Kenyan Somalis at Risk of Xenophobic Attacks

Apparently people are shocked that the constant vilification of Somalis on TV, Social Media and Parliament could lead to reprisal attacks against them. Some of us are on the record stating the obvious long before this war.

The distrust of Somalis will always hurt national cohesion more than it will harm actual Somalis living in Kenya. To the extent that there is a significant portion of the Kenyan populace that is somaliphobic, I think that emanates from trade envy and a failure to understand the significant role we played in this country's history. Historical revisionism has edited out the vital role Somalis hold in this nation and our contribution to the remarkable success of the Kenyan economy in the past decade.

It doesn't help either that we have brain-dead leaders who continue to feed upon our disenfranchisement rather than unity. The unintended consequence of  this conflation of Somalis with Al-Shabab might be the unification of all Somalis living in Kenya.

Let me get to the point of this post.. which is this assessment offered by the head of NCIC regarding Somali Kenyans.

The continued branding of Kenyan Somalis as Al-Shabaab sympathisers could fuel xenophobic attacks against them, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission has warned.

NCIC also criticised Friday’s attack on presidential hopeful Raphael Tuju who was on a campaign tour in Kisumu, which it described as the "apex in the country’s pyramid of intolerance".

On the hate propaganda targeted at Kenyan Somali community, chairman Mzalendo Kibunjia said this was being propagated through social media, broadcasts and SMS text messages.

“These include one that advises Kenyans to alight from matatus if they get on board. This outrightly amounts to fear mongering and is likely to fuel xenophobic attacks against the community. We shall not allow this to happen,” said Mr Kibunjia at the Commission’s Delta House headquarters in Nairobi Saturday.

“People become Al-Shabaab or any militia group on their individual capacity and not as an ethnic group or race,” he said citing Elgiva Bwire Oliacha, the self-confessed terrorist, who pleaded guilty to the grenade attacks in Nairobi last month.

Finally, I received an e-mail, yesterday, from a friend asking me to make a distinction between Somali Kenyans and Somali refugees so (non-Somali) readers can know who I'm referring to. I refuse to do so mainly because those who hate us for being Somali generally hate us without making any such distinction. I don't think selling out my refugee brethren would make them accept me for the Kenyan that I am anymore.

Police Officer Goes Crazy, Shoots and Kills 2 in Garissa

Video of Madogo Riots

Madogo Mobs Go Beserk,OCPD Killed

The plot is thickening fast as violence rocks Madogo following three days of protests by Matatu operators and their supporters.

According to Daily Nation, the OCPD has been killed, his guns stolen and vehicle set a blaze;

Tana North District OCPD Kuya Okitoi was on Tuesday morning attacked by matatu operators plying between Garissa and Madogo towns.
The OCPD, who is in a critical condition has been admitted at Garissa Provincial Hospital after sustaining serious injuries.
During the attack, the OCPD lost his AK-47 gun and a ceska pistol as the police Land Cruiser got burnt in the process.
Matatu operators on Monday disrupted transport in the region after a new sacco was created to oversee the operations of a route managed by Garissa - Madogo sacco.
In an effort to stop intimidation from Garissa - Madogo sacco, members of the new sacco gathered rowdy youths who disrupted operations in Garissa town for 12 hours.
Meanwhile, Garissa DC Samson Macharia Irungu has met with leaders from Madogo town directed them to search for the missing guns.
Passengers travelling from Garissa town were stranded 50 metres from Tana bridge while those travelling to Garissa, Wajir and Mandera were held up at Madogo Police Station for security reasons.
During the skirmishes, several commuter buses were damaged.
The official vehicle belonging to Garissa mayor, Ismail Mohamed Garat, had its windscreen damaged.
A contingent of the General Service Unit was dispatched to restore normal transport.
The area religious leaders have began a peace negotiation between with the matatu operators and residents who have been affected by the dispute.

