Raila is wrong, Kenyan troops must remain in Somalia and bring order

[MK254]

CORD leader Raila Odinga has called on Kenya to cut and run from Somalia. Mr Odinga wants Kenyan combat troops to return home with their tails between their legs. That's right - Agwambo would have the Kenya Defence Forces throw in the towel and flee the fight against al-Shabaab, the primitive rag tag militia ravaging Somalia and Kenya. This is what I say to Mr Odinga, my dear comrade, the indomitable doyen of opposition politics - nyet. States that have a reason to fight an evil menace don't quit simply because the going is tough. But Mr Odinga is right about one thing - President Uhuru Kenyatta must be fully transparent about the cost of the war in lives and treasure.

Since its founding, the Republic of Kenya had avoided war with, or against, any of its neighbours. Kenya was often christened an island of tranquility in a sea of chaos. States - including Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, and DRC - had imploded as Kenya serenely looked on. Kenya was the "exceptional" African country. It bucked the African trend of failed states. Kenya was the "anti-African." It wasn't until the genocidal post-election violence in 2008 that Kenya became truly "African."

It regressed to the African mean. No longer could Kenyans claim to be "exceptional." Whereas in the past Kenyans walked tall against other Africans, the post-election pogroms turned them into "normal African brutes." It cut Kenyans down several sizes short. You've got to read "Through My African Eyes" by Kenya's most famous journalist Jeff Koinange to get my point. In a chapter appropriately entitled "Oh No Not in My Country" Mr Koinange saw in the 2008 Kenyan post-election pillage the "African savagery" that he'd brought to living rooms around the world as Africa's correspondent for CNN. Kenya's innocence was lost - forever.

The wanton killings, the gruesome rapes, and abominations of 2008 showed there was nothing special about Kenya. Even so, nothing could have prepared the country for the cold-blooded murders of innocents by al-Shabaab at the Westgate Mall last September. The terror group claimed to be avenging Kenya's "invasion" of Somalia under the aegis of AU forces. But this is what Mr Odinga and those who would surrender Somalia to al-Shabaab must know. Kenya didn't just attack al-Shabaab unprovoked. See also: Pressure piles in CORD over Mun'garo ouster Al-Shabaab is a terrorist group bent on imposing the most primitive and extremist religious state in East Africa.

It's simply a cancer that must be excised. A caliphate on Kenya's doorstep is simply unacceptable. The AU, with which I disagree on so much, is doing the right thing in Somalia. Kenya, as the most dominant economic power in the region, stands to lose the most if a terrorist state is established in Somalia. Besides, what excuse would Kenya offer the AU for staying out of a fight meant to benefit it directly? Somalia is Kenya's problem. Mr Odinga must appreciate burdens that come with being the "anchor state" in the region. Just like it was wrong and cowardly for Kenya to refuse to aid the ANC's fight against Apartheid, it would be equally wrong and cowardly to shrink from al-Shabaab. It's true the Americans may from time to time join the fight against al-Shabaab, but it's Africans - led by states like Kenya - that must vanquish the menace. Kenya can't have all the benefits of regional leadership without its burdens.

A cowardly state that can't defend its people isn't worth the name. Kenyans must clean up the neighbourhood in which they live, or they will not know peace. Liberty and freedom must be defended. Some say Kenya provoked al-Shabaab. I say baloney. Even before the abduction of the tourists - the ostensible reason for Kenya's pursuit of al Shabaab - Somalia was already "bleeding" Kenya. The collapse of the Somali state, and the subsequent internal wars, have sapped Kenya's resources. Kakuma, the Somali refugee camp, is a testament to the woes and the effects of religious extremism in Somalia. Eastleigh, the Nairobi enclave that's home to many Somali refugees - dubbed Little Mogadishu - is positive proof Kenya and Somalia are joined at the hip.

The numerous al-Shabaab attacks around the country make this point undebatable. Kenya has no choice but to help restore a sane government in Somalia if it's to know peace. Mr Odinga says al-Shabaab will stop attacking Kenya if KDF withdraws from Somalia. That's completely erroneous. Al-Shabaab is a terror group that thrives on attacks on civilians to extort society.

