CIVIC SOCIETY GROUPS CONSOLIDATES EFFORTS AND RESOURCES TO MONITOR DEVOLUTION

BY ADOW JUBAT

                       
Pic: County Executive Committee (CEC) member in charge of gender, Children
and culture Halima Mohamed Haji (with the hand bag) poses photo with members of civil societies in Garissa County yesterday.

Civil societies working in Garissa County has on Monday set aside their common rivalry over donors funding and launched umbrella body that will see them synchronize their efforts, resource and oversight role over the local County government.

The non-governmental organisation said they were consolidating their efforts and resources to ensure that their efforts to oversee the implemented of devolution is taking shape as provided in the constitution so as to benefit the common people.

Speaking at the function that brought about 42 civic society groups together at a Garissa hotel, the newly appointed chairman of the joint civil groups known as Garissa Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Mohamed Khalif said organisations needed to work together as a team in order to keep the County government on its toes and delivery devolved services to the people as required.

He said fragmentation of NGOs in the past have made their impacts not felt in the County and North-Eastern as whole despite many of them undertaking several activities with huge donors support adding that they have now resolved to work together under one umbrella where their impact in improving peoples’ well-being can be adequately felt in a short time.

He said County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP), which was formulated by the County administration will be the key yardstick they will be using when engaging the County administration for accountable to the residents of Garissa.

“We want the CIDP to be used as the roadmap for the projects planning, implementation and funding. We don’t want a situation where leaders develop a glossy development plans, then dump them and embark on doing things at their own political, clan or personal whims or interests” he said.

He added “Since the county integrated development plan (CIDP) is a legal document born out of the of County government Act 2012 and has the contribution of the wider interests of the residents we will fight to see it’s fully adherence during project planning and implementations”,

Khalif said under the umbrella, the civil societies will now work as one body which will coordinate their work as a team and network between themselves so in extension partner with the county government to realize their core mandate of ensure services are delivered to the people as required by law.

He said the Civil Societies in the county will form committees which will pursue specific agenda such as education, health, Water women issues, child right among others, which are of great interest and importance to the residents of the Garissa County.

 

The civil society chairman emphasized that the specific committees will also be formed to engage the relevant organs in the County and National governments adding that they will seek dialogue to engage the authority and implore way to support them than the tradition way of using confrontations.

The County Executive Committee member for gender, Children and culture Halima Mohamed Haji who represented the county government said civil societies are critical in any developing society and she pledge for a better working relationship with the local and international NGOs working in the County.

She said civil societies beside their oversight role over the governments they have always supplemented financial and technical support where the county government lacked them.

“You have been n integral part of our society since you have always shown willingness to help our people in different capacities and we as government appreciate your efforts as partners in development. I assure you of our cordial working relation,” she
said.

ONE INJURED IN GARISSA HAND GRENADE ATTACK

BY ADOW JUBAT

One person was slightly injured after assailants’ hurled explosive at a group of people walking along Bulla power areas in Garissa town at 8.30 pm on Sunday evening.

Confirming the incident, the North-Eastern region criminal investigating officers Musa Yego said, unknown armed men hurled an explosion at three men who were heading Bulla Power from the town after retiring from their day work.

“There were two civilians who were heading toward their homes in Bulla-Power before they were met by two young men dressed in Kikio (shawl). The assailants removed explosive devices from their waist and hurled at the two who were heading on the opposite direction” he said.

The victims got suspicious of the two men whom they met on the road, after one of them began unfolding his Kikio to remove something from his waist causing them to stop.

He added “The victims fears were immediately confirmed after the one of the assailants pelted an explosive believed to be a hand grenade at the two men, but the explosion missed its target by a whisker, after the two civilians took a quick dive onto the ground”, 

Yego said one of the two men attacked sustained minor injury after shrapnel hit him on the right arm, while his colleague was unscathed.

The regional CID boss said, the assailants were two most wanted criminals who are behind the spate of hit and run explosions attacks in the town adding that the security officers has been hunting them for months now.

“We appeal to the members of the public to assist our officers in apprehending the two young men who are terrorizing the residents of the town with indiscriminate hand grenade attacks against civilians” 

He said the days of the two criminals, were numbered as the security personnel were tracing them round the clock.

MAN SHOT BY POLICE IN MANDERA

BY ADOW JUBAT

 
 Pic. Ibrahim Hussein recuperating in Mandera hospital

A man was Friday night shot after security officers on patrol in the insecurity prone Mandera town run into a group of youths who were sneaking in the country from the neigbouring Bulla-Xawa.

