The Mandera attack came just hours after a grenade hurled into a market place in Wajir killed one person and just days after 67 were killed in an attack on the Westgate mall/CFM
The killing of one Administration Police (AP) officer and the serious injury of two others early on Thursday morning in Mandera town, he said, was proof that the border is vulnerable.
“What has happened is the Al Shabaab forces were pushed towards Southern Somalia (by AMISOM forces) very close to that border except a small area that is controlled by the Ethiopian security and Kenyan trained transitional federal government forces, the rest of the area is controlled by Al Shabaab,” he said.
“This is probably the fifth incident in the year 2013 in Mandera town in terms of attacks targeting police stations and police vehicles, except for the election attack, that means if the police are getting attacked how safe are the citizens?” Roba posed.
He wants the government to increase the number of police reservists in Mandera and better equip the military camp in the area to increase border patrols.
“As the government has in the recent past complained of not having enough police officers for further deployment in these areas the reservists will compliment the efforts in terms of patrolling the town and also intelligence gathering,” he explained.
Thursday’s attack on a District Officer and chief’s camp also raised Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo’s concern leading to a reshuffle of the region’s high-ranking officers.
Among the four officers re-deployed are Charlton Mureithi who was the regional police commander and the Eastern police chief Marcus Ochola who has been moved to the Kiganjo police college.
Mureithi has been replaced by Henry Barmao who was previously stationed at Police Headquarters while Yaa Baya also from the Police HQ has taken Ochola’s place.
The former North Eastern police chief has in the mean time been appointed the head of City Hall’s Security and Compliance Department.
The Mandera attack came just hours after a grenade hurled into a market place in Wajir killed one person and just days after 67 were killed in an attack on the Westgate mall.
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