The government ignored intelligence from various international governments of an eminent attack by Al Shabaab. It has emerged that the Thursday slaughter of 147 people at Garissa University College, a constituent campus of Moi University, would have been averted had the government acted on this information in good time.
The early morning attack was preceded by travel warnings by Britain and Australia last week. The UK recommended only essential travel to areas around the Coast and northeastern, including Garissa County.
In fact, the Kenyan government had directed universities, especially those in Nairobi, to advise students to be vigilant and report any suspicious sights on the campus or wherever they are. The advice was informed by intelligence that there was an imminent attack on a vital installation in the country.
Security analysts say this should have put the government on high alert and followed by securing of major institutions and picking of more intelligence information to forestall any attack. But the government yesterday held that it had been caught unawares by the terrorists. “This incident, which happened today, is one of those incidents which can surprise any country,” he told reporters in Garissa during a briefing.
Mr Nkaissery praised the security forces for ending the siege quickly. But he admitted the price paid was high. “We commend our security forces and 90 per cent of the threat has already been eliminated. Of course at a very high cost in terms of loss of life,” he said in one of the briefings Thursday.
The attack in Garissa looked similar the Westgate Mall siege in September 2013 tough with a higher number of casualties. Al-Shabaab, which argues is “at war” with Kenya has taken responsibility for the two attacks.
The Somali militant group said it was taking revenge on Kenya for sending troops in Somalia. The Kenya Defence Forces went to Somalia in 2011 to pursue Al-Shabaab following a spate of kidnappings on Kenyan soil.
