from MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya Bureau
NAIROBI, (CAJ News) – AMID new political crises occasioned by anti-government protests and fallout within the government, Kenya is battling threats from communal militias and the al-Shabaab terror group.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) has documented the perpetrations.
It has reported 21 fatalities in communal clashes in Tana River county in October, thus illustrating the continuing power of communal militias in some communities and the multi-faceted ways the state can respond.
In Mandera, the 11 attacks in border areas from October 1 to 15 November, ten of which were against security forces, illustrate the continuing risk presented by al-Shabaab in Somalia, according to the think-tank.
ACLED noted nonetheless, the unrest that was expected in the wake of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s impeachment in October had not occurred.
Gachagua, then deputy to President William Ruto, was axed after a series of charges.
Since the spike in impeachment-related demonstrations in early October, ACLED said it recorded 12 such events, almost half of which did not support the former deputy president.
Despite Gachagua challenging his impeachment in the courts, Kithure Kindiki was sworn in as the new deputy president on November 1.
ACLED believes Ruto’s appointment of Kindiki, who is from Meru, helped appease political interests from the Gikuyu, Embu, and Meru communities, collectively known as GEMA, after Gachagua was ousted.
A new cabinet secretary for the Ministry of Interior is yet to be appointed, although the president is likely to recruit a successor from Western Kenya who can represent the interests of Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement.
“Whoever is appointed will face the challenges of occasional flare-ups of violence between communal militias in the north and east and the enduring threat of al-Shabaab, particularly in the country’s northeast,” ACLED stated.
– CAJ News