Return to workstations or face sack, administrators warned

Principal Secretary for Internal Security and National Administration Dr Raymond Omollo has directed all officers working remotely to return to their workstations immediately.

He told them to take a firm grip on their designated posts as the government intensifies its counter-terrorism offensive.

Most officials especially in areas that have been affected by terrorism have absconded duties in fear for their safety.

Omollo on Tuesday said the officers must be at the forefront of the war against terrorists and other operatives with hostile intentions.

He warned that those who will defy the directive will be sent packing with immediate effect.

“If you are working as National Government Administrative Officer, make sure you are at your workstation. And if you can’t be at your workstation, then it’s time to pack up and go,” he said.

The message was directed at county commissioners, their deputies and assistants as well as chiefs and assistant chiefs.

Omollo put the officers on notice that disciplinary action will be taken against those who will drop their guard, whether for omission or commission.

He was speaking in Garissa, where he had accompanied Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on a security meeting and a public baraza in Masalani Town with local leaders, elders and NGAO drawn from Ijara, Hulugho, Bodhai and Bura East subcounties on Tuesday.

The frontier counties in the North Eastern region, including Garissa have had a series of persistent threats posed by the al Shabaab militants, who continue to maraud around the Kenya-Somalia border.

As the chairs of the security and intelligence committees in their jurisdictions, NGAOs are progressively designing and deploying community-based approaches to the existing and emerging challenges.

In the strategy, the government seeks to intensify the level of surveillance and alertness through information-sharing from civilians, a form of collaboration Omollo urged the residents to make a non-negotiable routine.

“As for the residents, we cannot win this war without your support. If you have any information that can help us deal with these terrorists, don’t hesitate to share those tip-offs with our teams on the ground. We will act on it promptly.”

The delegation was received by the Regional Commissioner North Eastern John Otieno flanked by members of the County Security and Intelligence Committee.

Other dignitaries included the Garissa Deputy Governor Hon. Abdi Dagane, area MP and MP for Bura.

During the meeting, Duale said the government will in the next year modernise military and police artillery in a renewed move to bring an end al Shabaab attacks both in the country and the neighbouring Somalia.

The equipment will include sophisticated armoured personal carriers with the ability to detect improvised explosive devices along the areas under their command.

Duale said that the government will no longer allow any terrorist attack in any part of the country.

At least 22 officers have died in the last two weeks in Garissa and Lamu counties while one suspected al Shabaab terrorist was arrested last Thursday along Garissa- Dadaab road by a multi-agency team.