• Kihalangwa warns state officers against laxity
• He blamed the continued clashes between Kenya-Ethiopia border communities on the existence of one border point only
Image: MAURICE ALAL
Immigration PS Gordon Kihalangwa has directed border officers to safeguard the country.
Kihalangwa on Thursday warned the state officers against laxity, saying they have the sole mandate to safeguard the borders. He admitted, however, that inadequate staff is to blame in part for the problems faced at the borders.
Kihalangwa said immigrants and criminals continue to infiltrate the country through the porous borders. He spoke at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu during a meeting with border management authorities. The PS said problems exist across all the borders with the five neighbouring countries.
He blamed the continued clashes between Kenya-Ethiopia border communities on the existence of one border point only. The border stretches for 770km.
The other crucial border is Kenya-South Sudan, which lacks even a single border point. “The boundary is wide, making it very difficult for the few officers to patrol,” Kihalangwa added.
He rooted for proper care for human resource to help manage the borders.
“In some stations, we have almost nobody. How are we going to have an officer working 24 hours? He will be very exhausted. This is a matter that must be looked into.”
Recently, 11 people were killed in North Horr constituency, Marsabit county, by suspected Ethiopian attackers following a dispute over watering point.
The victims were duped into attending a peace meeting before being gunned down.
Kihalangwa said the Immigration department is working with communities living along the porous borders to share with them vital information on any suspicious person or activity.
Some of the initiatives include conducting training sessions to the communities on ways of detecting a suspicious person.
“We need the citizens to help in the border point management. That's why there are border community lessons for the locals,” Kihalangwa said.
The programme is steered by Border Management Committee director Kennedy Nyaiyo.
He said border point units recently got a boost after the government gave them vehicles to patrol the boundaries. Kihalangwacalled for the installation of scanners to detect illegal goods. Kenya has been grappling with smuggling of illicit brews from the neighbouring countries through porous borders.
The PS appealed to state agencies tasked with safeguarding the country to work together and improve on communication between all border points to effectively protect the country from any criminal act.
Kenyan seafarers recently demanded the arrest of Chinese and Indian crew members aboard the two Chinese vessels that were intercepted off the Coast of Malindi.
The seafarers said the foreign vessels are depleting fish stocks in the Kenyan waters. The two Chinese fishing vessels, Harong 109 with 11 crew members and Harong 108 with nine crew members, were intercepted at Ungama Bay.
The vessels had no flag while entering the country. Thirteen of the crew members are Chinese while seven are Indians.
Kenya Coast Guard Services commander Glen Majanga said they intercepted the vessels for evading inspection at the Mombasa port. The documents of the two vessels had shown their last port of call might have been in Iran. He said the vessels were directed to call on the Mombasa port for inspection but failed to comply.