With just two days after Al Shabaab terror group attacked a military base in Lamu, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has come out to reveal some of the centers in Kenya where the militants are suspected to be carrying out their recruitments.
Speaking to editors in his office on Monday, Matiang’i named Kenyan Universities as some of the hotspots where the terrorist groups are currently poaching more members from.
Matiang’i stated that the group was targeting institutions of higher learning because students are motivated into joining terror groups because of financial incentives.
“There is evidence of recruitment at our universities. Universities have been turned into hubs for money laundering by terror organisations,” remarked Matiang’i.
The no-nonsense CS pointed out that some of the terrorists involved in past attacks were studying law and engineering in local universities, and some came from wealthy families.
At the same time, the CS accused some of the universities of employing former police officers with questionable records as heads of their security departments.
Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai, who had also accompanied Matiang’i maintained that no Kenyan was killed during the Manda Airstrip raid, which saw four militants killed by the KF soldiers.
The IG observed that the speed of response to terror attacks had improved as well as capabilities in Kenya.
“We have specialised units, better equipment and increased our effectiveness in response to threats as well as border patrols,” he stated.
Matiang’i challenged the US to support Kenya’s efforts to have al Shabaab enlisted among the global terrorist organisations under the UN Security Council resolution 1267 of 1999.
The CS’s statement comes just a few hours after two Al Shabaab terrorists were reportedly shot dead by police on Tuesday morning, after attacking and killing four people near the Kenya-Somalia border in Garissa.
The more than 10 attackers were successfully repulsed in an attack that occurred at Saretho area, 25 kilometers from Dadaab Refugee camp.