A QUESTION ON SECURITY OFFICERS ATTACKS AND KILLINGS

A QUESTION ON SECURITY OFFICERS ATTACKS AND KILLINGS

The latest incidences of killing security officers in their line of duty is not only alarming but disheartening to the common civilians who has in mind that the security officers who are supposed to protect civilians in the society are not able to protect themselves.

1. Police were killed by grenade attacks in Mombasa and the government issued warnings to the criminals.
2. Police were ambushed and killed in Tana Delta in their line of duty and government as usual issued stern warnings.
3. More than 40 security officers recently were massacred in Suguta Valley and as usual the government is issuing warnings.

A Message of Condolence from Kiasman World.

Questions are rising from the agitated members of public and among them are:-

1. When will the government stop issuing warnings and start acting to the problem at hand?
2. Are the security officers well equipped and trained to deal with such kind of criminals?
3. Is there a leak of intelligence among the ranks of the armed personnel?
4. Are there political motives behind the latest spate of killings of security officers?
5. Why does it seem like human right guys are always up in arms if a civilian is killed by police men and seem silent if scores of police men are killed by criminals?
6. Can we as civilians continue to trust the security officers to provide us with security when they themselves are a target to criminals?

THE SAMBURU CASE!

The latest massacre of security officers by bandits has made the whole nation angry over the way the government is handling the case much as if nothing serious is going on.  The two principles seemed not willing to comment on the matter until they were pushed to do so. Honorable Raila is busy seeking votes while President Kibaki seems busy with other “Important issues”.

The manner into how the ambush was executed speaks volume about the armed rustlers who carried out the deadly raid. It is evident:-

Sniper Rifle. This type of a gun can shoot a target at pin point precision to a maximum of 2 KM away. Did the bandits really have this types? I wonder.

• They are well acquainted with their deadly operations and have got good experience in it thus they are able to ambush and escape with hundreds of cattle and disappear without trail. It is ridiculous as to where they even go after the raids!
• They are well aware of the rough terrain and topography of the area thus are able to navigate well in their operations whether during the day or at night carrying their weapons and driving herds of cattle. I even think they have night vision glasses!!
• They are better (or were better) equipped than the security officers that were pursuing them.
• They are highly trained in “Military operations”. How can one account of the fact that they could lay such a perfect ambush upon trained security officers and overpower them so easily? Who train them and where are they trained? No one is born knowing how to use a gun for heaven’s sake.
• Their intelligence network is highly reliable if at all they got wind of the fact that the police were pursuing them.
• They have a good and reliable supply of arms and weapons that they use in their operations since it is a fact that there are no factories that manufacture guns (M16 and GP machine guns, grenade launchers, grenades, snipers etc) in the bush. So where do they get the weapons?....Follow the links and get to know... (FACTS ABOUT M16 RIFLE) ,(FACTS ABOUT SNIPER RIFLE) and( FACTS ABOUT GPM GUN)

A General Purpose Machine Gun

An M16 Rifle

 Another Version of An M16 Rifle

Questions: Where do the stolen herds of cattle go? Where do the raiders disappear to after the raids since they are rarely or never caught? Where do the raiders get their arms and information?

Quoting from Capital Fm Website, “Police officers hunting cattle rustlers in Suguta Valley were ambushed and shot indiscriminately by heavily armed militiamen believed to have come from Turkana.” Heavily armed means with a well loaded gun full of bullets plus other arms capable of causing destruction and killing. Do you see the sense? Bullets literally rained on them movie style. 
Well, its a bit hard and nonsensical  to think that the officers were being shot from long range of 2 to 3 KM as the ridges and escarpments overhanging the Suguta Valley are only about 200 to 400 Meters from the valley so the location was just a perfect death trap.
"There are few rifles in the world capable of such a feat on even a single occasion let alone hit over 40 individuals (most shot in the head, according to reports) from such a range. A quick look at the topography of the area suggests rather that the bandits were firing from a ridge perhaps 200 meters from the police position." Quoted from Internet source - Kenya Forum. (Emphasis mine)

A NATIONAL OUTCRY

There is a lot of anger among the people by the way this whole operation was carried out. It is a fact that:-