Sergeant Yussuf Hassan's Murder

Senior Sergeant Yussuf Hassan Hafi was cowardly gunned down by a junior officer in Parklands Police Station. According to media reports, Constable Jacob Rop was of questionable mental health and likely suffering from severe depression. Its reported that the officers engaged in some verbal back-n-forth before the suicidal Rop opened fire on his senior and another officer who came to check out the fracas.

The Sergeant was a native of Garissa. He was a father and a grandfather. His family and relatives are in our thoughts and prayers.
 May Allah grant him Jannah.

Read full story here

It's Police Recruitment Season Again!

 This Wednesday, April 27, 2011 is another chance for the post-pubescent children of Garissa to run exceptionally long distances and do a lot of other meaningless physical activities in an effort to join The Police Force. This year, the soulless recruitment process will lock out a lot more applicants since the grade requirements have been raised from a D plain to a C plain.

We all have untoward preconceptions about the Police Recruitment system and deservedly so. Its cruel, corrupt and non-meritocratic. Finagling and God-father sponsorship are the paradigm that predominate in this process. However, NEP PC, Ole Sirian [accused of participating in the Wagalla Massacre], is promising a clean and  "ethnically" balanced recruitment drive.

He is quoted by The Nairobi Star to have said:

This time round it won’t be business as usual for those who like using shortcuts. Let’s totally avoid corruption of any kind when conducting this exercise and do it in a professional way,” “The issue of clans is a very big one in this region and so in places where we have more than one clan, you will have to make sure that you balance and make sure that you distribute the slots equally. This is meant to avoid creating the impression that the recruitment only favoured members from one clan,” he added.

To all those who want to join the ranks of the masters of emasculated beggertude, I wish you nothing but the best. Your prayers for secure jobs will be answered by cold and dull stares from the eyes of overweight DCs, OCPDs and psychotic APs.

Finally, if you see, hear or sniff any corruption, flip on ur cellphone camera/audio and send me the grainy videos.
 Good Luck and inform all those who want to try out!  Read full story here.

A Video of Raila's Underwhelming Visit to Garissa

 I still don't understand why people had to attend this rally but then to be chased around by thuggish police officers in scorching heat just to listen to political banter from an opportunistic politician is utterly contemptible. What is worse is the orchestrated heckling and jeering that some payed-for, small minded thugs engaged in. Quite a shame that one of our area MP's had to sabotage someone else's rally.



Bonus point for spotting Hussein Maendeleo raising the one figure Kanu Salute. Speak of mental stagnation, the guy still lives in 2001.

Garissa's Ruinous Relationship With its Leaders

 In every wretched relationship, there are moments that are so loathsome they make a person throw his hands in the air and vehemently seek vengeance with brute force. Somali Kenyans have reached that point. The anger on the ground in Garissa and other places is palpable. Whilst an unmitigated disaster unfolds in NEP as people starve, the government is splashing money on defending War criminals and genocidaires. It's a reflection of the future that lies ahead in the sick relationship between MPs and their subjects. As poverty and frustration percolate to the core of society, the men we elected to change our fortunes are busy aligning themselves with internationally recognized war criminals. As somali mothers get gang raped by the same people (Police) that were supposed to provide them with protection, our elected Somali officials are busy thwarting the ICC's pursuit of Ruto and Uhuru. As we get humiliated on our own streets by policemen who see us as walking ATM machines, our MPs pusillanimously cow-tow to the fascism of a government that we've been disenchanted with for almost half a century.

 For those of us that are unemployed, educated and frustrated, let's be done with these goons and let them be done with us. Let them start businesses with all the money they stole over these 5 years and make millions in profit. We will promise not begrudge them-as long as they create jobs here in Garissa and stay out of politics.

 To the youth, I urge you to be cynical of everything these pseudo-dictators tell you. Cultivate the Tunisian in you and even if it takes a low level intifada to bust the existing political class delineation in our county, GO FOR IT. GOD BLESS YOU!

