Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has stressed that the government will enhance the capacity in the North Eastern counties to counter Al-Shabaab threats.

The CS is in Wajir, Mandera, and Garissa Counties, where he held a series of meetings with county security and intelligence committees, leaders, and residents with the aim of boosting security in the north. Apart from the northeastern counties, Lamu and Mombasa have also been targeted at times.

Kindiki’s security tour

Kindiki’s tour of the northeastern region comes after he made another similar tour to Lamu, where he held security meetings at Mkunguni Square in Lamu County. He was then accompanied by Lamu Governor Issa Timamy, Deputy Governor Raphael Munyua, Senator Joseph Kamau Githuku, religious and community leaders, as well as the Lamu County security and intelligence committee.

“Met and held a consultative engagement with the Mandera Central sub-county security and intelligence committee, national government administration officers, and community and religious leaders.

“Through collaborative partnerships with community and religious leaders, security agencies will crush violent extremists, combat cross-border crime, and facilitate development in the North Eastern region.

“The government will spend at least Ksh20 billion to enhance the capacity of security officers on the frontlines through the modernization of their equipment, technology, and capacity to effectively tackle complex security challenges such as terrorism and banditry.

“The government shall defeat Al-Shabaab and all violent extremists who continue to threaten our national security and destabilise communities in North Eastern Kenya,” Kindiki affirmed in a statement.

The minister’s statement comes after eight police officers were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was destroyed by an explosive device. The improvised devise is suspected to have been planted by the Somali extremist group, according to police.

The explosion occurred on June 14 in Garissa, one of the counties that has had to deal with security instability caused by the Al Shabab threat. The militia has been challenging the Mogadishu government for over a decade and, at times, has attacked people and security bases in Kenya and Uganda.

Al-Shabaab threat

The continued threat from Al-Shabaab forced the Kenyan government to intervene by sending the Kenya Defence Forces in 2011. The KDF has been working in a joint operation with African Union-backed troops.

But the gains have not been remarkable, as the extremist group has at times retaliated and inflicted heavy losses on the Kenyan troops. In 2013, it attacked Westgate Mall in Nairobi, where 67 people died, and in 2015, it attacked Garissa University, where 148 people were killed.

On January 14, 2023, Kenyan security agencies killed 10 Al-Shabaab fighters and recovered rocket-propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices after intense fighting in the village of Galmagalla in Garissa County.

Al-Shabaab has been targeting schools, vehicles, towns, telecommunication facilities, and security bases.

Recently, it attacked Uganda, where 54 soldiers were killed when Al-Shabab attacked their base in Somalia.