Fafi MP Salah Yakub blames NIS for recent Al-Shabaab attack in Garissa
He challenged the NIS in the region to improve its operations and integrate with the community to gather valuable information that would aid in the fight against the terror group.
Fafi MP Salah Yakub has blamed the National Intelligence Service in Fafi for the recent Al-Shabaab attack that claimed the lives of six security forces and left four others injured at Biyamadowe in the Fafi constituency.
Speaking during an Iftar with the community, he stated that the intelligence sector must cooperate with the local community to gather sufficient intelligence on impending attacks and implement necessary security measures to prevent assaults from the militant group.
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“The inability of the intelligence service in Fafi to provide accurate intelligence warnings, due to their isolation from the community and at times failing to act on intelligence information regarding impending attacks, remains a significant challenge,” said the MP.
He challenged the NIS in the region to improve its operations and integrate with the community to gather valuable information that would aid in the fight against the terror group.
Salah also criticised the government’s failure to honour its pledge to recruit 300 Kenya Police Reservists (NPR) and deploy additional special forces units to combat terrorism.
“When Deputy President Kithure Kindiki was the Cabinet Secretary for Interior, he promised to recruit 300 NPRs in Fafi, establish new administrative units, deploy special forces at Harbole, and construct security roads in the region to enhance accessibility and response to attacks,” he said.
Fafi MP Salah Yakub during Iftar with in Fafi constituency. (Issa Hussein)
He urged the government to fulfil its pledges to prevent further attacks in the region. The MP warned that Al-Shabaab militants were now infiltrating Kenyan territory.
He expressed concerns that their large-scale entry as they fled from Somalia could destabilise the country and jeopardise major ongoing road projects in Northern Kenya.
On Monday, National Police Service spokesman Michael Muchiri stated that the government would intensify efforts to eliminate militant attacks that have persisted for a long time.
Ahmed Siyad, a former long-serving intelligence officer and a resident of Fafi constituency, also called for the recruitment of more Kenya Police Reservists to counter the terror group.
“NPRs can ensure the safety and security of the people in Fafi, but only if they are well-trained and adequately equipped,” he said.
The security expert, however, argued that arming community vigilante groups to fight Al-Shabaab was not necessary.
“The Ma'awisley are not a disciplined force. They are under-equipped and underfunded. They possess no training in counter-insurgency or terrorism,” he said.
“The AK-47s they carry were bought by them, not government-issued. They lack basic training in intelligence gathering and have no communication gadgets to relay information quickly. In a nutshell, the Ma'awisley are sitting ducks, vulnerable to Al-Shabaab attacks from the outset.”
The Ma'awisley, self-defence militias named after the colourful sarong many members wear, were provoked into action by various grievances against al-Shabaab. These grievances included high taxation, forcible child recruitment, and continued intimidation.
He urged the MP to push for the establishment of police posts and Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) detachments in hotspot areas.
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