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.

A Garissa Family's Story of Shattered Dreams

My Take on KCSE Result Nullifications

Garissa's efforts to establish unchanging premise when it comes to our failures is tainted by the insoluble contradiction of facts. The cancellation of KCSE results for a staggering 90% of Garissa schools can not be dismissed as just discrimination. I think boiling down a complex story as this with a lot nuances to a simplistic narrative that puts the blame for some of our failures on others is myopic and counterproductive.

This is a moment for deep soul searching for all of us who care about the academic success of Garissa. We can no longer afford to resist introspection as suspect indulgence.

Cheating in national exams happens in every part of Kenya. It's not any more common in Garissa than in other part of this nation. However, what is most common in Garissa is dumb cheating. Students copying someone else's work verbatim or walking into exam rooms with prepared notes or cell phones. And even sometimes, students buying the co-operation of invigilators who in the end double cross them by banking their money and reporting their malfeasance to authorities.

There might have been many good students who had their exams unfairly cancelled and those deserve redress. I'm not trying to belittle their grievances or parse over a history of discriminatory policies from the central government that has targeted Somalis disproportionately.

That said, there will never be change until we diagnose the underlying circumstances that permit some of these egregious faults to happen. Some of it comes as a result of our own failures. We're entangled in a vicious cycle of poverty, illiteracy and disease. We always buy into conspiracy theories that shift the blame to others.

For as long as Somalis put little value on academic success and hard work, we'll never see change. For as long as we see things through the lens of clanism, we'll have a repeat of this annually. And for as long as we don't stand up for what is just and fight for it, we'll be trampled on.

I stand by those students who took to the streets to protest peacefully. It's time for Somalis to wake up. However, looting the shops of fellow Somalis is immoral and wrong. Halting trade and bringing the issue to the forefront in the national media is fair as long as its done peacefully.

Threatening to join foreign militias will not get you an A. Going back to school, working hard and choosing good leaders will get you success in both worlds.

Riots Post KCSE Results

Night Club Bombed in Garissa

Of Grieve & Loss (Video)

Garissa Attack Aftermath {VIDEO}