Northeastern commissioner Nicodemus Ndalana has urged residents to volunteer information on suspicious characters saying it's the only way to tackle terrorism.
Speaking in Garissa on Saturday, Ndalana said his office and security officers alone cannot eradicate the Somali-based al Shabaab terror group without the cooperation of wananchi.
“I cannot singlehandedly fight Shabaab. I need your cooperation through sharing of information. Security is a shared responsibility and everyone should be involved,” the official said.
He was handing over cheques and equipment valued at Sh3 million to people living with disabilities.
The regional commissioner asked security officers to act on information volunteered to them by the public while at the same time keeping it confidential to win the public's trust.
Shabaab is a threat to development, Ndalana said.
“Funds allocated to county governments for development do not benefit areas facing security issues," he said, adding that donations by well-wishers to residents of far-flung areas such as Mandera and Wajir are being held at the regional headquarters in Garissa due to security challenges.
His appeal comes just a day after the militants killed three police officers in Alinjugur and Hagadera in Garissa's Fafi subcounty.
In the first incident, the militants hijacked a police car between Alijugur and Hagadera, killed the driver and abandoned the car.
Two officers who were pursuing the terrorists were killed by an IED in Welmarer. The militants then escaped in three Toyota Probox cars.
On Friday, however, six suspected Shabaab militants were killed in Jirole, Ijara subcounty.
During the incident, special forces captured one alive.
Fafi MP Abdikarim Osman, while condemning the incidents, said it was unfortunate that the militants continued to carry out attacks with impunity across the region. He proposed a change of tack in countering them.
“In the wake of these attacks in which Kenyans – including police officers – continue to die and that have crippled the education sector and disrupted service delivery, the government must change tack and deploy more security forces to areas along the border if we are to win this war against the coward terrorists,” Osman said.
“I convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of the slain soldiers and wish the injured a quick recovery,” he added.
Edited by R.Wamochie