Standard Digital News - Kenya : Raila is wrong, Kenyan troops must remain in Somalia and bring order

 

[gfsonwin]

ila kweli hivi wakenya wanafaidika na chochote kwenye haya mapigano huko somalia??

 

[Askari Kanzu]

ila kweli hivi wakenya wanafaidika na chochote kwenye haya mapigano huko somalia??

Askari wao kwa sasa wamejikita kwenye biashara ya mkaa huko Somalia wakisaidiana na Al Shabaab, utafiti wa marekani umebaini!

 

[MK254]

ila kweli hivi wakenya wanafaidika na chochote kwenye haya mapigano huko somalia??

Mbona hii taarifa kwenye huu uzi imeelezea tena kwa lugha rahisi, basi kama kingereza kinakupa chenga niagize nikutafsirie taratibu. Usiwe mvivu wa kusoma kama Wabongo wenzio.

 

[gfsonwin]

Mbona hii taarifa kwenye huu uzi imeelezea tena kwa lugha rahisi, basi kama kingereza kinakupa chenga niagize nikutafsirie taratibu. Usiwe mvivu wa kusoma kama Wabongo wenzio.

sitaki yaliyoandikwa kwenye habari i just want to the reality na wala tusieke political interest ama amashinikizo ya international organs....................i jst wanna know the facts ukimuuliza mkenya wa kawaida je wanafaidika na lolote kwa wao kuwa na majesh yao huko somalia?? jibu tulipatalo ndilo tuliwekee grounds za what should be done.

 

[gfsonwin]

Askari wao kwa sasa wamejikita kwenye biashara ya mkaa huko Somalia wakisaidiana na Al Shabaab, utafiti wa marekani umebaini!

umeona enh.......sasa mie nataka kujua je wakenya wao kama wao wanaona is it worthkwa majesh yao kubaki huko?? achilia mbali haya majibu ya kisiasa yatolewayo na wanasiasa ama majibu ya international organs.

binafsi naamin kinachotokea kenya ni kind of sabotage zaid kuliko ugaidi wenyewe.

 

[MK254]

sitaki yaliyoandikwa kwenye habari i just want to the reality na wala tusieke political interest ama amashinikizo ya international organs....................i jst wanna know the facts ukimuuliza mkenya wa kawaida je wanafaidika na lolote kwa wao kuwa na majesh yao huko somalia?? jibu tulipatalo ndilo tuliwekee grounds za what should be done.

Naambie ukitaka analysis kamili, lakini kama unataka tujadili vya vijiweni Uswahilini sidhani kama nitaweza. Ila kama jinsi Mtanzania kule Uswazi Mazense haelewi kwa nini Tanganyika inang'eg'ania Zanzibar, ama kwa nini Tanzania ilijitwika mzigo wa kupigana na M23, ndivyo hii ya Somalia haiwezi kuwa rahisi kwa mtu mwenye uvivu wa kufikiri. Cha muhumi jua
- Somalia yenye utata ni tatizo kubwa sana kwa Mkenya
- Pili, ifahamike kwamba wanajeshi wa Kenya wapo chini ya Amison- Kuwaruhusu Alshabaab waamuke baada ya kichapo itakua janga kubwa Afrika mashariki, na itakukuta kwako mlangoni
- Karibu nusu ya Kenya ni makazi ya Wasomali, hivyo fujo za Somalia huwa zinatuharibia pia
- Gaidi si wa kumtoroka, lazima uhakikishe hapumui

Wenzio wataibuka hapa wenye mapungufu ya kiaina na taarifa kwamba KDF inauza mkaa Somalia kwa ushirikiano na Alshabaab, sina la kuwajibu maana sijaona siku hata moja Simba na Nyumbu wakinywa maji pamoja. hadithi za alfu ulela hazina msingi. Pakatokea askari mmoja ama wawili wamejihusisha kwa magendo, hiyo sio KDF.

