President Uhuru Kenyatta has confirmed that Kenyan troops in Somalia are not coming back home soon. Of course this is somewhat disappointing as calls for withdrawal have been mounting lately. The military campaign deep inside Somalia, which saw Kenyan troops capture the port city of Kismayu from Al-Shabaab insurgents, was in response to grave threats from across the border, including terrorist incursions and the abduction of Kenyans and foreigners from right within our territory.
True, the mission has come at a great cost of life, limb and resource, but it would be foolhardy to disengage before the work is completely done, as the vacuum so created would favour the enemy.
It has taken immense, sustained regional and global efforts to restore a semblance of law and order in strife-torn Somalia, including the re-establishment of a central government, but there is still a lot more work to do. The government in Mogadishu has done well against huge odds to rebuild institutions, but insecurity remains a huge challenge that the international community is addressing through the United Nations-sponsored African Mission in Somalia (Amisom).
Although created by the African Union’s Peace and Security Council in 2007 for an initial six-month mandate, the Amisom is likely to stay much longer to help shore up the federal government. The mission is of great interest to Kenya because of our direct involvement as one of the contributors of the troops serving in Somalia, and also because the restoration of stability in Somalia would be great news for Kenya, which shares a largely porous, nearly-900-kilometre border with its northern neighbour.
Also, we have, for too long, had to bear the brunt of the lawlessness in Somalia as hundreds of thousands of its citizens have over the years taken refuge in Kenya. And so it is in the interest of Kenya, as Somalia’s next-door neighbour, and the entire East African region, to help stabilise the nation and secure its resources for the benefit of its citizens. Somalis, just like other nationals, deserve peace and stability to foster national development and enjoy prosperity.