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Sullying Kenya's Good Name

By Mark T Jones


  As one of Africa’s most ethnically diverse cities, Nairobi is a magnet for those seeking a better life. Kenya’s capital exudes an entrepreneurial spirit that helps ensure the nation remains a place of innovation and creativity. Education is valued and the vast majority of people are eager to make the most of a generally outward looking country, one eager to be the dynamo of the region. That said, to those prepared to look as well as see there are also a number of disquieting features that indicate serious weaknesses that have the potential to gnaw away at the heart of the Kenyan dream.

Recent events in Eastleigh are in many ways symptomatic of these weaknesses. When the Police and Armed Forces consciously set out to round up individuals like cattle in the name of a so-called security operation, then we are aware that the State has contempt for the rights of the individual. No amount of sophistry, semantics or half truths will mask the fact that arrests have been indiscriminate and that innocent people have suffered on the Orders of the State; for the Police and Armed Forces do not move without the blessing or say-so of the powers that be. The Authorities excuse their actions claiming that such action is necessary to deal with those who are in the country illegally, or may be subversive elements intent on perpetrating acts of terror. If this is the case why are the same Authorities not arresting individuals, owners of companies and prestigious institutions and dare I say it Heads of Government Departments and Ministers who employ and take advantage of individuals who may be in the country illegally?

Before action can be taken there needs to be proof. The Police and Security Forces make mention of an attack, before a proper investigation has taken place to prove it was precisely that. In these challenging times it is far too convenient to blame every explosion or incident on the likes of al Shabab. The vast majority of people in Kenya of Somali heritage are law abiding individuals and yet all too often the Somali community and those from other countries in the Horn of Africa are stigmatised. Derogatory remarks are made about ‘the Goat People’ and if Kenya is truly to live up to its democratic and pluralist aspirations such racism and xenophobia must end.

The arrest of some 400 individuals has been defended by the likes of Anthony Kibuci, Nairobi’s Provincial Police Chief; yet what has actually been taking place is an extensive trawling exercises that would appear to have an ulterior motive. People including women, children and the elderly have been held in conditions which in a time of war would be deemed a contravention of the Geneva Convention – with in many cases no food, limited or no access to water etc. As if this were not bad enough, there are reports of individual’s families having to buy their freedom. Such extortion of Kenyan nationals, foreigners and the vulnerable seems to have become something of a tradition in the run-up to Christmas. These modern day fishers of men, women and children sully the good name of Kenya.

No one doubts that there are legitimate security concerns throughout the region, but by seeking to demonise Somalis and others is both simplistic and dangerous. In the post 9/11 world it has become far too easy for governments to pander to the fear agenda. 2010 has seen Kenya take a bold step forward by endeavouring to embrace a new constitution; it would be a tragedy indeed if before the ink was really dry those meant to be the guardians of the State were allowed to undermine social cohesion and trust.

If cast iron evidence can be found for genuine wrong doing then let the Law follow its course, not as an instrument of Government, but as its pure impartial self. As for the people of Eastleigh and similar such communities, let us not forget that like Mary, Joseph and Jesus they have found themselves in a neighbouring country due to circumstances beyond their control. All the great faiths speak of charity and neighbourliness, and at this time of year it is all the more important to seek the truth and not rush to judgement. One thing is for certain and that is that Nairobi is a better place for its diversity.

Mark T Jones

London based freelance writer and international advisor on African Affairs

Kenya; The African Mexico, Its Stockholm syndrome and what Somalis can do to change their fortunes

 Kenya is being over-run by drug cartels and narco-hitmen. Its unprofessional and untrained police officers are getting whacked Mafia style right in the heart of Nairobi while they are pre-occupied with explaining their bad fortunes on non existent 'terrorists' and burqa clad femme fatales.

The uptick in clashes between Police and drug traffickers is a sign that Kenya's long running drug problem is coming of age. We have now entered a new phase where drug barons feel powerful enough to take on the weak  and co-opted police force. Kenya's is fast morphing into a Mexico. Its now the equivalent of a Brazilian Favella. Traffickers have heavily embedded themselves deep into every level of society and  are virtually controlling law enforcement on this almost failed state.

