Well, maybe the U.N. folks who are so upset about Nairobi being upgraded (or downgraded) from a C-level to a B-level security post have good reason. Just in from AFP: Somalia's Shabab (hardline Islamic militants known for stoning 13-year-old rape victims to death because they "committed adultery") have vowed to march on Nairobi.
It is impossible to tell how much of this is braggadocio and how much of it is a legitimate threat. Either way, Nairobi is a very, very easy target, notwithstanding the U.S. Embassy bombing of 1998. Security at possibly high-value targets is perfunctory at best. Security guards are underpaid and treated poorly, and would be susceptible to bribes. Weapons are easy to come by.
You hate to be alarmist on stuff like this. And Kenya's government cynically muddies the waters by cynically crying wolf about non-existent terrorist threats in what would seem to be a play for more aid from the West. Yet there have been some worrying indicators lately that something might be brewing. The news that police found a mortar shell on a bus raised a few eyebrows, for example.
Well i guess with this kind of reporting Nairobi will always be viewed as some God forsaken third world outpost thats more dangerous than...hmmm New York. Clearly now i see why the situation in Kenya is always mis-reported. My query would be since our security is so bad how comes so far we have never been bombed by Al Shabaab?
I live in Nairobi, Kenya and if it wasnt for the entry of this Sheikh which can be attributed to a lapse in our immigration we wouldn't be having this particular conversation. I guess Nick Wadhams needs to admit it, the only reason the folks at UN dont want the classification to go up is so they can continue fleecing the UN by living in such a hardship city like Nairobi, when we actually know the truth, they just wanna live large.
Posted by: Paul Karingithi | January 21, 2010 at 06:17 PM