From: joachim omolo ouko
News Dispatch with Father Omolo Beste
THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2014
Chris from Nairobi writes: “Father Beste you are the one who can make me understand this operation better. Kenyan interior minister Joseph ole Lenku has banned all Somalia refugees residing in Kenyan towns to go back to their refugees’ camps. In your opinion do you think this can end al Shabaab operations in the country?”
Thank you for this important question Chris. This verdict came days after worshippers in church in the coastal town of Kenya Mombasa were attacked leaving at least six dead and many others injured. In my own opinion I don’t think this can end al Shabaab operations in the country.
Somali refugees have been living in Kenyan main towns over two decades since the fall of the central Somali government in early 1990. You will agree with me that since then the Somalis refugees have been living peacefully.
For ole Lenku to end al Shabaab operations in the country he is first of all to know the reason why they target Kenya. The attack began in October 2011-June 2012 when Kenya and Ethiopia helped the Somali government fight and reduce al-Shabaab’s control over Somalia via Operation Linda Nchi.
This attack will only end when Kenyan troops stop withdraw from Somalia. Since al-Shabaab saw itself as fighting for the spread of Islam — the Islamist jihadi version — Kenya was guilty of assaulting God and the Prophet Mohammed. Islamist jihadi law asserts the punishment for such an offense is death.
Understood this way, even if you send all the refugees back to Somalia al Shabaab operations in Kenya will continue. They need a soft, high-profile target that would result in numerous dead civilians in the most horrific manner. It explains why Westgate attack was perfect for this.
It explains further why in July 2010, al-Shabaab suicide bombers attacked two sports clubs in Kampala, Uganda, packed with civilians watching the FIFA World Cup final. The explosions killed 74 and wounded 70 — revenge and Islamist jihadi “defense” for Uganda’s participation in the United Nation’s African Union Mission in Somalia.
The reason why al Shabaab will continue its operations in Kenya and its neighboring countries even if all Somalis refugees are sent back is that al Shabaab has strengthened its movements in Kenya. They have even trained Kenyans in their camps.
It also means that Islamist jihadism has expanded in Africa. That is why aside from Somalia and Kenya, al-Qaida-related groups are increasingly active in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Mali, Nigeria and Tanzania. That is why al-Shabaab has not only become a more serious threat to Kenya but also Africa and the international community.
The top tier of al-Shabab’s leadership is composed of committed international jihadis, many of whom have fought in Afghanistan and other battlefields of the war on terrorism, which derive a good deal of their political and financial backing from the Somali diaspora, and especially from the thriving Nairobi community of Eastleigh (which is often called “Little Mogadishu”).
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail obolobeste@gmail.com
Omolo_ouko@outlook.com
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