Why The Kibaki Government Is Not Doing Enough About Security And Escalating Crime

After a post in this blog yesterday (written by our staff writer), we received a comment that got me doing some more research and much deeper analysis and today I find myself in a position where I have no option but to write two posts contradicting the story I carried yesterday which mostly blamed the American government for raising the alarm over a possible looming terrorist attack during the forthcoming Mombasa Marathon.

Many times politicians have looked to make political mileage and capital from this subject. This is sad because people's safety and lives are really not something to joke or haggle about.

Kenyans must now quickly analyze their own government and decide if the Kibaki administration is doing enough about security and whether it is adequately protecting not only it's own citizens but also the people who visit the country. We will also need to do something a little more painful and look inwards into ourselves to find out if we too have been responsible for the sorry state of affairs that we find ourselves in today.

I was fortunate enough in the 1980s to have had a chance to live briefly in the North Eastern province in Garissa town. It was a small peaceful-looking town but then looks can be deceiving because one day (after I had been there for barely a month) we heard loud sirens blaring right across town. Neighbors told us it was a security problem. To cut a very long story short, at the end of it all I had learnt a lot about the Somali that I previously did not know. How they always look so innocent and maybe even incapable of too much intellectual exertion, but are in fact extremely crafty and very dangerous (the Americans made the same mistake during the Clinton administration with tragic consequences).

On the night the sirens blared a Somali man had coolly walked into a bar and opened fire, killing scores. It was said that he was on a revenge mission and that his target was a Kenya Wildlife Services warden who was believed to have been at the bar. It was however unclear whether or not he had gotten him. The man then disappeared into the scrubs surrounding the town. It is said that Somali men can easily cross the vast dry wasteland on a glass of water for days on end when other mortals would die of thirst half way through. They are also extremely good at hiding weapons, especially their favored weapon of choice, the AK47 which can be buried and then later dug out and still operate with ruthless efficiency.

This information is critical for you to understand the real state of our security in Kenya today. More so the big security problem we have right in the backyard of the capital city of Nairobi. In a place called Eastleigh.

Up to the early 1980s Eastleigh was the estate of choice for government civil servants because of its' proximity to the city center. Meaning that on bad days of the month one could comfortably walk into town. Shortly after Somalian president Siad Barre was toppled in 1991, there was an invasion of the estate by refugees from Somalia. They just moved in and those who could raise complaints were quickly paid off in hefty bribes.

Today, Eastliegh in my book is not part of Kenya. It is part of Mogadishu for all intents and purposes. Picture this. During a fire that broke out in the notorious Garissa shopping center about a year ago, police arrived to find several Somali "watchmen" guarding goods that had been rescued from the fire from being looted after the fire was put under control. The "watchmen" were all armed, and not with rungus like is usually the case, but with AK 47 automatic weapons. But even stranger was the fact that the police who arrived on the scene did absolutely nothing and they also said nothing. I would bet you a year's supply of Ugali and nyama choma that those weapons were not licensed. In fact it is not possible for any private citizen in Kenya to get a license to carry around an automatic weapon. Licenses are usually for pistols and small weapons.

So it is clear Mogadishu lawlessness governs Eastliegh and not Kenyan laws. Besides taxes are never paid for the goods on sale at the estate, and that is why they are so cheap.

Eastleigh is a security disaster that the government does nothing about. Yet many weapons that kill and maim Kenyans come in through this Nairobi estate, in fact Eastleigh is the main "shopping center" for illegal weapons.

This is just one reason why Kenyans should stop and reconsider when negative travel advisories are issued against the country because the government is really not doing enough to help guarantee security in the country.

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