By Yassin Juma
NAIROBI
A series of recent attacks that have rocked different parts of Kenya have raised questions about the country's vulnerability to terrorism and the government's plan for combatting the phenomenon.
"Vigilance by our security agents is not adequate," Simon Werunga, a security expert at Nairobi-based think tank East Africa Security Studies, told Anadolu Agency in an interview.
Six people were killed and a number of others injured late Monday when twin explosions hit Nairobi's Eatsleigh district.
According to witnesses, the explosions targeted the Joska and Mzalendo bus stops and a local restaurant.
The bombings came one day after a man was killed in the same neighborhood while assembling an improvised explosive device inside an apartment.
Last week, gunmen attacked the Joy in Jesus Church in the coastal city of Mombasa during a Sunday morning church service, killing six and wounding several others.
That attack came only days after Kenyan authorities announced they had foiled a major terrorist plot after seizing two men driving a vehicle through Mombasa carrying nearly 170 kilograms of TNT.
Addressing reporters at the time, Mombasa County Commissioner Nelson Marwa attributed the bust to intelligence sharing with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
He said the FBI had tracked down the suspects after intercepting their communications with Al-Shabaab operatives in Somalia.
"Kenya needs to strengthen its vigilance by adopting up-to-date technology," said Werunga. "Our security agents need retraining."
The East African nation has remained on high alert since militants attacked Nairobi's Westgate Mall in September of last year, killing 67 people.
The attack was claimed by Somalia's Al-Shabaab militant group, which said it was a reprisal for Kenyan military involvement in Somalia.
Corruption
Security expert Mark Munuve believes police corruption is a major part of the problem.
"Our weakest point in this war is corruption amongst border guards and police officers," he told AA.
AA obtained access to a map used by U.S. and Kenyan investigators who tracked the route taken by the drivers of the explosive-laden vehicle recently seized in Mombasa.
The vehicle reportedly entered Kenya through the Mandera border post some 1000km from Nairobi, making its way through the towns of Wajir, Garissa and Malindi before reaching Mombasa.
"How would you explain a stolen vehicle carrying such an amount of explosive passing through more than ten police roadblocks driven by undocumented Somalis?" Munuve asked.
"If Kenya wants to address terrorism, it first has to address corruption."
For years, Kenyan police have been ranked as the East African country's most corrupt public service by Transparency International Corruption index.
When contacted for comment, Kenyan police headquarters could neither confirm nor deny that corrupt police officers may be helping foreign nationals enter the country illegally.
"The police will prosecute any officer involved in corrupt dealings," the office of the spokesman for the Kenyan police said in a statement emailed to AA.
Challenges
Munuve, the security expert, criticized the government's approach to fighting terrorism.
"Kenya is good at knee-jerk reactions – reacting instead of acting," he said. "Sometimes this comes too late, with devastating results."
He cited the 2014 U.S. Global Threat Assessment Report, issued in January, which showed that terrorists had been targeting government installations in countries that had deployed troops to Somalia.
"Our security agents did not take that seriously until now," said Munuve.
Kenya has seen a spate of attacks since sending troops to neighboring Somalia in 2011.
But the country's history of terror attacks goes back to 1998 when Al-Qaeda bombed the U.S. embassy, killing more than 200 people, including 12 Americans.
In 2002, 11 people were killed when an Israeli-owned hotel near Mombasa was attacked.
A top-ranking Kenyan anti-terror agent, requesting anonymity, criticized what he said was inadequate funding.
According to the agent, Kenya's lead counter-terrorism agency is operating on a tight budget.
Legal experts, for their part, blame the phenomenon on the lack of a proper anti-terrorism law.
"We cannot fight terrorism without the existence of a strong legal framework," Nairobi-based lawyer Martin Oloo told AA.
"There is a need for legal safeguards to strengthen the war on terror," he added.
An anti-terrorism bill has been debated in parliament for several years but has yet to be passed into law due to political and religious differences.
Some Kenyan civil society activists have condemned the bill, saying it discriminates against Kenyan Muslims.
On Friday, President Uhuru Kenyatta said his government intended to adopt several anti-terrorism measures, going on to deny any prejudice against any particular faith.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
