Duale has failed to name the financiers and perpetrators of terrorist attacks in north eastern as promised after the Garissa attack in which 148 Kenyans were massacred. Failure to do so means the process to identify radicalized youth and prevent further attacks will be a difficult thing to do.

The government should consider strengthening the restructured provincial administration so as to ensure easy flow of information from the sub chief to the presidency level. Residents in each county should be educated on the importance of the Nyumba kumi initiative and its benefits on the improvement of security.