The humiliation that comes with being a Somali in Kenya

Sunrise...Sunset....Sunrise....Sunset. 

From our vantage point, time moves forward linearly but the status of Somalis in Kenya is stuck in place.

Bomb Scare Closes off Tana River Bridge

Report comes to us via Stephen Astariko

Transport to and from North Eastern region was paralysed for more than 10 hours after a suspected explosive device was found under Garissa/Tana Bridge.
Hundreds of vehicles and commuters remained stranded on the both sides of the five-metre bridge which is the only entry into and exit from the remote region bordering the war-torn Somalia.
Security personnel including ballistic experts who were called in from Nairobi condoned off the bridge as they searched for the suspected explosive that was first noticed by a member of the public who was crossing the bridge on foot. The security scare led to more than 10 seminars being cancelled in Garissa town leading to massive loss of income by the local traders. Some hoteliers estimated losses of millions of shillings in the cancellations.
According to witnesses, the suspected Improvised Explosive Device was found attached neatly beneath the bridge by a commuter who raised the attention of the police manning the area. A witness who declined to be named said the officers led ballistic experts who come by military helicopter from Nairobi, removed the device and directed the security officers manning the bridge to stop vehicles and people from using it until they ensure its safety .
The Islamists militia group al Shabaab who were blamed for spates of kidnappings of foreign aid workers working in North-Eastern region and incursion into the border districts led to the invasion of the Kenya Defence Force has repeatedly threatened to explode the bridge to cut off the Military supplies to KDF fighting inside Somalia flush out the terror linked group.
The bridge security scare come barely five hours after a similar incident disrupted humanitarian activities at the sprawling Dadaab refugee camp for the better part of Thursday. In the Dadaab incident a suspected IED was found at the Dadaab main offices for humanitarian aid organizations operating in the area which led to a circulation of security threat that resulted to the suspension of all activities within the refugee camps.
Speaking to the press over the two incidents North eastern PC James Ole Serian said that "a device like bomb was seen at the middle of the road last night, one man who seen seated next to the place where the device was found was arrested and interrogated by the police,". He added: "When the police interrogated the man, he claimed to be resting and was ordered by the police to leave the area immediately, when the security personnel went to the check the place where he was seated they saw some bottle they suspected to be an IED,".
The PC further said that bomb experts were called in to check and found that what caused the security scare "was an empty bottle tired beneath the bridge". However, they took the precaution and closed the bridge from public use for safety and he urged the public to be extra alert so as not to be caught off guard by terrorist attacks.

Breaking News: Two Explosions Rock Garissa Tonight

Two separate explosions targeting Non-Somalis took place in Garissa tonight. The explosions have so far claimed six lives and injured thirty more.

In Ngamia Road, the attackers targeted labourers in the construction industry most of whom are Kambas. A grenade was lobbed into a restaurant near Boolimoog clinic where these workers frequent. Five died here

The second explosion was in down-town Garissa at Kwa Chege's Restaurant near Jamia mosque. One person is said to have died there. Patrons were watching the 7pm news when an unknown person lobbed a grenade into the restaurant.

The attackers are said to have escaped on bodabodas. (unconfirmed)

Heavy police presence is reported in both places. Unfortunately there are no ambulances or paramedics treating and evacuating the victims. Many are reportedly walking to the hospital on their own.

As usual, witnesses are reporting police meting out severe beatings on local Garissans for no apparent reason, other being Somali. This is counter-productive and bound to radicalize the youth. It's no way to win an asymmetrical war like the one Al-Shabab is waging on Kenya.

It's a safe bet now that Garissa is no longer the safest city in East and Central Africa.

Pray for peace and safety. These are truly perilous times.

Breaking: Bomb Explodes in a Church Near County High

A grenade attack killed two people in the town of Garissa in northern Kenya on Saturday and an explosive device was found close by, local residents said.

"We heard a blast and saw a flash light up the area. I rushed to the site and saw two people lying in a pool of blood, dead. Three others were wounded and screaming for help," Garissa resident Abdirahman Yussuf told Reuters.

