Standard’s editorial on security is based on wrong premise

Standard’s editorial on security is based on wrong premise

By Mwenda Njoka

The Standard editorial headlined “It is time to debunk ‘Kenya is safe’ myth” published in the February 3^rd edition falls squarely in the category of one of those commentaries though originally meant to illuminate end up generating much more heat than light.

The writer opens his argument saying “Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku’s advice to Kenyans to ignore warnings on social media might have sprung from genuine concern over possible hoaxes that could strain police resources to fight crime…” Good, sound and logical argument, up to that point.

The writer then veers off completely off target when he says “In short, our security is a myth and we must wake up to this fact or suffer unthinkable consequences…”

True, there are myriad hoaxes every day about impending terror attacks. The country’s security agencies receive hundreds of such ‘tips’, which they investigate, interrogate and come up with one of the two possible conclusions: one, that the ‘tip’ was not credible and is thus a possible hoax or, two, that the tip is credible and requires further and swift action.

If the country’s security agencies were to run to the public or social media with ‘security alerts’ every time they received a tip about a possible security breach, Kenyans would do nothing else with their lives apart from ‘running for cover’ day in day out.

One of the strategies used most effectively by terrorists is propaganda whereby citizens are made to feel persistently insecure and thus incapable of engaging in their day to day activities. If we let them, terrorists can achieve this ‘state of terror’ without firing a single shot or exploding a single IED.

The editorial writer is inadvertently advocating for a permanent ‘state of terror’ when he writes “… is to begin debunking the myth that the likes of Ole Lenku appear keen on propagating: that Kenya is safe and we should not pay attention to the warning in social media…”

Both Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku and his Principal Secretary Mutea Iringo are on record asking Kenyans to be vigilant about their surroundings and neighborhoods in the understanding that security is a shared responsibility. The Nyumba Kumi Initiative is based on this concept.

As the drivers of the security sector, both the Cabinet Secretary and the Principal Secretary have a duty to ensure that Kenyans are not led into an unnecessary ‘state of terror’ through irresponsible use of social media. That is the premise of Ole Lenku’s advise to Kenyans to ignore ‘security alert’ hoaxes posted on social media.

And when the editorial says “The Government must stop behaving like it is business as usual…” the writer is missing the point. The Government in general— and Ministry of Interior in particular— has never denied that the threat of terrorism is something the world has to live with for the foreseeable future. That clearly is not ‘behaving like it is business as usual’, is it?

What we do every day as the Government arm responsible for internal security is to be vigilant and forward-looking so as to thwart possible terror attacks before they happen. This too is not ‘behaving like it is business as usual.’

Gallant officers working in our security agencies risk their lives every day to make this country a more secure place for each and every one of us. The least we can do is to give them the support they deserve.