Ever since the 1998
bombing of the US Embassy in Kenya which claimed over 225 ordinary lives and left
thousands with permanent scars and disabilities to the surviving victims in country where
recourse for Medicare and health insurance is a preserve for those in formal
employment , the fight against terrorism in the country still faces major hurdles both regionally and internationally mainly
driven by the fact the Kenya hosts many international organizations in the Horn
Of Africa of strategic interests to the West and also harbors many western
related multinational firms hence an easy target for these extremist groupings.
The spillover effects saw Kenyan forces wade and fly into neighboring Somalia
in October 2011 to stymie their quest for destabilizing the ‘tourism industry’ following the
abduction of a French nationality on the northern coast of Kenya as well the
murder of the British couple (husband)
and kidnapping of the wife acted as a precursor to the numerous sporadic shooting , placement of IED
in northern Kenya and hurling of
grenades in various parts of the country claiming the lives of innocent people
in revenge to Kenya’s entry into southern Somalia.
The absurdity in the
fight against these terrorist groups is that they continue to attack the same
areas repeatedly which raises a concern on our security apparatus either as
lacking the will to protect its citizenry or reluctance in continuous
monitoring of these criminal gangs, the country’s borders have become porous to
attacks and entry of illegal and dangerous immigrants who take advantage of our
welcoming hearts. From the bus attacks in Eastleigh, Grenade and club shootings
in Mombasa , the arresting of Iranian nationals
with bomb explosives in Mombasa to the heinous church shootings in Garissa it
is now high time the government put its feet down to clamp these criminal minds
and activities. One may ponder and ask why landlords and real estate developers
are not willing to pay taxes on rental income but are better of harboring
tenants whom they even have no clue what kinds of jobs they do in as long as
they pay and get their rental incomes.
To fight terrorism and
criminal gangs the current government should make mandatory for landlords to
declare rental income as this will in one way or the other reduce money
laundering cases and at same the same time pass a legislation that will see all
landlords and real estate developers before entering into tenancy agreements , file
information regarding the tenants employment contract, PIN Number and National
identity and or their sources of income/means of subsistence with a designated government security organ and introduce heavy penalty for defaulters
only such approaches could have easily profiled and tracked the Githurai terror
suspect who was gunned down last week after months of trailing the suspect. In
this country today especially in urban areas, neighborhood awareness and
interactivity is extremely artificial - a source of ingredients for any evil
minded person. Information sharing and digitizing of the above contents within
the various agencies of the state for instance the KNBS, KRA and NSIS can aptly
supplement The Prevention of Terrorism Act,
2012 enacted by the last parliament and
assented to by the then president Mr. Kibaki in October 2012. My Nairobi
governor’s approach of arming private security guard to fend of criminal
activities is a good idea but may be in 20 years to come, with the current
appalling security guard wages, gun leasing even if they are serialized will be
on the rampage just have a look at how Americans with better established
security systems are divided on the gun control subject whether to pass it or not.
Combating crime in modern day world requires more than community policing but
also calls for investing heavily in
information technology and having better trained police officers, the police
force should not be seen as reserve for those who earned low grades in their O
– Levels but should attract personnel skilled to understand human minds and
criminality.
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