A short while earlier, a bomb hidden in a bag was found planted beneath a power transformer opposite a military camp, eye witnesses said. It did not detonate. (Reporting by Daud Yussuf and Noor Ali

Eid Celebrations in Garissa tomorrow will tempered by the realization that two innocent people were heinously murdered in our city for their beliefs. In a county where religious diversity is the norm, this comes as a shock.


We pray for the quick recovery of those injured. May Allah grant us peace during Eid-ul-Adha

Yusuf Haji and George Saitoti Are Kenya's Shame

If not stopped by Kenyans of good conscience, Yusuf Haji and Saitoti will destroy much of Kenya's pride, international standing and economy. How and when Kenyans will wake up to this reality is not known but I have a feeling much of the public discourse on the war will change once the first images of dead Kenyan soldiers  tied to the back of a pickup trucks being dragged through the streets of Kismayu or Af Madow are broadcast on Al Jazeera.

Kenyans have to realise this is a costly war that does nothing to further their interests. This war will not feed the hungry in NEP and Turkana. It will not employ the hundreds of thousands of youths who are educated and unemployed. This war will not cure those dying in the Kakamega of dysentery and HIV. It will not bring peace those terrorized by the sungu sungu and Mungiki.

All this war does is risk the life and limb of the Kenyan soldier, encamped in a Somali bush, eating expired food. All this war does is bankrupt our economy and increase inflation. That this war was launched to get back three whites should tell you how stupid and reactionary it is. The government was not forced into action when tens of Kenyans were butchered in Turkana. DoD's sense of shame was not touched when Ethiopian bandits occupied a Kenyan village and prevented the PM from visiting.

It deserves to be mentioned that the bravest men fighting in our Army are Kenyans of Somali descent who took an oath to protect this country from foreign enemies not fight for a political group. The Mount Kenya Gang is cooking up a fake rationale for invading Somalia to further its political agenda. Our soldiers are being sent to war to boost PNU's polls and to take the nation's mind off of what's going on in the Hague.

That Kenya is ruled by spoiled brats who are really bad at their jobs is obvious to all. Messrs Saitoti and Haji have failed at protecting Kenya's security from within and from without. They have failed Kenyans living along the border with Ethiopia. They've failed to end the clan wars and cattle rustling in Isiolo and its environs. They've failed to protect tourists in the coast. They've failed to protect Kenya's maritime borders where pirates now operate without fear of apprehension. They've let Uganda occupy Kenyan territory. Might I go on?

These two degenerates have really set an example in bad leadership, mismanagement and neglect of duty.

Yet, now it turns out these wimps turned hawks are now sending thousands of Kenya's boys to war with a faceless shadowy group that is battle hardened.They've decided to deploy thousands of Kenya's lily-livered army to fight in a region Ethiopia and America before have failed so badly.

Al Shabab has nothing to lose and everything to gain. All this military invasion does is coalesce the population around the fake rallying crying that is 'defending the homeland against aggression by a foreign Christian enemy' (Just yesterday two new British recruits were napped by the Police).Their middle eastern financiers will flood the group with hundreds of millions of dollar while a single blast in Malindi or Mombasa will do all the damage it seeks to harm Kenya financially.

Military adventurism has failed in Somalia and this time round it will not be any different.This is an exercise in futility and the ever-changing rationales for it says all that you need to know. Kenyans need to wake up to the improprieties of these two men and their minions. The failure of 'Operation Linda Nchi' will bring forth the highly ethnicized nature of Kenya's military and will only diminish civilian control over it.

Finally, I should mention that Yusuf Haji spoke to the BBC Somali Service yesterday while in Mogadishu and declared that no Kenyan troops are in Somalia. This is clearly a lie but it says a lot of the man's lack of diplomatic suavity and incompetence.

Why Kenya's Foray into Somalia is Counterproductive and Destined to Fail

 It remains to be seen whether Kenya will stay in Somalia for any considerable length of time but its pretty obvious this latest military move is nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction.

