Besides, Kenya also has a long history of friendship and cooperation with Somalia. Another factor bonding the two nations is the large Somali ethnic population which occupies Kenya’s entire north eastern province. However, when former Somali president Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991, Kenya turned a blind eye on the brewing crisis in neighbouring Somalia.
Several years later, the situation became worse in Somalia, with different warlords battling for leadership. Kenya did not intervene in preventing this crisis from getting worse. As a result, Kenya today receives thousands of Somali refugees. There have also been reports of arms smuggling from Somalia into Kenya, which are allegedly responsible for increased crime levels in Kenya. If Kenya had intervened earlier in the Somali crisis, probably Kenya would not be paying this price today?
As far as I remember, Kenya has only been playing quiet diplomacy on the Somalia crisis. The biggest role Kenya has ever played was to provide a mediation venue in Nairobi, where different warlords and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) officials came together to discuss the way forward. I acknowledge this mediation effort, but I think Kenya could have done better by sending troops into Somalia at the onset of the crisis, which I believe would have prevented the situation from getting out of hand.
As I write this piece, Kenya seems to have gone into a fully-fledged war with al-Shabaab fighters in southern Somalia. This is after Kenya recently deployed her troops in southern Somalia to pursue suspected pirates and al-Shabaab who entered into her coastal territory and kidnapped an elderly French woman. The woman latter died while in the custody of pirates. This incident scared off many tourists from visiting the Kenyan coast which is one of Africa’s main tourist destinations. Tourism being one of Kenyans main foreign exchange earners, the state had to act by sending troops into southern Somalia to combat the al-Shabaab fighters and pirates. To many, this was a bold move. If Kenya had deployed her troops in southern Somalia way back, probably al-Shabaab would have been history by now.
Regardless of the above, the Kenyan government should also observe human rights as it carries out its mission of fighting al-Shabaab inside Somalia, because Doctors without Boarders (MSF) recently reported that an internally displaced people’s camp in southern Somalia had be bombed by Kenyan military. Three people were reportedly killed and 52 injured, mostly women and children. Kenyan police officers have also previously been accused by human rights groups of raping female Somali refugees crossing into Kenya. The Kenyan government should act harshly on any officer found to have committed acts of sexual violence.
Finally, the Kenyan police and the general public should not victimise Somalis living in Nairobi’s suburb of Eastleigh, because not all Somalis sympathise with al-Shabaab. The continued victimisation and extortion of money from these people will instead create more radicals, making it difficult for Kenya to succeed in its war against al-Shabaab.
Mr Isilow writes from Johannesburg South Africa. [email protected]