•MPs lamented the deployment was not authorized.
•Government says operation to go on indefinitely.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and his Defence counterpart Aden Duale on Thursday defended the deployment of KDF troops to the North Rift saying there was no need for prior approval by MPs.
The ministers said the soldiers were dispatched to back up the National Police Service adding that the operation was under the command of the Inspector General of Police.
The two said the troops were dispatched in line with Article 241 (3) (b) which provides that KDF can assist and cooperate with other security agencies to contain an emergency.
Duale said that should the situation in the disturbed counties turn for the worse, they will approach the National Assembly for approval of the full deployment of KDF.
“We will come back to the House to seek approval of the fully-fledged deployment of KDF if we feel there is a need. For now, we are cooperating with the national police service,” Duale said.
His sentiments were backed by Kindiki who said that the two security units discussed a common operation plan that was proposed by his ministry.
“All the legal procedures were followed. We are bound to follow the law. I am the one who initiated the process of KDF support,” the Interior CS said.
“The measures are 100 per cent lawful. We invoked other articles as opposed to Article 241 (3) (c). We chose to go with paragraph b other than c,” Kindiki said, adding they’d apply paragraph c if need be.
Paragraph c provides that, KDF “may be deployed to restore peace in any part of Kenya affected by unrest or instability only with the approval of the National Assembly”.
The ministers spoke while appearing before a joint sitting of the Security and Diaspora Affairs committees of the National Assembly.
MPs had questioned the deployment saying the government moved on with the operation without the prior approval of Parliament.
They also raised concerns about how the operation is being commanded saying there was a begging question of who was taking command from whom.
“How does it work? Are the military taking instructions from the police? Are the police instructing KDF how to go about the operation?” asked Kajiado Central MP Memusi Kanchory.
But the CSs said the operation was being conducted under the cooperation mechanism spelt in the constitution.
“The constitution has the cooperation mechanism for collaboration. This administration will end this menace,” Kindiki said.
He added:
“We will defeat the terrorists. If we don't finish the problem, this cancer will hurt our country in future.”
Duale, for his part, restated that the operation was under the leadership of Inspector General Japhet Koome.
He added that the plan was for the officers to stay in the region where they’d be expected to help put up facilities to solve the problem in the long run.
“We have a short-term, medium and long-term solution to look at the region. We will see how to put military bases for quick reaction. We are already building one in Marsabit, another will go to Isiolo,” the Defence CS added.
Kindiki explained that the KDF was called in to augment the police and has since given a boost in terms of ground and aerial surveillance.
“What has been happening lately is nothing short of terror. It is an emergency in the sense of the impunity to an extent public amenities are being taken over, police being killed,” the CS said.
He said the declaration of the areas as disturbed and dangerous staged the need for enhanced security measures.
“The terrorists were targeting hard-to-reach areas. We needed significant aerial and ground support for us to succeed. We are appealing for national solidarity on this critical matter,” Kindiki said.
He restated that the security operation would continue for good, saying those who think the government would go reactionary are in for a shock.
“We will populate this area with security presence for good. The feedback we are getting doesn't bother us a lot. That's why we are not in a hurry.”
“They [bandits] won't return. The gorges, escapement, ravines they have been hiding in will not be available,” the CS said, adding that the government was equally focused on containing any national threats apart from banditry.
“We remain alert to thwart any form of threats in the spirit of keeping terrorists at bay. All other national threats are on our radar. We'll scale the stairs and chew gum at the same time,” Kindiki said.