 

[Askari Kanzu]

Naambie ukitaka analysis kamili, lakini kama unataka tujadili vya vijiweni Uswahilini sidhani kama nitaweza. Ila kama jinsi Mtanzania kule Uswazi Mazense haelewi kwa nini Tanganyika inang'eg'ania Zanzibar, ama kwa nini Tanzania ilijitwika mzigo wa kupigana na M23, ndivyo hii ya Somalia haiwezi kuwa rahisi kwa mtu mwenye uvivu wa kufikiri. Cha muhumi jua
- Somalia yenye utata ni tatizo kubwa sana kwa Mkenya
- Pili, ifahamike kwamba wanajeshi wa Kenya wapo chini ya Amison- Kuwaruhusu Alshabaab waamuke baada...

Jifunze kuandika Kiswahili sahihi kwanza. La sivyo ni afadhali ubaki na hicho kiingereza chako kibovu!

 

[MK254]

Jifunze kuandika Kiswahili sahihi kwanza. La sivyo ni afadhali ubaki na hicho kiingereza chako kibovu!

Wewe nenda kwa wadogo wenzio, hadi sasa bado hujakomaa na kuwa na uwezo wa kujihusisha na mijadala ya Kikenya.

 

[Askari Kanzu]

Wewe nenda kwa wadogo wenzio, hadi sasa bado hujakomaa na kuwa na uwezo wa kujihusisha na mijadala ya Kikenya.

Weka hii takataka mfukoni kwako!

 

[MK254]

Weka hii takataka mfukoni kwako!

Njooni huku https://www.jamiiforums.com/kenyan-...513-team-kenya-at-glasgow-games-2014-a-2.html mtusaidie kushabikia team Kenya, medali zinatiririka kama maji, hivi Bongo tatizo nini, kahawa na ubwabwa uswahilini zinawafanya hamna hata medali moja, bondia wenu wanapigwa kiasi cha kubaki kama uji.

 

[simplemind]

ila kweli hivi wakenya wanafaidika na chochote kwenye haya mapigano huko somalia??

Rumours has it KDF are deep in chacoal trade.

 

[kadoda11]

rumours has it kdf are deep in chacoal trade.

.....lmao.

 

[gfsonwin]

Rumours has it KDF are deep in chacoal trade.

life there is too tough wanna not imagine one risking thousands of innocent lives just because of charcoal!!
pity shame

 

[gfsonwin]

Naambie ukitaka analysis kamili, lakini kama unataka tujadili vya vijiweni Uswahilini sidhani kama nitaweza. Ila kama jinsi Mtanzania kule Uswazi Mazense haelewi kwa nini Tanganyika inang'eg'ania Zanzibar, ama kwa nini Tanzania ilijitwika mzigo wa kupigana na M23, ndivyo hii ya Somalia haiwezi kuwa rahisi kwa mtu mwenye uvivu wa kufikiri. Cha muhumi jua
- Somalia yenye utata ni tatizo kubwa sana kwa Mkenya
- Pili, ifahamike kwamba wanajeshi wa Kenya wapo chini ya Amison- Kuwaruhusu Alshabaab waamuke baada ya kichapo itakua janga kubwa Afrika mashariki, na itakukuta kwako mlangoni
- Karibu nusu ya Kenya ni makazi ya Wasomali, hivyo fujo za Somalia huwa zinatuharibia pia
- Gaidi si wa kumtoroka, lazima uhakikishe hapumui

Wenzio wataibuka hapa wenye mapungufu ya kiaina na taarifa kwamba KDF inauza mkaa Somalia kwa ushirikiano na Alshabaab, sina la kuwajibu maana sijaona siku hata moja Simba na Nyumbu wakinywa maji pamoja. hadithi za alfu ulela hazina msingi. Pakatokea askari mmoja ama wawili wamejihusisha kwa magendo, hiyo sio KDF.

one thing i adore kenyans ni kwamba wanajua kujitapa ilihali ni scape goats tuu...............
ukikutana na mkenya atajidai kweli kweli kumbe uzuri wa huo mji wa Kenya upo mita chache tu hapo mjini, life to them is too difficult most of them wanakula kwa shida kulala kwa shida lucky ones ni wale walio oa hapa Tanzania ambao kwa namna moja wanapata hata unafuu wa kusafirisha magrill ya kujengea na mabati kutoka tz kwenda kwao.ukitaka kuijua kenya nenda kalale nje ya sijui wanapaita matomboo uwiii utalia lkn wakija hapa bongo mnajidaiii as if you are better, kwetu hata manzese mnalala loging nzuri nyie manzese ya kwenu ikoje??