Thursday's police killings in Eastleigh and Roysambu was a show of force by the God fathers. Expect a new wave of assassinations carried out by commando-style hitmen. On Thursday, the Police's, or shall we say kenya's ragtag militia's weaknesses were layed out bare for all to see. Instead of cordoning off the place, collecting evidence and re-assuring the public, they went on to allege that  terrorists were behind the heinous act. How could they know in such a short time? They heard it from someone, who heard from someone that saw something. This engagement in rumour mill village policing only heightened the media's hysteria and vilification of Somalis.

To decipher this inexplicable obsession with Somalis, you don't have to look any further than Kenya's two biggest Media houses that are both beholden to their Indian owners and benefactors. These Indians and their allies in Parliament are engaged in wanton destruction of the country's future by plundering its wealth, selling narcotics to its youth and corrupting every public office in the land.

If I may paraphrase Frank Rich in a different context, to understand Kenya's subservience to Indian businesses and their interests, all you have to do is consult Wikipedia's article on "Understanding Stockholm syndrome"." It explains that hostage takers are mostly successful in winning the loyalty of their subjects if they temper their brutality with a bogus show of kindness. Before you know it, the victim will start concentrating on his captor's 'good side' and develop psychological characteristics to please them. 'Dependency,lack of initiative and an inability to think, act or decide."
Kenya's people and media have been under Indian hegemony for so long now that they are fully under spell of Stockholm syndrome. Ever since Somali merchants started to break this foreign strangle hold on business and finance, pro status quo forces have been agitating for a return to the old days of Indian ownership of half Kenya's GDP.
Somalis have to counter this concerted racial attack through a number of means:
(i)   Bleed the media houses financially by suing them through legal apparatus. Forming a legal body that sues them for defamation every time they write a fake story will waste a huge chunk of their profits  on legal fees.
(ii) A blanket boycott on products that are advertised on KTN and NTV. No Somali businesses and affiliates should also advertise on any of these media houses either.
(iii) Buy the services of journalists and columnists. These guys are even more corrupt than the police. A small fee will go a long way in getting you a lot of positive coverage.
(iv) If the media is not giving you a fair shake, start your own media. Frame your own agenda and don't let others brand you names. Aljazeera's success in shaping how the world sees the middle east is prove that it can be done. There must be a few Somali millionaires with the resources and  the will to do so.
(v) Somalis should form lobby groups whose purpose is to forward Somali interests in the legislature. This corrupt Godforsaken place is ruled through the checkbook.
(vi) Somali businesses and companies should also be a force for common good. Giving a little back to the slums that surround Eastleigh and South C will go a long way in dispelling the myths that are propagated by KTN and NTV.
(vii) Our brain dead representatives in Parliament should make some noise about this continued racism on the floor of the house. This might instigate some media self flagellation and reduce the intensity of this sustained racial defamation. To solve this, bellicose reprisals will be necessary but they have to be grounded on pragmatism.
(viii) Finally, as youths we should  take to social media such as Facebook and twitter to defend our brethren. I'll summarize by quoting Edmund Burke, "All that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."

Beautiful Horn of Africa: Garissa: The Largest City Between Nairobi and Mogadishu

Beautiful Horn of Africa: Garissa: The Largest City Between Nairobi and Mogadishu

By Adan Makina (cleanthehorn.com)

The City of Garissa in Kenya’s North Eastern Province (NEP) has been on the top list of the most peaceful cities in East and Central Africa for over twenty years. It is the provincial headquarter of NEP as well as the administrative center for Garissa District. Named after a riverine local Pokomo elder or farmer called Karisa, Garissa became a recognized settlement in 1936. Majority of the inhabitants of Garissa are ethnic Somalis. Besides subsistence and small scale farming and local business initiatives by urbanites, livestock raring remains the major sustainer of the region’s economy. From 1963 when Kenya became a sovereign republic until the late eighties, the region suffered tremendous insecurity resulting from recurring banditry, poaching, and cattle-rustling.