According to police sources sorting for protection and who were among officers on the nigh patrol team, a dozen of youths who were entering Mandera from Somalia side disregarded orders to stop by the security patrol team prompting the officers to fire at them.

“We fired at the youth as we suspected they belonged to the trouble causing militia. One of them sustained gun shots as the others scampered for safety in the darkness,” said the officer who doesn’t want to be named since his rank is lower than gazette officers, who are authorize to speak to the media.

The middle age victim was taken to Mandera referral hospital by the police where he is admitted and undergoing treatment despite been chained on his hospital bed as he is it to be interrogated further.

Speaking to the Standard the victim, Ibrahim Hussein said they were only three youths who had gone to collect a phone from a friend before the police appeared from nowhere at around 8:30pm and shot at them unprovoked.

“We saw the people who thought to be officers coming toward us and decided to lie down on our stomachs before we heard gunshots aimed at our direction forcing us to run for our lives. It is only I realized I was shot in the buttocks,” He noted.

Medical record of the patient at the hospital indicates that Hussein sustained left gluteus injury where a bullet entered his right buttock before exiting in the left.

Meanwhile Mandera Police Commander, Noah Mwivanda said no stone will be left unturned in search for the perpetrators of the last Saturday macabre killings of 28 Kenyans.

While addressing a special police unite established following the killing of 28 Kenyans to provide armed escorting to buses plying the militia infested Mandera-Nairobi road  town , the County police chief the security agencies in the area will remain firm in avoid a reapeat of what happened last week.

Mwivanda said both PSV and personal vehicles had been discouraged from using the dangerous borderline road and instead use the Mandera – Rhamu - Elwak route until security in Omar Jillo is restored.

However, the drivers prefer using the al-Shabaab infested Arabia-Lafey-Elwak road because of its smoothness, while compared to Mandera-Rhamu road.

ON DAY 7, AL-SHABAAB KILLED SECURITY OFFICERS IN DADAAB, GARISSA COUNTY

BY ADOW JUBAT

A senior police officer was gun down and his colleague seriously wounded in a gun attack by suspected al-Shabaab militia, a week after the dread Islamist gunmen cowardly executed 28 civilians in Mandera bus attack.

This latest attack by the militia, hitting the security personnel makes the government hard talks comical and deputy president Ruto's tired narratives that, day two the militia never celebrated the massacre of Kenyans.

In deed, al-Shaab not only celebrated the violent killing of Kenyans' civil servant heading on a December holiday, they managed to carry another attack on security officers on day 7.

The attackers who were on foot trailed the officers for about 100 meters before firing at them at a close range in Dagahley refugee camp, one of the five open air in sprawling  refugee camp in Dadaab sub-county, Garissa County.

Confirming the Saturday afternoon incident, the North-Eastern regional Criminal Investigation department officer Musa Yego said gunmen which they highly suspect to be members or sympathizers of the dread Islamist group; Al-Shabaab attacked the two officers, one from Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and another from General Duties (GD).

“Assailants we suspect to be Al-Shabaab adherents attacked two of our officers at about 3.30pm today (Saturday) at Daghley killing one instantly and seriously injuring his colleague,” he told the your Authoritative, fast and sharp Frontier Leaks on a phone conversation.

He said the deceased was a CID officer based in Dadaab succumbed to the fatal gun wounds his sustained from the assailants attacks.

The CID Boss said the other officer, who picked serious gun wound injuries has been rushed to Dadaab District Hospital, where he is receiving treatment as he awaits to be transferred to Garissa referral hospital for specialized medication.

He noted that the security officers have launched manhunt for the killers believed to be about 3 armed men, who disappeared into shanties refugee settlement shortly after attacking the officers.

Last Saturday over hundred al-Shabaab militia men ambushed a Nairobi bound bus from Mandera along Arabia –Mandera road before they brutally murdered 28 non-Muslim passengers purportedly to avenge for killings done by Kenya military in the war scarred Somalia and the closure of 3 Mosques in the coastal city of Mombasa.

And on October 17 this year another CID officer was killed in Libio border town after he was confronted by AK 47 assault rifles wielding gunmen shortly after he left Mosque, where he attended an evening prayers.

Northeastern region has borne the brunt of terror terrorism attacks that was gloatingly claimed responsibilities by Somalia based al-Shabaab since Kenya Defense forces crossed the border to war ravaged Somalia in October of 2011.