Elements in Somalia whether allied with the dreaded Al-Shabab or profiteering bandits have been relentlessly provoking Kenya by violating its territory and staging brazen daylight kidnappings. It is natural for anyone to react violently when tested by a bully. However, what needs discussion here is whether Kenya's inexperienced military with its antiquated hardware has any long term plans for combating the Al-Shabab threat.

A quick bombing raid of outlying Somali villages will not do away with the threat that is posed by Al-shabab. Neither will a prolonged ground combat which will only serve as a recruiting blitz for the terrorist movement. We all know how antagonistic Somalis are to any form of foreign occupation; even from what has been up to now a benevolent neighbour.

In an era of near economic crisis, with inflation this high and the shilling tanking at rates reminiscent of the Zimbabwean dollar, getting bogged down in a guerrilla war with an entrenched and highly mobile enemy is nothing more than inviting disaster.


The unintended consequence of this military campaign might be forcing the drought battered population into the arms of the Shabab all over again. Also, if Kenya's intentions were to protect its tourism, suicide bombings in Nairobi and Mombasa will do not much to encourage visitors to come to Kenya.
Given how amateur and corruptible our security and intelligence apparatuses are, the Shabab will be able to attack within Kenya with significant ease.

Kenya's own indigenous Somali population will also become the subject of unnecessary vilification and will be seen by the rest of the country as having divided loyalties, wrongly of course.

So What is the best answer in this scenario? Certainly its not just sitting back while your citizens are terrorized by foreign thugs.

My own thinking is that Kenya should beef up security around its border with Somalia and improve its intelligence gathering. Surgical strikes against militant groups suspected of being behind kidnappings, covert operations and commando raids within Somalia to kill the leaders of the bandits/terrorist groups that are behind cross-border raids into Kenya and closing up all revenue streams coming to Al-Shabab through money laundered into Kenya.

Al-Shabab is an evil organization that has perveted Islam and Somali culture to cause indescribable pain and suffering but its not an entity that Kenya alone can eradicate.

For Somali Speakers, here is a lecture by Sh. Umal about the group

Of Blasts, xenophobia and Somali victimhood mentality

  The bus blast that occurred in Nairobi on Monday night will mean another field day for xenophobes and conspiracy theorists alike. They'll use this incident to ratchet up the volume of their hate speech and I-told-you-so campaign mantra. The police might respond in one of their trade mark "human fishing" expeditions in Eastleigh. No facts will stand in their way including the fact that Police have identified Albert Mulanda, a Tanzanian national, as the sole person behind the heinous act  that took the lives of two people, including the bomber himself, in River Road yesterday. While I wouldn't write off the participation of terror groups in organizing the act, I'll let the semi-professional police do their work and connect the dots. That said, The Kenyan fearfully paranoid mindset should not be whipped into a terrified frenzy by hyping this latest attack. Turning Somalis into bogeyman for all the violence that is going on in the region will further destabilize the country. Any subsequent monumental over reaction to the verbal bluster of Al-shabab might lead to disastrous consequences for Kenya's foreign policy, safety and internal cohesion.

 While this incident might be used by xenophobic local commentators and policemen who are interested in lining their pockets with some cash for Christmas shopping, Somalis should come out swinging against this act, condemn it and offer the police all the help they can. At the very least this will establish a degree of good will between law enforcement and the larger Somali community.Instead of offering ourselves at the alter of self martyrdom and waiting for people to take pity on us, you and I, and other whose ideas overlap with ours should take on the system in defense of our people.

I do not want to enter a new realm that I do not understand very well and thus end up confusing my readers instead of enlightening them. Therefore, I'll spare you anymore of my off the cuff platitudes and poor substances and urge you to write to me what you think we can do change the  Somali alienation that is taking hold in Kenya.

 Alshabab is now holding any Somali anywhere hostage, more so, Somali Kenyans who fall victims to police swoops anytime such acts take place in Kenya.

