• While security is legitimately a national government function, county governments, especially governors must be integrated and be listened to in the county security matters.
• They can use some of the county resources to supplement national government efforts in enhancing the safety of our citizens.
Image: JOSEPH KANGOGO
The loss of lives including security officers in some parts of the country as recently seen in Kapedo and Isiolo and fear of amongst communities in Mandera is unfortunate and while one hand points to organized crime, on the other hand it points to operational lapses on the part of the authorities.
While security is legitimately a national government function, county governments, especially governors must be integrated and be listened to in the county security matters.
They can use some of the county resources to supplement national government efforts in enhancing the safety of our citizens.
They have community and informal intelligence collection networks within the counties that are vital to the much-needed intelligence based rather that force based approach that we might be using.
Away from seniority battles between regional and county commanders and county leaders, the best is to use a multiple approach, which recognizes and allows tea work and intelligence sharing for the benefit of the overall security of the country.
The country’s security agencies have the capacity to contain these attacks and protect Kenyans against such incidences that appear well coordinated, focused and well intentioned by the perpetrators.
When it comes to the security and safety of Kenyans, we should drop these petty seniority competitions and listen to each other. Just been reading the Mandera County Action Plan to Prevent and Counter violent extremism strategy for Mandera,
It talks of ensuring support to community led CVE efforts in the war on terrorism is to be tackled effectively.
It suggests that in addition to efforts towards enhancing security is vital, much resources and attention must be invested in mobilising communities to participate through information sharing and innovating ways of creating income generating activities and protecting the most vulnerable.
Community involvement can only pay dividends when their leaders are respected and participating, the information they share is used in time for the benefit of the community and above all the vulberable, most of the time women and children are safe.
Even with such collaboratively developed policy documents that offer the best for our communities existing, they are rarely respected as we recently saw a tiff between the national Government and Mandera Governor Ali Roba over handling of security in the area.
We need to listen to each other, or without security both national and government development plans are threatened.
In Kapedo and parts of the insecurity in Isiolo, the issue of impunity must be addressed.
A person who can kill a uniformed officer must is a dangerous one; he/she must have been prepared, or facilitated, and should they not be arrested, whoever they are, it sends the wrong message to the rest that you can kill and still be safe.
The perpetrators must be brought to book, whatever position they occupy or reason for such. Crime does not pay, and communities must be made to respect the law and law enforcers.
Our security officers, even with the challenges they go through, have done extremely above average to ensure we are safe, and any attack on the officers must be dealt with as the rule of law demands.
Such levels of insincerity on the part our leaders and by extension is not desirable for a nation state like Kenya
Starting with the national intelligence services, regional county security committee, the Criminal Investigations Department, the Police and by extension the KDF, the situation should be immediately contained.
I am sure, through the citizen participation in national security project, there is enough information to enable the security agencies not only contain the situation, but apprehend the perpetrators of these heinous acts.
Security is not the preserve of men alone, for whenever such insecurity incidences happen, its women and children who suffer most.
We need to handle the security of the areas including ensuring that we equip the officers providing security with basic working tools including enough relevant intelligence, communication tools, bulletproof jackets and helmets and back up.
Officers should not be allowed to use their personal mobile phone numbers and airtime to do official work and communication.
We must rethink our counter surveillance approach, intelligence gathering and sharing mechanisms, investment in forensic laboratories communication and above all, the integrity of our officers in the security agencies.
We must reach a level, where our talking and peace efforts must allow both women and men coming to the table to offer solutions.
Given the massive security operation in those areas, you will see as ever before women and children exposed to more danger, miss school and food while women struggle to take care of the families with most of the men in hiding during the day and on revenge attacks during the evenings.
Within the community involvement in peace efforts, which sees honest discussions on the negative impact of such attacks on others including security officers, women and men must seat on the table and talk.
As the Center for Minority Rights CEO, Ohenjo Nyangori notes, its time our communities, especially the pastoral communities are made to feel part of the rest of the community.
Policies in security in such pastoral areas, that previously depended on cultural practices that would seem being stumbling block on peace efforts, must appreciate these unique cultures and how they can be made to resonate well gradually.
Sammy Muraya of the Voice of Women and Girls Rights Project says its time security interventions appreciated the need to see women and men sharing a table to ideas during peace efforts.
As we have seen in other interventions like on FGM, HIV/AIDS among others, where both women and men are involved in the solution seeking exercises, even in such national issues like security, peace and promotion of human rights, women and men must be equally consulted and sought on such.