Questions about Lenku’s ability to handle crucial security docket

 

Interior cabinet secretary Joseph Ole Lenku (centre) flanked by Chief of general staff Julius Karangi (right) and Inspector General of police David Kimaiyo during press briefing at Oshwal Centre on September 23,2013. Cabinet Secretaries Julius Rotich (Treasury), Joseph ole Lenku (Interior), Amina Mohammed (Foreign Affairs), Raychelle Omamo (Defence) and KDF boss General Julius Karangi were alerted on the impending attacks. Photo/DENISH OCHIENG 

In Summary

• Minister for Interior often times contradicted himself during briefings and appeared not to be fully aware of magnitude of the situation

By CAROLINE WAFULA

Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku is a man on the spot following his remarks that only an insignificant number of people may have been buried underneath the Westgate rubble.

More than the nature of the comment, the enormity of the matter at hand raised the question whether the Cabinet secretary was wearing shoes too big for him.

He is not alone. His Defence counterpart Raychelle Omamo was in tow in at least two news conferences. She did not speak even though the military, which falls under her docket, was actively engaging the terrorists.

On Friday, Mr Lenku said that there were “insignificant if any,” bodies of victims still trapped in under the rubble of the section of the mall that collapsed following a fire and explosions which still remain mysterious.

“The position of government on the figures of the dead is still 67 of which we say 61 are civilians and six security officers. Whether there’s other information on other dead, please accept the official government position,” he said.

RED CROSS

As Mr Lenku spoke, investigators had not started cutting through the rubble to ascertain that no bodies were buried there. However, Red Cross said they had a report of 61 missing people, adding credence to the theory that some never made it out and were caught in the fire fight between the terrorist and the security forces that followed the attack.

“When we went in the first few hours of that fateful Saturday we found survivors but we also found lots of dead bodies so common sense will tell you, respond to the survivors, get them out to safety, treat them, let them go to hospital you can get the bodies later,” said Mr Abbas Gullet, the chief executive of the Red Cross.

The press briefings that have followed the Westgate attack showed a Mr Lenku who was not exactly on sure footing when communicating to Kenyans and the world.

On Monday, he said that the security forces had taken control of all the floors. It was at 2p.m. Kenyans next waited to hear Mr Lenku say that the final assault had been completed.

Instead, more than 20 huge explosions and heavy gunfire were heard minutes past 5p.m., which left the world wondering how that happened if it was true as Mr Lenku had said that all floors were secure.

It gave commentators on social media more arsenal with which to attack Mr Lenku, who was picked directly from the hotel industry and had no experience on security matters before.

Ms Omamo on the other hand is a trained lawyer.

TO RESHUFFLE

“Cabinet experiment with ‘greenhorn’ ministers is a disaster,” commented political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi on Twitter as he urged President Kenyatta to reshuffle the Cabinet. Mr Ngunyi suggested that Mr Lenku should be transferred to a “soft ministry”

Political scientist Adams Oloo said that the communication strategy should have been different given that Mr Lenku does not have institutional experience on matters security, let alone handling a terrorist attack.

“It would not have been an issue if he were a thoroughbred security officer. He’s a hotelier without deep understanding of security matters. They should have had two lines of communication where he would read the general statements and someone in charge of the operation would take the specific questions,” said Mr Oloo.

In Parliament, MPs called for a re-evaluation of the country’s security systems and blamed security chiefs without a specific reference to the performance of the Cabinet secretaries.

The legislators who put off some business on their schedule on Wednesday to discuss the weekend put the country’s security system on the spot, questioning the efficiency of the intelligence system in the wake of the latest attack on the country.

“This kind of thing can only be defeated through an efficient intelligence system,” said Mr Asman Kamama, chairman of the National Security and Administration committee of Parliament. “We need them to be on top of things.

Wajir County MP Fatuma Ali said the country’s security system had failed Kenyans, even suggesting the National Intelligence Service (NIS) be abolished for inefficiency. “We have had numerous attacks in Wajir that have left many people dead because of the failure of the security system. We need to clean this House,” she said.

Intelligence briefs leaked to the media, however, show that the NIS and the Israeli Embassy had given warning of an imminent attack.

Some MPs, however, said it was time to apportion blame, saying an audit should be done to establish who was exactly to blame for the security lapse.

But Former Defence Assistant Minister Joseph Nkaissery said it was too early to start pointing fingers.

“We should not play blame game because we don’t know if NIS reported the matter and that can only be established once we carry out an audit after the rescue operation is over,” he said.

Nairobi County MP Rachael Shebesh said it was embarrassing to the country that the international community had prior knowledge to the attack yet it has an intelligence system. “If the intelligence can’t work, then intelligence must go,” she said.

“The country needs to know, a part from the Alshabaab, who amongst us didn’t do their job,” she said