However, according to Kenya government figures, Garissa District has continuously for years recorded the highest concentration of livestock in East and Central Africa. Traders in Garissa get their surplus livestock from Somalia’s southern regions consequently making Garissa a haven for livestock merchants primarily between the months of January and April when the volume of cattle substantially increases. Cattle trading in Garissa attract traders from as far as Machakos, Nairobi, Nyeri, Mombasa and other coastal towns during this time of the year consequently transforming the city into a beehive of activity. Despite generating enough revenue from the taxation of cattle sales, Garissa city has lagged behind other cities of Kenya in all aspects of development. The district’s markets in southern Somalia include Baidoa, Dinsor, Qorioley, Jowhar, Afgoi, Salagle, Bardhere and Afmadow, among others. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that 60-80% of livestock in Garissa originate from the Somali region in Ethiopia, Somalia, and other divisions with NEP.

In the past, the district experienced remarkable government involvement after health concerns related to the epidemiological outbreaks of Rinderpest (cattle plague or steppe murrain) and other devastating foot and mouth diseases necessitated in the enforcement of veterinary regulations, consequently and at times, leading to closure of cattle markets.

Despite being the major supplier of beef to major cities in Kenya and to as far as Tanzania and despite being the largest city between Nairobi and Mogadishu, Garissa greets its visitors with grim reality. With the exception of a teachers’ training college and one Islamic school founded by mindful businessmen and overseas-based organizations, the city has no university; it has no feasible infrastructure; the only visible tarmac located in the city center measures a few kilometers; its dusty potholed streets transform into lakes during rainy seasons; the municipality and the city council have no refuse collection systems in place thus making inhabitants susceptible to waterborne and airborne diseases; it has no manufacturing industries; unemployment is rife; drug addiction among the youth continues to skyrocket; poverty, beggary, and street children remain an eyesore and a social menace, and worst of all poor land allocation strategies riddled with corruption has been the major cause of civil skirmishes among the tribal-minded inhabitants resulting in government application of emergency laws such as extended curfews and deployment of the dreaded General Service Unit (GSU) together with the rapid Deployment Unit (RDU) to quell disturbances.

The city has a long history of election rigging; harassment of electors and opposition groups is common-dirty tricks and techniques inherited from past fallen autocratic regimes. Just like their cousins across the border, Somalis in Garissa and other parts of NEP have over and over again championed clan domineering approaches by unconventional means especially by rampant warring and ethnic animosities. Reminiscent of Somalia’s “Guulwadeyaasha” or revolutionary youth during the military junta, Kenyatta and Moi era governments relied on a force that recklessly represented the Kenya African National Union (KANU) Party-a consortium of embellished, underfunded youth wingers whose arguments rested on the just war doctrine of “kill or be killed”. Such political plunders ensured the uninterrupted reclamation of political structure and extension of inheritance for the old guards.

The trouncing of Moi’s single-party regime and the birth of multiparty democracy in 1992 did little to alter the pervasiveness of past odious events. In fact it exacerbated the political scenario when new contestants found their ambitions obstructed by the same old guards who jumped on the bandwagon using the same old tricks inherited from their past masters of deception.

The district has suffered poor county and parliamentary representation since Kenya’s attainment of independence in 1963. The reason the region is underperforming is due to the government's discriminatory practices of allocating resources, unfair distribution of wealth, outright marginalization of the people who inhabit the land, and diversion of funds earmarked for the region to other more prosperous regions.

Ironically, because of their adroitness at accumulating wealth, majority of the region’s uneducated councilors and parliamentarians have promoted their self-esteem and thus harbor elitist mentality such that even those who bowed out of politics remain a force to reckon with. These men have the power to imprison, kill or regain one’s freedom. While the poor suffer dental decay due to unhygienic eating habits coupled with shortage of dentists, the uneducated honorable parliamentarian or councilor displays sparkling white teeth because of abundance of money at his disposal. For a long time, stealing from state treasury has been a hallmark of African politics and Kenya, because of its corruption ranking profile, is no exception.

