FIGHTING AL SHABAB IN KENYA: There’s no alternative to the Police

It is likely Kenya’s fight against al Shabab, the ‘Somali’ terror group, is running in fits and jumps. For one; is al Shabab still a ‘Somali’ terror group? Media reports have it that the #GarissaAttack was led by a young Kenyan lawyer. That Kenyan component in the brutal attack that left 148 dead is disturbing. 

It means al Shabab has been recruiting locally and has gone as far as recruiting the best minds in Kenya. The Interior Ministry recently issued a ten day amnesty to all Kenyan youth who have been trained by al Shabab. It is not clear how many but the frequency of attacks suggests the local collaborators are many.

 Some have suggested that Kenya’s long border with Somalia is to blame for the ease of attacks. It is also to blame for the ease with which Kenyan youth cross into Somalia for terror training. The government is building a 700 kilometre wall to keep intruders out. Just how the wall will stop the radicalisation of Kenyan youth remains a mystery. The presumption is; radical youth can only go to Somalia to learn the art of terror. WRONG

Recently, three young ladies were arrested as they attempted to cross into Somalia at the El Wak border post. One was a university student and they were all prim and beautiful. The media has dubbed them; jihadi brides. We cannot imagine the young ladies evolving into anything but wives of terrorists. WRONG.

Al Shabab has wrong-footed Kenyan security many times. It is like a bacteria looking for the weak links in our society-and they are many. Firstly; are the men and women we thrust into the fight against al Shabab the best for the job? Probably yes; but at Westgate the Army clashed with an elite police commando unit then went on to toy around with the terrorists for days. In Garissa the same Army was held back for the whole day until the police commando unit arrived. Yet every time there is an attack the Government thrusts the army forward. In fact, the Army occasionally takes over police duties in areas prone to terror. They man roadblocks and carry out random inspection of travellers. That is a vote of no-confidence in our police forces. WRONG

Sunrise at the Kibish Border Post in Northern Kenya: Crossing in or out  is a matter of individual choice- not the law

Just how this affects the morale of the police forces has yet to be discussed. The security forces hardly air their opinions openly.  One thing is certain; no matter how good the Army is in arresting and fighting terror, we need an effective police force internally. For all their gallant efforts the soldiers simply turn over suspects to the same policemen regarded as inferior. The courts rely on the investigative and prosecutorial capabilities of the police. It is instructive to note that in the frontier counties of Mandera, Garissa and Wajir the Army is the de facto police authority. Indeed this has been the case since the separatist Shifta War of the 1960s and 1970s. Police authority was only recently introduced in the region. It is only in the 1980s that the police authorities took effective control but with the Army looking over their shoulders.

The rise of al Shabab has once again thrust the Army to the fore in the region. Armies are good fighting machines but are they the best force to confront the terror threat? By their very nature armies lack connectedness with the communities they protect. Their main strength is an overwhelming force that serves to subdue and hopefully; eliminate the enemy. Against terror, they may not be very effective. The terrorist, confronted by overwhelming force, becomes benign. She literally melds with the overall population. In fact, he will disguise himself as a woman to escape the harsh attentions of the Army. Deception is the main strength of the terrorist. She will pass off as harmless until she strikes. Armies are not designed to fight seemingly harmless persons- police forces are. 

Effective policing requires a high level of connectedness with the community. It is both overt and covert. In fighting terror the covert component is of particular importance. That element requires inside knowledge of the community under surveillance. Let us assume over the years the Army has established such linkages in the worst affected counties of the northeast. Well, these linkages have not been very effective in identifying and eliminating terror. New linkages are required with an eye on seemingly harmless persons. These new linkages call for a deepening of police authority and not reverse.

It is a new type of policing- not the traditional baton-charge bully cop. The police must immerse in the community and become part of it. They should have their hands on the pulse of the community. They should have eyes and ears in the community. To do that the community must become part of the police. Simple as it sounds, this is a radical concept in Kenya. 

Traditionally the police force has been a tool of the ruling elite. Its connection with the community only goes as far as enforcing the will of the ruling elite; often with brute force. But brute force only alienates the community and provides the perfect breeding ground for the terrorist and helps nurture other forms organised crime like the narcotics trade.

 It is noteworthy that news from the vetting of senior police officers mandated by the new Constitution reveals many are millionaire businessmen. Even in the absence of concrete evidence of corruption, questions will be asked as to whether millionaire businessmen are the best managers of our police force. So far tax records have not been adduced to demonstrate compliance with the law as regards these incomes of millions of shillings.

The long and short of it is a paradigm shift in the organisation and mentality of the security forces in the fight against terror. There is no killer blow or one-size fits all solution in the fight against terror. We have to re-engineer our society and institutions to confront the threat in the long term. That includes improving the tainted police force. Replacing it with the army is not tenable in the long run. In so doing it will do no harm to end the politics of ethnic discrimination and exclusion that have characterised the history of independent Kenya. We cannot be one with the police and government if we feel excluded. The Constitution of Kenya 2010 sought to address these discrepancies. We can only hurry up and implement it in spirit and deed.