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{
    "id": 1359378,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1359378/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 223,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Prof. Kithure Kindiki",
    "speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1046,
        "legal_name": "Kithure Kindiki",
        "slug": "kithure-kindiki"
    },
    "content": "bloodshed, loss of life and property and untold suffering by the people of Lamu, not only in the areas that have been listed in this Question, but also other parts of Lamu County. I have been asked to tell this House and the people of Kenya whether those attacks are targeted against a particular community or religious group. The answer is in the negative. Those attacks are attacks by criminals who hide behind religion while they themselves are not religious. They hide behind religion to hurt other people not just in Lamu County but also in other parts of our country. We have been hurt by these people in Nairobi and in other parts of the world. Terrorism is a global problem. In terms of the attacks we have witnessed in Lamu, it is unfair and inappropriate to say that a certain religious group or ethnicity has been targeted. What we know is that we have had casualties from different ethnicities, perhaps not in the same numbers. Secondly, on the current profile of the terror groups like Al-Shabaab, whereas it is assumed that there could be ethnic or religious orientation of the attackers, many ethnic communities in this country today are represented in terms of radicalised young people who have joined terror groups, including Al-Shabaab. Therefore, it is wrong for us, as a country, to fall into the trap of the terrorists. The terrorists intend to divide us along ethnic and religious lines because they know that when we are divided, they will hurt us and win. Thirdly, I have been asked to tell the House why the Government is unable or is yet to apprehend the suspects responsible for previous attacks yet their identities have been circulated. Terrorism is a highly organised, financed and planned international crime. Even the most sophisticated country in terms of technology and military power is still grappling and looking for some of the terror suspects who have hurt them and their interest for years, and some for decades. On our part, the Government of Kenya has made tremendous efforts in terms of hunting down and neutralising some of the suspects or terrorists who have hurt us in the past, but we admit that a number of them are still at large. We may have profiled them. We may have information about them but we are yet to apprehend them because of the nature of terrorism and the operations of terror groups. We are looking for them. We have made a lot of progress. Once or twice every month, we either apprehend or bring down a terrorist whom we have been tracking down for years. Therefore, it is unfair to blame the security agencies who have paid a big price in looking for, apprehending and neutralising some of the people who have caused this kind of violence on us over the years. I have been asked to state whether the security deployments in Lamu and the ongoing operation are adequate. The answer is yes. I have been to that part of our country several times. Yesterday was my sixth visit. Some of the visits are overt while others are covert. I can assure you that all our facilities in Lamu and parts of the Boni enclave are well-equipped. The officers have high morale. Occasionally, we have suffered setbacks in terms of civilian casualties. We have also lost officers due to accidental attacks. As you are aware, terrorists do not attack directly. They are cowards. They come at night, plant things, hide in the bushes and wait for their luck that somebody will step on their IEDs and get hurt. So, we have lost officers to such incidences. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I want to salute the young men and women who go out of their way to defend the country, including paying the ultimate price of losing their lives. I am satisfied with Operation Linda Boni. However, we will increasingly and continuously review the operations in identifying the existing gaps so that we thwart as many attempts to hurt Kenyans as possible, if not all of them. From where I sit, I can confirm to the country that there are hundreds of attempts to hurt our country by terror groups. We neutralise hundreds of attempts every week. These are not imaginary attempts. They are real attempts either by probing our camps or by our officers on patrol getting into contact with the terror groups. It is only that these are not reported every day. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}