The Offspring of a Snake is a Snake
The above phrase is a translation of the Kiswahili saying “mtoto wa nyoka ni nyoka”. It has been used by corrupt Kenya leaders as a rallying cry to provoke non-Somalis to hate and oppress Kenya-Somalis. The saying inspired Kenya leaders after the succession of past Somali governments instigated political irredentism and supported the repossession of what used to be the Northern Frontier District (NFD) from the Republic of Kenya. This idiomatic expression and phraseologically provocative aphorism applied to almost every Kenyan-Somali and that its widespread use slackened only after the collapse of the Somali central government in 1991. The bitter territorial dispute that kicked-off between Kenya and Somalia in the 60s has gone down in history as the “Shifta War”. The word Shifta (or “shufta”) implies a bandit, outlaw, or rebel. The name became an allusion and nom de guerre for every Kenyan-Somali regardless of whether one was a law-abiding citizen or a contextually sadistic law-breaking criminal.
Thus, Kenya-Somalis saw themselves wedged between two diametrically opposed forces with profound conflicting ideologies-one a civilian authoritarian government (Kenya) with western inclinations and a dictatorial regime (Somalia) -espousing a plethora of political dimensions.

Thousands of families lacking guidance or controlling force or influence crossed the border into Somalia to escape rampant hostilities on the Kenya side. Leaders of the Northern Province People’s Progressive Party (NPPP) incorporated Somalis of diverse clans, Borana, Rendille, and others.

For decades, Garissa had been under the radar of Kenya security and intelligence agencies primarily because the region was under martial law decreed immediately after Kenya’s proclamation of independence. Besides the insecurity that came with the shifta menace, widespread illegal poaching by Somalis scavenging for better living conditions decimated-if not-drastically reduced wildlife concentration in Kenya’s internationally-acclaimed national parks and game reserves. Besides the hazards of wildlife plundering, poachers stealthily brought with them dangerous small arms that endangered the lives of government game wardens whose task implied the protection of wild game and the preservation of Kenya’s vigorous tourist industry. Since independence and till this day, tourism has been a cornerstone and sustainer of Kenya’s economy. The best the Kenya government can do for the moment and in the future is to fully integrate Kenya-Somalis and give them a share of the national cake.

The War on Corruption comes to Garissa

For as long as we can recall Police officers posted in Garissa saw it as an opportunity to enrich themselves and fill up their coffers with illegally earned money. They engaged and enabled human trafficking and weapons smuggling . They detained Kenyans on false premises, extorted money from small businesses and canvassed the town for anyone who might have left their IDs at home. While the rest of our fellow patriots celebrated their days with Busaa and drunk themselves to oblivion, we were busy memorizing the names of all chiefs in Garissa and its environs so as not to fail our upcoming vetting by people who are not natives of this town. Most of us thought help would never arrive and waited for better days with bated breath. Not anymore!


 This week, the spineless KACC nabbed six senior police officers for their alleged corrupt activities. I say alleged because its the correct legal verbiage here but in the court of public opinion they are guilty and condemned already.
The six thugs include, NEP deputy PPO Philip Ndolo, Deputy provincial criminal investigations officer, his deputy and two other senior commanders.


As citizens of Garissa, we are glad that the normally vapid PLO Lumumba is going after this serious cancer. Where our brain addled leaders have failed to deliver, Lumumba is already showing good signs. Many of you remember senior Immigration Officers including the deranged minister's personal assistant and head of refugee affairs at Nyayo were rounded up following  infiltration by Somali KACC officers disguided as aliens seeking documentation.
Rooting this evil out will be quite a reach and is set to take a long long time but the people of Garissa have developed the necessary patience over the years. we hope Mr. I-memorized-the-thesaurus- Lumumba will deliver on his promises.