Al shabaab militants are wreaking havoc in Fafi, Garissa county, and the government must improve security, area MP Salah Yakub has said.
The constituency has witnessed a series of attacks orchestrated by the militants. Several police officers, police reservists and civilians have lost their lives. Communication masts for mobile telephone operators have also been blown away.
Yakub spoke in Yumbis when he condoled with the family of Abdirashid Hassan Hanshi who was shot dead by the militants.
During the incident on September 26, the armed militants broke into the home of Yumbis chief Yakub Kusow Hanshi at 3am and proceeded to question the wife about the administrator's whereabouts.
She then told them her husband was not around when in the real sense he was hiding himself under the bed. They then proceeded to lock the house.
The chief's brother woke up from next door. The assailants tried to abduct him but he refused to go with them. It is at this point that they decided shoot him dead.
Speaking to the press, a visibly angry Yakub said that his numerous appeals to the state to beef up security by deploying more security and recruiting more National Police Reservists have not been successful.
He said that some schools and hospitals have been closed and that some roads remain impassable due to insecurity.
“Al Shabaab's presence and sightings continue to be witnessed in my constituency. The situation is much worse in rural villages and those that sit at the boarder like Yumbis, Harbod, Dagega, Degbon, Dekaharia and other parts,” he said.
He added: “As we speak I cannot freely tour my vast constituency to offer services to my people because I am personally a target because of how vocal I have been in denouncing the militants activities.”
Yakub said the constant terrorist attacks only serve to create fear among the residents and there was a need for concerted efforts to deal with the insurgents.
“As we speak three people are still being held as captives in Jilib by the militants. Not long ago they killed two police reservists in Harbod village. Local administrators in border towns for fear of their lives are staying away form their areas of jurisdiction in the villages and opting to stay in major towns. Surely, this is unacceptable,” he said.
Yakub, who is the only MP from the county who was elected on a UDA ticket, said that while Kenya Kwanza government promised to address the insecurity challenge in his constituency and other parts of the region, not much has been done on the same.
He called for the opening of all security roads, disclosing that all the roads in the constituency are unclassified. Only Warble-Bura is classified as class C (Kerra). The rest are considered pathways. This, he said, has not helped matters.
“Let us also have more police reservists recruited, more administrative units opened so that assistant chiefs can be recruited so that they can provide intelligence to the security apparatus. We also need to have more informers recruited with some stipend so as to motivate them. But above all we need more special forces camps spread across the constituency,” he said.
Early this year, the MP organised a special security meeting in Bura East that was attended by top security officials, a section of political leaders, chiefs and the elders.
During the meeting elders pledged to cooperate fully with the government in the war against terrorism.