Quick Hits

Here are a few interesting things I wanted to share;

A Councillor from the Mt. Kenya region is single handedly trying to repopulate Kenya with sons and daughters of Agikuyu. Having noticed  the population of his ward had gone down year after year, he came up with an ingenious idea of monetary incentives for every pregnancy and birth ( I guess life birth).

For every pregnancy, a woman will earn a whopping Sh. 500 and every birth (life) Sh. 2000 bringing a whole new sense to the Kikuyu and money cliche. Full story as it appeared on The Daily Nation can be read here.

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Our friend from Gichugu, Martha Karua, the woman who thinks Nepians are refugees is calling for foreigners to take up 43% of positions in the country's supreme court. I guess the new constitution protects a person's right to their own warped delusions but for this woman to suggest all 39 million Kenyans are myopic tribalists is a travesty. Did she forget the IIEC & KNCHR? And don't get me started on foreigners unless by that she meant  Somali Pirates, who are the only people in Africa known to provide social justice in their regions of operation.

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The debate on whether to ban  the archaic KCPE tests has been gaining momentum as more and more powerful groups throw their support behind a proposal to make secondary education truly universal. This is an important development as this two and a half day exam does not in anyway reflect the capability of students especially those from less developed regions. I will write a lengthy entry dedicated to this issue alone.

Glad to know there are few thinking Kenyans in the National Assembly.

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Finally this sad thing happened; http://bit.ly/htVBnP

Kenya's Interests are better served if it says Out Of Somalia

By Samir H


   A bunch of sisyphus morons in the kenyan cabinet have been cheerleading efforts to catalyse the epic confirmation of Kenya as a failed state. These quacks have learnt the art of prophesising from Dick cheney's school of fear mongering. They are being used by the United States of America to become a quassi-permanent occupiers of Somalia. The guilty pleasure of their existence is simple and understandable.In their galactic appetite for self-enriching ventures they will stop at nothing even if it means sending the countries children to a senseless war in a neighbouring country. Everytime we belly up to their filthy inarticulate utterances, they serve us nothing but comedy. These miscreants that are drumming up for war are pawns being used by America in a larger geo-political power game. That the united states has reasons for being scared of alleged terrorists taking over a major oceanic transport hub and the dangers they pose to the strategic interests of America is not suprising but for Kenya to volunteer itself to do the dirty job for some financial and military backing is mindnumbing.

With our antique military facilities and the history of foreign intervention in Somalia, Kenya is better adviced to keep its troops in Kenya. These snake-oil-salesmen tend to forget Black hawk down and the ethiopian defeat but maybe these moronic minions are mental dwarfs. Their tone deaf statements smell of selective amnesia. After leading to the deaths of more than a thousand people a year and a half ago they want to raise up religiouis and ethnic tension in the country again. How will a third of the country's population that is muslim react to kenya occupying an an islamic nation? why do we have to invite terror and bombings to our streets? Did we forget the 98 bomings? Are we forgetting how porous our bordes are with somalia and the ease with which these guys can wreck havoc in Nairobi? Are we forgetting the financial and economic implications of such attacks.God forbid they happen.

These politicians want to hoax the kenyan people to a war that can never be won. A war that will morally and financial bankrupt this nation. Maybe then the economy will stop teetering on the edge of collapse and go down the toilet for good. These self abnigating, perenially thirsty vampires are hyping up paranoid delusions about the dangers Alshabab posses to the horn of africa.

we will celebrate Dec 2012 as a soul wrenching day. A day when we will finally get rid of ur faithless stewardship of this country and bring it up from the abyss you have placed us into. These slimy slugs masquerading as politicians are simply fascists who want to start profiteering rings from a war that is better off left to those who knw and want to fight it.

It is time we put these people in the garbage can and started over again as a country because the past 40yrs were a sham. The current petulant presidency and the formenting graft that continues unabated should be the catalyst for a grassroots uprising. Our parliament has turned into Comedy audition show where guys mudling and hogwash one another but where real questioned aren't asked. Kenya is becoming a failed state under all indications and getting into war with somalia will finally put the doomed stamp to underscore that point.
Lets leave this war for the Americans to fight it.