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"id": 16547,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Affey",
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"legal_name": "Mohammed Abdi Affey",
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"content": "The diplomatic leverage that Kenya required to host the Somali peace process in Kenya, which went on for two years, was as a result of the fact that we had never interfered in the Somali conflict in terms of supporting any particular group in that country. Hon. Members will remember that after the collapse of the government in Somalia, there emerged thousands of small organisations which wanted to control the country. While other countries in the region might have been accused of aiding one particular group, this country has always stayed away from interfering in the internal affairs of Somalia. That is a credit for us because it accorded us the opportunity to host the Somali peace process. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, today, in their minds and their hearts, the ordinary Somalis in Somalia have deep respect for this country. We are not talking about terrorist groups or other criminal elements. The majority of the Somali people trust and have faith in the Kenyan people. As hon. Members may have realised, even as our National Defence Forces move into Somalia, there is no hue and cry about the fact that they have gone into Somalia. The ordinary Somalis in Somalia appreciate the role of Kenya, and they know that we mean well for them. As we go in, it is important that we buy the support of the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) because if we do not do so, we face a risk because that country has a legitimate Government in whose establishment we participated. That country is not in full control of the country and so it requires the support of Kenya. In that regard, I want to congratulate the two Ministers who visited Mogadishu yesterday to just make sure that they get the concurrence of the Somali authorities in whatever we are doing in Somalia. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are challenges we have faced, which necessitated our Government to establish this Mission. The first challenge was insecurity. I was personally on record. If the Kenyan Government did what it is doing today, particularly in supporting the communities that leave across our border with Somalia--- Every country has a strategic interest in the neighbourhood. Kenya’s first strategic interest in Somalia is to make sure that Somalia is peaceful and secure, so that Kenya can also be peaceful and secure. The greatest region that poses the security challenge for us in Somalia is the Juba Region, where our National Defence Forces are now operating, trying to assist the Somali security forces in terms of maintaining law and order. Six years ago, I particularly recommended something like this to the Kenyan Government because Ethiopia had created a buffer zone next to her territory and, therefore, there were no incursions from Somali militants. In our country, we wanted to do the same. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we recommended this but we had to wait for seven years to do what we are doing now, after our tourist industry was affected adversely and after our own military was attacked. As we speak, we have information that two of our officers have disappeared into Somalia. This could not have happened if the area across our border was secure enough and we played a constructive role six years ago in making this part of the country quite secure. Now that the Government has started supporting a programme of restoration of the region across our border called “Azania”, it is important that that programme is completed to the satisfaction of the Somali TFG and the communities living across because the programme is key to the stability of Kenya. The areas that now pose challenges are areas we can manage if we have the right policies. The second most important issue after security for us is our economy. Our economy has been devastated by pirates. In 2008, some Kenyans were hijacked by pirates along the Somali coastal line of the Indian Ocean. I personally travelled to Somalia three or four times in order to secure their release. They eventually released them, but the issue of pirates has disrupted the flow of traffic of goods to the port of Mombasa and, generally, to our coastline. Therefore, it has brought about serious challenges. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, one of the things that were said in the Report is that this mission does not receive any support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I want to agree that this mission was established to help secure our interests. There is a lot of apathy, particularly at the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs towards this mission. Right now, with the presence of the African Union troops in Mogadishu, the Kenya Government should have actually moved this mission or part of the staff of this mission to Mogadishu and even housed them within the African Union headquarters so that they can provide us with proper intelligence information about what is happening in the country. However, because we do not want to decide, we are keeping them here. I am sure the ambassador and his team would like to have a physical presence in Somalia, but they require resources. Their account is still managed at the headquarters. This is an account that the ambassador himself, like any other ambassador should have managed and used in order to secure our interests across. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, at one time I remember, I was an ambassador then, the mission bought a Mercedes Benz for use for the Ambassador. Once we brought it to the mission, the following day it was recalled because the Permanent Secretary wanted to use that Mercedes Benz. Because of the fact that that Mercedes Benz was present in Nairobi, then it was easily recalled to the headquarters. Therefore, there are a lot of challenges that this particular mission is facing. We need to support this mission. One of the things we did was to train. I remember we signed an agreement with the Transitional Federal Government to train the police officers. We trained the first batch of 200 officers in Manyani. I can tell you today they are the foundation of a disciplined security force in Somalia. Our engagement should be to secure and train, not only the security forces, but also other elements. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, finally, I want to say that regarding the comments given by the Minister for Internal Security this morning as we deal with this situation because this situation is quite delicate and it touches on our security as a country, let us not have a situation whereby we have collective punishment. We want to go on record and say that not all Kikuyus in Kenya are Mungikis . Not all Somalis in Kenya are sympathizers of the Al Shabaab . Identify the crime and the criminals, but do not punish a whole community just because their physical appearances are similar. That is the risk of the operation the Minister wants to undertake. I want to ask him to do an operation after thorough intelligence work has been done. He must have sufficient information, so that he does not use the information to punish innocent citizens or aliens who have a right to stay properly here. We have a reason and responsibility to protect them. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I want to thank this Committee for a job well done and to request that as a country and particularly this afternoon we will ask the Prime Minister what Kenya has done to push the international community to be more robust because I know that the international community has failed Kenya, Somalia and the region. If it were not for some of the interventions particularly from my own knowledge, if it were not for the interventions by the American Government--- I remember at some stage in order to fight terror in Somalia, the Americans used warlords to look for potential terrorists. But that had the effect of making the whole society radical. That is why the situation now is what it is because of negative engagement. Therefore, I think that we need to engage the international community in a more firm way and they have a responsibility to help us deal with this situation. I beg to support."
}