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"content": "Mandera-Lafey-Elwak road where this incident happened, there have been not less than 12 incidents in the last 12 months in which vehicles were attacked. The worst one was around June this year where they hijacked two Land Cruisers carrying miraa and burnt two other vehicles. In the process, while the police tried to rescue those vehicles, 11 police officers, most of them Kenya Police Reservists (KPRs), were killed. That information is known to the Government. However, at the height of all these, there are persistent attacks both in town and on the roads. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also want to mention the issue of the town before I forget. Of all the attacks, each one of them has been targeting public installations, for example, Government facilities. They have attacked the county headquarters twice. They have attacked the residences of the Governor and the District Administration Offices in Mandera Town early this year. In these attacks, 12 vehicles parked in the DC’s office compound were burnt to ashes. The office was razed to the ground and people killed. They attacked the Government Legal Office. There is no Government institution that has not been attacked, including Mandera Police Station and the Police Line in which two people were killed. When the National Assembly Committee on Defence and Foreign Affairs visited Mandera while investigating the Westgate Mall attack, their report, which was not adopted by that House, but was published, was shocking. In Mandera Town, they found a situation where there were no adequate police officers or vehicles. There were serious problems in terms of logistics. To illustrate this, on the day these 28 people were killed, even to go and pick the dead bodies from there to Mandera Town, there was no single police vehicle that was available. The County Government had to provide vehicles and fuel them to pick the bodies. That is the situation in spite of the fact that all these attacks have been happening. When the last IED exploded, about 10 days ago, the County Commander of Police was quoted in the newspapers saying that those explosions were the work of business rivalry between contractors. It was published in the newspapers. Why would contractors be blowing up all those institutions, including the Governor’s residence? That statement was published on the website of Al Shabaab, just to show you how serious this matter is. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when the 11 KPRs were killed a few months ago on that road, the Government established a temporary military camp on that same spot where 28 people were killed. They were given seven armoured personnel carriers so that they could trace those guys across the border because that road literally passes on the border between Somalia and Kenya. That is shocking. What is surprising, and Kenyans need to know this, is that, that temporary military camp established barely three months ago to protect vehicles plying that route, was removed and closed down two weeks ago without the knowledge of many of us. The armoured personnel carriers were withdrawn at the same time and yet it was clear that there were escalating security problems. Let me point out clearly that even as I speak today, there is information that has been provided to the security officers in Mandera Town. Those terrorists are planning to attack the town itself, including the police station and the army in broad daylight. This is the message they conveyed yesterday and it has been provided to the police. This is very The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}