During the hype for multi-party democracy in Kenya in the early 1990′s, a gentleman in Mombasa born of Yemeni’s parents by the name Sheik Balala had gained fame as a fiery Muslim preacher and notoriety from the Kenyan government for his radical approach to politics from a religious stand point. Sheik Balala had sought to run for presidency through the IPK. (Islamic Party of Kenya)The Moi administration didn’t think this was a nice idea and outmaneuvered Balala when he had travelled to Germany by stripping him his citizenship. This may appear as the best silencing weapon but it worked for Moi not necessarily on national security but as a tool of silencing critics of his government.

Balala might not have been alone in this quest to advocate for a political party that appealed to Muslims that had an Islamic orientation. The former president has also battled politically with Ahmed Bamahariz, a founder member of the FORD party by alleging that the latter was not Kenyan and hence not a Kenyan national. While Moi was deploying every tactic at his disposal to ‘trim to size’ his opponents, Bamahariz never shied from firing back – he quipped at one time that Moi himself originated from the Nilotic/Nubian ethnic groups of Southern Sudan. The KANU regime had crafted the idea of nationalism to an extent that if you had origins or some foreign ancestry blood in you were not that patriotic enough to have a say in Kenyan affairs!

In the mid- 1990′s there was one guy an elusive figure whom to date has never been apprehended – ‘Brigadier Odongo’ who was fronting a movement in anticipation to topple the Moi government. Sources claimed then, that ‘Brig.’ Odongo had sought refuge in the neighboring Uganda! Whether ‘Brig. Odongo’ is a real guy or imaginary will one day be known as true or a fairly tale by the state machinery and will remain a story that Kenyans will live to marvel! Backtrack a little to the period in the 1980′s and think for a while about ‘Mwakenya’ – a movement that was labeled clandestine and whose operations were meant to cause mischief to the society. The so called ‘Mwakenya’ was at it’s peak when the country had just emerged from an attempted coup that aborted in August 1, 1982. Any potential critic of Moi’s regime was synonymously associated with Mwakenya or any other group that jeopardized the security of the state. Then, the agency that carried investigations- Special Branch (later NSIS) was most dreaded and any mention of the agency sent cold shivers among members of the public. People were simply scared of Special Branch than the ‘person’ who could potentially breach a border security.

In other words, under Moi’s regime, ‘politics’ was the number one threat to national security and this is even so with the founding father of the nation, Moi’s predecessor Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. Some of you remember how magazines like Society edited my Pius Nyamora, Finance’s Njehu Gatabaki, The People of Stanley Matiba are few among citizens whose business was interfered with, their publications censored, sometimes seized and in the process denied freedom of speech or expression all in the name of being seen as a threat to ‘national security.’ Some of these individuals and others championing for ‘Kenya’s second liberation’ managed to escape to foreign countries while others were not so lucky. Those who became victims of the state dragnet and machinery were often rounded, locked and tortured. However, all these dubious schemes could start seeing an end in mid 1990′s as external pressure became unbearable for the Moi regime and the fact that his tenure and term in office had been limited to two terms by the amended constitution.

Fast forward to 1998, Kenya suffered a devastation from a terrorist attack aimed at the USA embassy. Sometimes we may not have to point fingers on how our internal security system was lapse to an extent that this act of cowardice occurred. The terrorism act on our own soil unified us with a sense of urgency and we all assumed that we were on the lookout or the agencies that are supposed to protect us by sharing intelligence and acting swiftly had the citizens benefit of doubt that they would do so when the call comes! A year later, Abdalla Ocalan a key and wanted political figure in Turkey was arrested in Kenya in an operation that involved Kenyan security, Greek security and allegedly the cooperation of America’s CIA and the government of Turkey. The arrest of Ocalan was seen as another breakthrough by the Kenya’s government and quick response in what could have been another potential disaster in our national security system. Well, that’s how some of us thought then but if you closely followed Ocalan’s arrest you may conclude differently – the circumstances that surrounded his arrest had nothing to do with our security but entirely Turkey’s affairs.

As the manhunt for the perpetrators of the simultaneous bombings targeted at the USA embassies in East Africa intensified, an attack on America’s soil in September 11, 2001 added new meaning to the 21st century new war or as framed by the US authorities – ‘The War Against Terrorism.’ While the world was coming into grips into what was going on- in 2002, another attempt in Kenyan soil was made by suicide bombers who drove an SUV into a hotel in Kikambala and as a result 13 lives were lost and within minutes an Israel airline career in the same proximity survived an attempt to bring it down with more than 250 passengers on board by a surface to air missile launcher. This was another grim day for Kenyans and a reminder that the war against terrorism is real.

