Wednesday, March 20, 2024 – President William Ruto made a grave mistake immediately after taking over the leadership of the country from former President Uhuru Kenyatta which led to a surge of Al-Shabaab attacks in the country.
This is according to a new study, The 2024 Terrorism Global
Index, which has revealed an increase in terror attacks within Kenya in 2023; a
trend that had not been witnessed since 2019.
The report published by the Institute for Economics and
Peace attributes the surge in attacks to several factors, including changes
Ruto made to the leadership of the country's top security organs.
In its report, the institute explained that Al-Shabaab took
advantage of the change in guard to stage attacks.
Notably, changes that were effected in the security sector
in 2023 included the appointment of National Intelligence Service (NIS)
Director General Noordin Haji.
Major changes were also made to the country's regional
security teams with several deputy county commissioners being reshuffled in
June 2023.
"Al-Shabaab was responsible for 70 deaths in Kenya in
2023, the most since 2019. Government-led counterterrorism operations in
Somalia have led to a surge of Al-Shabaab militants crossing into Kenya,
compounded by a lack of law enforcement personnel along the border.
"Changes to Kenya's security leadership have
exacerbated the situation, leading to a security gap that militants are
exploiting to conduct attacks," read the report in part.
On the other hand, it was highlighted that most of the
terror attacks were being witnessed in areas near the Kenya-Somalia border.
The placement of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) on
various roads was also noted to be one of the strategies that the terrorists
employed during the attacks.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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