 

[NJUGHU]

Vita vya Somalia Dunia ingeisadia Kenya hasa Wamarekani maana hata wao haliikimbia,Kenya peke yake haitaweza.
Raika anataka kutafuta umaarufu wa kisiasa.
Al shaabib ni tawi la Al qaaidah hivyo bado watawatafuta wamarekani Kenya kama watalii au waingereza kama wawekezaji hivyo kukimbia Kenya Somalia iatakuwa sio dawa na kudhuru uchumi wa Kenya.
Raila mnafiki,Jeshi la Kenya lilienda vitani yeye akiwa waziri mkuu,je inakuwaje yeye hajui gharama na kwanini alishindwa kuzuia?
Jeshi haliwezi kukubali kushindwa na kukimbia hiyo ni biashara nyingine,solders never surrender that easily!

 

[gfsonwin]

Njooni huku https://www.jamiiforums.com/kenyan-...513-team-kenya-at-glasgow-games-2014-a-2.html mtusaidie kushabikia team Kenya, medali zinatiririka kama maji, hivi Bongo tatizo nini, kahawa na ubwabwa uswahilini zinawafanya hamna hata medali moja, bondia wenu wanapigwa kiasi cha kubaki kama uji.

hahahahahahah..................i can see now hamna kitu zaid ya hiyo michezo, uzuri alshabab wakirudi hawataanza kubagua huyu ni mshind wa Glasgow ama laaa, wanaua wote kama kuku wenye kideri lolest!!

karibuni Tz tunywe kahawa, na kashata, jion na asbh tupate supu ya kichwa cha mbuzi na ndizi waislam na wakristo twala pamoja, mkurya na mchagga walala pamoja God bless Tanzania

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Askari wao kwa sasa wamejikita kwenye biashara ya mkaa huko Somalia wakisaidiana na Al Shabaab, utafiti wa marekani umebaini!

Kamata hii...

KDF funds Al-Shabaab through illegal charcoal trade, says new probe report

The Kenya Defence Forces has been accused of colluding with Al-Shabaab terrorists in Somalia's

Traders sell charcoal in Kismayu in May 2013. The Kenya Defence Forces has been accused of colluding with Al-Shabaab terrorists in Somalia's illegal multi-billion-shilling charcoal trade.

The Kenya Defence Forces has been accused of colluding with Al-Shabaab terrorists in Somalia's illegal multi-billion-shilling charcoal trade.

A damning new report by a US government-funded organisation, which echoes earlier findings by the United Nations, alleges that the KDF mission to Somalia under the African Union appears to include the charcoal trade in one of the most stinging criticisms of Kenya's presence in the neighbouring country.

"Kenya, although formally a participant in Amisom, which operates in support of the Somali national government, is also complicit in support of trade that provides income to Al-Shabaab, its military opponent both inside Somalia and, increasingly, at home in Kenya," says the Institute of Defence Analyses (IDA) report by Mr George Ward, formerly Washington's ambassador to Namibia.

According to the report, there are about 70 businessmen - located in the Somali port city of Kismayu that is controlled by KDF, and in Garissa and Nairobi in Kenya - who are brokers in the charcoal trade. The report does not name any individuals.

Denied allegations
Kenya's military chiefs have previously denied allegations of involvement in any illicit activity in Somalia and have maintained that since October 2011, they have only engaged in military action aimed at stabilising the war-torn country. But the accusations, which first surfaced last year, have refused to go away.

KDF did not respond to questions e-mailed by the Sunday Nation on the fresh allegations. Yesterday, a communication officer who talked to us by phone promised to reply to our inquiries, but he had not done so by the time of going to press. KDF Chief General Julius Karangi was said to be out of the country on official duty.

The IDA is a non-profit organisation funded by the US government. It is the second institution to accuse KDF of complicity in the illicit charcoal trade in Somalia after the UN Security Council last year published a report documentating similar accusations.

