Why Kenya-Somalia Border Wall Should be Built Urgently
The recent show of force by Somalia army at
Bula Hawa (Beled Hawo) at the border with Kenya has proved that Somalia have the resources to defeat
Al Shabaab if they were so inclined.
The security situation between Kenya and Somalia is such that a Somali national can come to Kenya, kill a person, and go back to Somalia, confident that Somalia authorities will not arrest him and either try him in local courts, or hand him over to Kenyan authorities.
Al Shabaab has training camps in Somalia. We have never heard news about Somalia authorities having destroyed any such camp, or killed or arrested the terrorists training in those camps.
Somalia-based
Al Shabaab has killed a lot of innocent Kenyans. Yet, Somalia authorities have refused to cooperate with Kenya to destroy the terrorist organisation.
Because of these dangers emanating from Somalia, Kenya urgently needs to finally build a wall along the Somalia border.
(May 2019) Sections of the Somalia border wall have been torn down by Bula Hawa residents in Somalia who say the barrier is interfering with families and trade.
“This wall has brought a lot of problems including dividing us when we have coexisted peacefully for years,” Somalia national Abdi Mohamed in Bula Hawa said.
Border movement by Kenyans and Somalis to Bula Hawa and Mandera has recently been suspended.
https://www.the-star.co.ke/counties/nor ... residents/
The biggest problems that have prevented Kenya from succeeding on the border wall matter are:
1. Somalia is the perfect definition of a
CLIENT STATE. The non-African actors that control Somalia, do not want the wall built (Reason why is here
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6738/ &&
https://kenyaiforum.co.ke/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6738/). They have therefore incited Somalis to see the wall as a threat to their interests, while in fact, the wall is only a threat to terrorists and other criminals.
2. Most Kenyan politicians from the North Eastern Counties bordering Somalia are also opposed to the Kenya-Somalia border wall. The reasons behind their opposition is:
(i) They have been using the open border to smuggle Somalis into Kenya to vote for them during elections. These Somalis have illegally been issued with Kenyan ID cards, and have been registered as voters in Kenya.
(ii) These Somalis with illegal Kenyan ID cards have also entered Kenya whenever there are events like population census, where they are used to shore-up the population of NE Kenya counties, so they can:-
- Get more funds from the government (since population is the most important factor in County funding).
- Get more electoral constituencies (since population is the most important factor in creating constituencies).
(iii) Open Somalia-Kenya border is a haven for smugglers of all types, and local politicians and other local elites benefit greatly from these activities. The main reasons for thriving smuggling along Kenya-Somalia border are:-
- Lack of proper govt structures in Somalia means a thriving trade in illegal weapons (sold to Kenyan criminals);
- Lack of proper govt structures in Somalia means someone can import goods tax free in Somalia (by evading or bribing whomever collects taxes in Somalia), and then smuggle them into Kenya, thus evading Kenyan taxes.
From the above, it is clear that none of the people opposed to Kenya-Somalia border wall has Kenya’s interest at heart. And considering that the Somalia-based
Al Shabaab terrorists have taken advantage of the open border to kill hundreds of Kenyans, and also to kidnap Kenyans and foreigners living or touring Kenya, thus weakening Kenya’s tourism industry, and also weakening the whole of Kenyan economy, any Kenyan opposed to the wall is a TRAITOR, and must be treated as such.
GoK needs to do the following urgently:
1. All NE Kenya elites who have been anti-KDF, or shown any sympathy to anti-Kenya external entities, must not be allowed to own any media in Kenya, or work in any govt department, or transact any business with any GoK entity.
2. GoK needs to work towards making the people of NE Kenya understand that some of their elites are using them as guinea pigs.
Use GoK media to educate them to understand that their elites are behind the Mandera doctors kidnap, behind supporting
Al Shabaab kill non-local teachers, so that ordinary people from the region can suffer so much by lack of doctors, teachers etc. that they become ready to take up arms to fight the govt.
https://kenyaiforum.co.ke/viewtopic.php ... 738#p14890
To make the Kenya-Somalia border wall a success, the people living in counties bordering Somalia need urgent
civic education. This will require:
1. Total BAN of any Kenyan media operating there/having reception there whose owners to do not EXPRESSLY support the Kenya-Somalia border wall.
2. Use government media to educate the people that it is in their interest for the wall to be built. If Kenyans in the NE counties understand that the wall is good for them, those in Somalia opposed to it won’t succeed in destroying it, because the Kenyan locals would support security agents to protect the wall.
This is what I mean by civic education: Currently, the narrative in NE counties is that the govt is bad because it has transferred all non-local teachers, leaving the schools without teachers.
This argument is pushed by NE counties’ elites, and also by the media they control.
REALITY: Many non-local teachers and other non-local workers in NE counties have been killed by
Al Shabaab. Therefore, the enemy is not the govt, the enemy is the terrorists, and anyone supporting or sympathetic to the terrorists.
With civic education, locals will direct their anger at the right culprits, and therefore support the govt in matters regarding the wall, and other security issues.
The tragedy for Somalia is that the anarchy in the country may go on for many years. This is because, the non-African actors for whom Somalia is a
CLIENT STATE, do not want a stable Somalia.
The interests of the non-African actors for whom Somalia is a
CLIENT STATE are served by an unstable Somalia. Therefore, they use their resources to make sure the people of Somalia dislike any entity that would like Somalia to become stable.
I sympathise with Somalis. Many Kenyans sympathise with Somalia. Unfortunately, the non-African actors who control the internet and social media have incited Somalis against Kenyans.
How these international actors manipulate the media, social media, blogs and forums to achieve this (manipulate people to believe a lie) is captured in these threads:
https://kenyaiforum.co.ke/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13340 &&
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6497
CONCLUSION: Once built, the Kenya-Somalia border wall should remain in place until the following happens (using example of Uganda):
If a person commits a crime in Kenya and runs to Uganda, all Kenyan police do is to call their counterparts in Uganda (the reverse is also true). The criminal is pursued by Ugandan police, and in most cases, they are apprehended and returned to Kenya to face charges in court.
Many cars stolen in Kenya have been recovered in Uganda by Ugandan police, and returned to Kenya.
Once Somalia security agencies agree to cooperate with Kenyan security agencies, like between Kenya-Uganda, then the border wall could then be demolished. When will that day come?
That day will come when Somalia will cease being a
CLIENT STATE.