• Newly recruited inexperienced security officers were sent in pursuit of the raiders. These young men did not even have any experience dealing with unarmed criminal leave alone an armed experienced cattle rustler! Why? This is the big question. Even if it is their work what did they do to deserve this aren’t there other more experienced officers who are well acquainted with the ways of dealing with cattle rustlers, was this some type of experiment?
• The fact that they were not acquitted with the terrain and topography of the Suguta valley is evident. Police are not miracle workers who are expected to do anything just because they underwent military training. Experience matters. Follow the link and get to know FACTS ABOUT SUGUTA VALLEY
• This place according to locals is a no go zone for even police as cited in one of the Kenya talks sites. Kenya Talks

Suguta Valley in Samburu

• Even after they were killed, “Leaders accused authorities of neglect, saying the slain officers were not only led into a deathtrap but suffered the indignity of having their bodies abandoned in the wilderness for days.”As quoted from Standard news website. Need I say more? This is indignity of the highest order and should never happen again.
• The police force has better tools for carrying security operations e.g. Helicopters but are rarely used and are at times used for display purposes or carrying top police commanders to over fly the deadly zones as the junior officers are expected to be on the ground doing the tough jobs. At other times the choppers even carry politicians.Mathew Iteere was himself flown there by two helicopters while injured officers had none to deliver them!
• There seems to have been a total breakdown of communication between the security officers under attack and the rest of them since how could they be felled in such a fury by an enemy and fail to communicate and call for back up? Worse, how comes the fallen heroes were left in the fields for hours while they surely could have been picked up almost immediately after their ignominious deaths? Why were there no measures to anticipate the worst and have other security officers providing cover at a distance should the worst occur and indeed it occurred? 

There are still some confusion about the whole saga as noted in  KENYA FORUM SITE.
Note the statement below from the site, "

CONFUSED REPORTS

How many police officers, GSU personnel and reservists have been killed?

The Standard now reports at least 42 dead (and they appear to have reporters on the ground). The Nation newspaper says 37. The Star quotes 32 killed, a figure repeated by international news agencies.

One report says that 107 policemen and other security forces were sent towards the Suguta valley to recover stolen cattle from a band of cattle rustlers when they were ambushed by armed bandits. Yet other reports say 150 or more security personnel were involved.

WHEN DID THE MASSACRE TAKE PLACE?

Most press reports refer to the attack taking place on Saturday but others suggest that the bandits returned to the attack on Sunday." 

End of quote. NB: Emphasis mine. For more about the story just follow the link.

• Questions quoted from the nation media website, "
• Why do we, as a country, have to wait till our officers are massacred to react? Why didn’t we plan this pursuit meticulously and put all our resources into it?
• For how long shall we keep quiet while Kenyan police officers continue losing their lives in the most unfortunate ways and in the course of duty? "

The police moreover seem to have been poorly equipped and ill prepared for this deadly operation. They could not even defend themselves under attack. This attack also happen to be the worst attack directed to the police since independence. It could as well make Kenya to enter into global annals of having the worst bandits able to kill security officers in whole sale.

Moreover, the fact that the bodies of the fallen heroes were left in the scorching sun of Suguta valley for days sends mixed signals to the public as to why did it have to happen that way? Who is responsible? It is even saddening to have Mr. Mathew Iteere say that this is a normal thing that could happen to any officer in the line of duty. Seriously you send an inexperienced officer who has got no faint knowledge of the type of criminal he is going to handle and expect him to perform perfectly? Well, even if the ground commanders are to blame but why be defensive upon the whole saga?

The government should act as soon as possible to restore order in that death valley. There is also a task of restoring trust among the public concerning the state of security in Kenya. When criminals seem to kill more police men than they are killed, it speaks one thing: Criminals are getting more powerful and smarter than our security officers and that is not a nice thought at all.
Something about our country's security must be done without hesitation otherwise things will get out of hand and crime will be rife. It is our duty as peace loving Kenyans to ensure that security starts with individuals before being enforced to those who are not willing to be peaceful.  The government has now sent KDF in hot pursuit of the bandits. I think this is just a little too late. The worst has already occurred and moreover the bandits could as well have escaped.

For more information about the stories click the links below:-

1. Nation Media Coverage on the issue
2. Capital FM Coverage in the issue
3. DETAILS of what really happened at BARAGOI – STATEMENT 

Or just make use of the powerful Google search engine.

 

NB: Fact links are all from Wikipedia site. Other information may be obtained from internet at will.

Good day peace loving Kenyans.