Coast region security teams to work together to address security threats

Security teams from the coastal region have agreed to deploy the multi-agency approach in combating security threats affecting the region.

Coast regional commissioner Rhoda Onyancha on Wednesday held a day-long high-end security meeting with the teams to chat the way forward for 2024 to ensure the region remains peaceful.

The meeting was attended by security teams from all 33 subcounties and also the county security teams from the six coastal counties alongside the regional security team headed by the RC.

The objective of the meeting, she said was to take stock of the region’s security in the past year, to appraise themselves of the achievements that they made, and look at the challenges they faced, and how to move forward in setting the agenda for a peaceful region in 2024.

"Going forward, we've agreed that we are going to work in a multi-agency way where everyone that is involved in the security sector is going to come together at the subcounty level, county level, and at the regional level,” she said.

“This is so that we can build that synergy, that oneness, that unity, so that as a region, we can provide a secure, peaceful and stable environment,” Onyancha said.

Each county, she said, faces unique security threats, and as such, the need to come together to discuss how best counties can support each other manage the threats.

The region, she said, continues to face several threats with terror topping the list.

Last year, dozens of people including police lost their lives and properties was destroyed due to terror-related incidences in some parts of the region.

At the same time, security forces also managed to thwart terror attacks killing tens of al Shabaab members and destroying their operational cells within the region.

Other threats facing the region include organised crimes, drugs and substance abuse, highway robberies, land conflicts, herders-to-herder conflicts and herders-to-farmers conflicts.

“We have also looked at our cross-border security threats because, as you are aware, we border Somalia along the coastline. We have also looked at issues affecting our borders with other regions because we border northeastern, eastern, and the Rift Valley region,” Onyancha said.

“So, we've looked at our region as a whole to see what affects us within and without. And right now, I believe we have a very good roadmap and we are going to work together as a team to ensure we move forward peacefully,” she said.

The RC reiterated the need for security in the region, adding that this will help both the national and county governments implement their projects.

She added that a peaceful coastal region will attract more investors to spur economic development for the communities.

“Without peace and security, we cannot achieve much as a region, because as a security sector, we are the enabler of every sector in the economy. So if there is a gap or if we have security challenges in the region, then it becomes very hard for other sectors to thrive,” she said.

Onyancha called for continued vigilance and urged Coast residents to work closely with police to ensure the region’s safety.