"Since the charcoal trade is Al-Shabaab's primary income, it is not an exaggeration to posit that a portion of the resources used to carry out terror attacks in Nairobi and in Mombasa and other locations along the Kenyan coast is being generated with the acquiescence or even the cooperation of the KDF and Kenyan business interests," says the report.

According to a recent report prepared jointly by the United Nations Environmental Programme (Unep) and Interpol, Al-Shabaab's primary source of income appears to be from informal taxation at roadblocks and ports.

"In one roadblock case they have been able to make up to $8 million (Sh696 million) to $18 million (Sh1.5 billion) per year from charcoal traffic in Somalia's Badhadhe District," says the Unep/Interpol report, adding that trading in charcoal and taxing the ports have generated an estimated annual total of $38 million to $56 million for Al-Shabaab.

Earnings from the trade are vital in sustaining the terrorists' capacity to carry out attacks in Somalia and Kenya, Christian Hellemann, the principal analyst for the Unep/Interpol report, said in an interview with the Nation last month.

He likened charcoal smuggling from Somalia and other African countries to the drug wars in Mexico in terms of violence and amounts of money involved.

Although charcoal is the primary cooking fuel in Somalia, it is also highly prized in the Gulf states for its quality. Made largely from the wood of acacia trees, it is slow burning and aromatic, imparting a sweet aroma to the region's grilled meats.

According to IDA, Somalia's charcoal exports to the Gulf have long been carried by a fleet of dhows and small freighters plying the route between Kismayu and Barawe in southern Somalia and ports in the Gulf region such as Khasab, Oman, and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The ships often arrive in the Somali ports loaded with sugar, which is exchanged for the charcoal.

In Nairobi, Cord Deputy Minority Leader Jakoyo Midiwo this week charged in Parliament that KDF personnel were illicitly trading in charcoal in Somalia.

"We did not send our boys to Kismayu to collect taxes. They are selling charcoal there. Bring our boys back home," Mr Midiwo said on the floor of the National Assembly on Thursday during a heated debate.

Contacted by the Sunday Nation later, Mr Midiwo claimed that KDF had "taken over" charcoal business in Kismayu after taking the area from the militants in 2012.

He challenged the Somali government to state who was benefiting from taxes being levied in regions controlled by the KDF.

"When citizens of Somalia come to realise what our soldiers are doing on their soil, they are bound to retaliate. When this happens, it is the ordinary Kenyan who will suffer like what we have seen recently in terror attacks," said Mr Midiwo.

The Opposition Cord has been demanding the withdrawal of Kenyan troops from Somalia following increased attacks in Nairobi and Mombasa, but the ruling Jubilee alliance has dismissed the calls.
Last year, the UN Security Council published a report prepared by monitors charging that the illicit trade in charcoal facilitated by Kenyan troops in Somalia was producing significant revenue for the Al-Shabaab.

Working in cooperation with Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam "Madobe" and his Ras Kamboni militia, the KDF was alleged to have helped export about one million sacks of charcoal a month, according to last year's report prepared by the UN Monitoring Group for Somali and Eriteria.

According to the report, when KDF troops and the Ras Kamboni militia entered the port of Kismayu in southern Somalia on September 28, 2012, they found some four million sacks of charcoal worth at least $60 million (Sh5.3 billion). Comparable stockpiles existed in other Somali ports, including the Al-Shabaab-controlled port of Barawe. Kenya and the AU unsuccessfully petitioned the UN Security Council to temporarily lift the ban to allow a one-time export of the stockpiles.

But the report claims that when the Security Council declined, KDF and Ras Kamboni "took the unilateral decision to begin the export of charcoal", said the UN report, whose findings have now been repeated.

KDF funds Al-Shabaab through illegal charcoal trade, says new probe report

 

[gfsonwin]

Ab-Titchaz big up brodah!!

 

[Dhuks]

Morons are bound to believe reports that are done by groups with vested interests, if somebody has the least of God-given deduction powers they would realise that its not even in the realms of possibility.
Basic question though..is KDF still controlling Kismayu in isolation? ........Ok Askari Kanzu njoo usahihishe lugha.