Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta has insisted al Shabaab terrorists were not involved in the Mpeketoni attacks that left over 60 people dead in less than 48 hours – instead blaming the killings on incitement from political factions. This is despite the Islamist group claiming responsibility for the first attack on a bar packed with World Cup fans which killed at least 48.
Speaking during a State Address, the President said the attacks occurred due to the actions of “reckless leaders” and “hate mongers” who perpetuated the message that some “Kenyans are more Kenyan than others” and therefore deserve less compassion.
Without naming names Kenyatta said the incident was instigated by “rhetoric laced with ethnic profiling of some Kenyans” days before the attack saying that these leaders had given examples of other countries where chaos had erupted in people maimed in a similar manner. The President said that there is “no constitutional protection of hate speech and abuses of free speech.”
“Politicians were involved in the planning and execution of the attacks,” Kenyatta said. He added that the actions of these leaders made it easy for terrorists to operate and attack the area saying it was well orchestrated ethnic violence.
“A lot of incitement has been witnessed. This rhetoric is unacceptable and will not be condoned. There will be accountability in accordance with the law,” he added.
Kenyatta further said that “local political networks were involved” in the planning of the violence thus giving an opportunity for other criminal networks, adding: “Those unwilling to unite Kenyans will not have the space to divide them. Let us give no space to those who want us divided.”
The President added that intelligence information had been availed to the area security officers but they did not act on the information. He said that these officers have been suspended and will be charged in court.
President Kenyatta also said that to restore normalcy security has been heightened in Lamu as well as “flashpoints” around the country. He said that the “security agencies have performed well for the most part” and have thwarted several other security attempts.
Kenyatta assured the families of the bereaved in Mpeketoni that the government will meet all funeral expenses as well as the medical fees of those injured in the attack. He added that the government will support those whose property was destroyed during the attack.
For their part, al Shabaab has issued a warning to anyone planning to visit Kenya. The Islamist militants said the massacre of civilians was in retaliation for the “Kenyan government’s brutal oppression of Muslims in Kenya through coercion, intimidation and extrajudicial killings of Muslim scholars.”
They went on to condemn “the Kenyan military’s continued invasion and occupation of our Muslim lands and the massacre of innocent Muslims in Somalia.” Nairobi is a major troop contributor to the African Union’s intervention force in Somalia.
“To the tourists visiting Kenya we say this: Kenya is now officially a warzone and as such any tourists visiting the country do so at their own peril.”