The East African region has been volatile for a long while now especially with neighbors like Somali whose citizens cannot find a common ground for the sake of a stable nation. We are also lucky that the USA government under the African Command (AFRICOM), a Combined Joint Task Force- Horn of Africa (JTF-HOA) with headquarters in Djibouti was established to help countries in the region be in a position of dealing with problems among them security concerns. Within Kenya, the government with the help of USA established an anti-terrorism unit that specifically deals with issues related to terrorism besides sharing intelligence.

In lieu of all these progress you would think that president Kibaki should stand for the citizens that he swore to protect when he took office! He appeared weak on the Migingo Island issue and allowed president Museveni of Uganda have ‘his way’ when the call to protect Kenyan citizens was made. Did Museveni learn some lessons from the Kenyan side? Absolutely! The ‘Artur brothers’ (foreigners) had come in and raided the Standard Newspapers printing facilities in which a goverment minister in charge of Internal Security then – Hon. John Michuki later claimed the raid was justified to protect what he allegedly refered as ‘top secret’ and sensitive information regarding the first family! But it’s not president Kibaki alone -his predecessor treated the Karamajong’ of Uganda as cattle rustlers when they raided our side of the border attacking members of the Pokot community. And by the way, we have lost police officers at the Northern frontier too some in the line of duty and others ambushed unaware at their posts – not once but a couple of times. In the 90′s Ethiopian militia’s (some sponsored by the Ethiopian government) became notorios by continually leading border aggressions and attacking Kenyans on the side of our border. In 1997 for instance, more than 40 villagers were massacred in Sololo division, Moyale district. How did Kenya respond? Under Moi, at one time foreign affairs minister Kalonzo Musyoka headed diplomatic negotiations- we can disagree on how to respond but I think diplomacy should be engaged after we have countered with force. You cannot simply engage in talks when there has been an incursion to our side of the border. The officers who lost their lives including families that will never see their loved ones again deserve better.

In the same context, a cargo liner christened MV Faina that had been hijacked by pirates traversing the Indian Ocean waters in 2008 became another national security affair handled poorly by the Department of Defence (DoD), Internal Security ministry and office of the president. When questions about the contents of her cargo arose, it was evident that even briefing the media alone was a problem for the parties involved. On MV Faina, the responsible parties did not have to de-classify any information but were only supposed to be on ‘top of their game.’ Thank heavens – a military symposium partly sponsored by the USA held in April 2009 addressed some of these concerns and among them Kenyan military personnel were trained on how to perform or handle media briefings for the public.

However, the biggest question remains! How safe is Kenya? With such volatile neighbors we may assume that our borders are secure – but how did a cleric of Jamaican origin and on a terror watch list deported from UK end up in Kenya? Why is Immigration minister Hon. Kajwang at pain trying to make a case about national security when we have an Internal security minister ?- Hon George Saitoti who is supposed to explain these serious questions? Remember these are some of the people who are planning to run for presidency or it’s been said so by our local media! Why has it taken the government that long when it comes to screening foreigners living within our borders except for ‘knee jerk’ reaction responses of conducting swoops in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area and other urban areas like Mombasa? It’s easy to spend a whooping Ksh.40 million (according to minister Kajwang) to deport Sheik Faisal to Jamaica but invest little in training our immigration officials and smart border screening technology. The Kenyan government will be willing to spend Ksh.380 million to build the vice president a mansion and less on immigration reforms a docket that falls under the VP’s office.

Police reforms largely affect the national security picture. In their report handed to president Kibaki Justice Waki and Kriegler recommended that the different police units be merged. A move that was widely resisted by Administration Police Commandant Mbugua and the Provincial Administration even at one time Internal Security minister Prof. George Saitoti was overheard by the media saying “there will be no radical reforms” a statement that he later retreated from. Kenyans are tired of seeing the likes of honorable Saitoti appear before media cameras promising police reforms that they don’t have the will and passion to execute. If Kenya has to devolve power from  Nairobi that seems to be the headquarters of everything, we have to be ready to merge police or let local governments set their own standards of hiring their own cops. Reforms means Reforms not just political soundbites from our leaders.

Regional issues like the politics of the River Nile waters by the riparian states may also pose a challenge to the national security. The right to use the waters of Nile has flared tempers in the past – officials from the riparian countries have walked out of the meetings citing unfairness in the distribution of the water system. With South Sudan contending to challenge the treaty so that they can be allowed to tap a huge water fall for the production of the hydro-power might be another crisis in the making. Let’s hope we don’t go that route!

Within our own boundaries – food shortage can pose a great challenge too when it comes to National Security. Our government scores poorly when it comes to dealing with emergency situations. They have admitted it and if anything this reality check is a great reason for concern. The system is a mess simply because we cannot admit that a central government that pretends to be in control and running everything for the last 50 years cannot measure to the challenge.

Now make your own guess! when the the ’3 am morning phone call rings’ who will answer? What if it rings earlier? And by so doing make an informed decision about who will be Kenya’s Commander in Chief when people go to the polls next time.

Charles Mogeni