The News Brief: Inside the state of Kenya's national security

Kenya has recorded an unprecedented crime surge which the government has attributed to among others; the country’s job crisis, incitement and support of outlawed groups by political leaders.

A new report on the state of national security - tabled in Parliament by President Uhuru Kenyatta - shows that crime in Kenya increased by 5.8 per cent in 2019.

Uhuru partly put the blame on the political elite whom the report fingered for supporting and bankrolling activities of outlawed groups.

The report; compiled by among others, the National Intelligence Service, says politicians are at the centre of the re-emergence of the outlawed Mungiki sect, land and boundary disputes as well as inter-communal conflicts.

Senators have launched an inquiry into the efficiency of the Integrated Financial Management Information System and its application in the distribution of funds to counties.

This comes amid claims the automated system has caused massive loss of public funds even as governor protest the delays caused by the system in cash flows.

The enquiry comes barely a month after the National Assembly launched a similar probe to establish the system’s efficiency.

In their probe, which is being carried out by the House Finance and Budget committee, the senators want CS Ukuru Yatani to disclose the service provider that set up IFMIS and details of the tender award.

Politicians from President Uhuru Kenyatta's Mt Kenya backyard have rolled out an aggressive campaign to popularise the BBI report in the region to counter DP William Ruto's wave.

The politicians, allied to the Kieleweke wing that supports the President, has unveiled a wall-to-wall campaign to market the document across Mt Kenya counties ahead of the referendum.

Part of their campaign will be to highlight major issues in the BBI report that resonate well with the residents of Mt Kenya in a deliberate strategy to turn the tables on Ruto's allies in the region.

The allies of the President and opposition chief Raila Odinga from Mt Kenya have picked at least three key issues in the BBI report which they say address the challenges facing the region as they ramp up support for BBI.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga have run into a fresh hurdle after Muslim leaders joined forces opposing their push to amend the Constitution through the BBI.

The leaders, drawn from various Muslim organisations, on Sunday tore into the Building Bridges Initiative report and called on Uhuru and Raila to completely call off the referendum drive.

Besides lacking crucial reforms for the country, the BBI report, they claimed, will claw back the gains the county has made since the promulgation of current Constitution in 2010.

In addition, the timing of referendum at the time the country is battling Covid 19 pandemic that is ravaging economy and families, is not only ill-advised but also suspect.

The National Cohesion and Integration Commission has cautioned President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga against bulldozing their way in a referendum without consensus.

In an interview with the Star, NCIC chairman Dr Samuel Kobia said that the foundation of Building Bridges Initiative was to unite the country and holding a contested plebiscite will render BBI miss its cardinal objective.

Kobia said BBI process should be devoid of politics noting that if the door for more debate on the report that has recommended Constitutional amendment is shut, many Kenyans will feel left out.