NAIROBI, Kenya Sept 4 \u2013 Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has criticized the Interior Cabinet Secretary\u2019s claim that there are no Jubaland forces in Mandera County.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the burial of Grace Wanjira, sister to DCP aspirant Njathi in Kiru Ward, Gachagua said his position hasn\u2019t changed\u2014insisting that residents have been illegally displaced by foreign forces operating in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I said there is a problem with security in Mandera and matters of terrorists. They shouted at me and even said that I should be arrested when I return (from the US). Now the Minister of Security says that they must conduct an investigation. So, what kind of investigation is this when these people have been there for two months and the Minister of Security doesn\u2019t even know these people are in Kenya?,\u201d he wondered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is the Minister of Internal Security clashing with the Governor. The Governor is on the ground. The Governor says there are terrorists in Kenya. The citizens also say there are terrorists in Kenya,\u201d said the DCP Leader.<\/p>\n
He added that schools have been closed and people are still dying due to ongoing clashes between Somali and Jubaland forces.<\/p>\n
Gachagua urged Mandera leaders to defend their people and promised to keep fighting for the safety and rights of residents against what he called \u201cexternal threats.\u201d
\u201cWe are asking the Mandera Senator, don\u2019t just speak when you are in Nairobi, go and speak when you are on the ground helping your people so that these terrorists can be removed from there,\u201d the former DP stressed.<\/p>\n
Mandera Senator Ali Roba on September 3, sounded the alarm over the alleged presence of Jubaland militia inside Mandera town, warning that the situation poses a direct threat to Kenya\u2019s sovereignty and the safety of its citizens.<\/p>\n
\u201cJubaland forces are now inside Mandera town, literally taking over our community. This is a humiliation of our sovereignty,\u201d Roba said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Roba cautioned that Kenya\u2019s national interest lies in strengthening its ties with Somalia\u2019s federal government, not in \u201cprotecting a rogue state government.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added; \u201cThe absurdity of a regional state government fighting its federal government is akin to Mandera County Government declaring war against the Republic of Kenya, yet we are now hosting these foreign forces on our soil.\u201d<\/p>\n
The senator warned that the government would bear full responsibility for any casualties or destruction arising from the conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the government fails to act immediately and decisively to remove Jubaland forces from Mandera County, we will be forced to mobilize ourselves to defend our people\u2014 an outcome that will endanger peace and cause grave international embarrassment for Kenya,\u201d Roba warned.<\/p>\n
His remarks came just a few hours after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen dismissed fears of Jubaland forces operating in Mandera, insisting that Kenya\u2019s security agencies remain in control and that there is \u201cno cause for alarm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murkomen said cross-border movements are often the result of civilians fleeing conflict in Somalia and assured that no schools in Mandera are occupied by foreign troops.<\/p>\n
He urged local leaders not to politicize security matters, emphasizing that all complaints are under investigation.<\/p>\n
The growing tension has triggered protests in Border Point One village, where residents claim families have been displaced and schools disrupted due to the alleged incursion.<\/p>\n
As the standoff deepens, leaders from across the political divide \u2014 including former Chief Justice David Maraga \u2014 have also demanded government action, warning that continued foreign presence threatens Kenya\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya Sept 4 \u2013 Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has criticized the Interior Cabinet Secretary\u2019s claim that there are no Jubaland forces in Mandera County. Speaking at the burial of Grace Wanjira, sister to DCP aspirant Njathi in Kiru Ward, Gachagua said his position hasn\u2019t changed\u2014insisting that residents have been illegally displaced by foreign […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120898\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}