A major security lapse
It was a joyous homecoming on Tuesday when 43 sailors, all but four Kenyan, landed in Mombasa after a gruelling four months as captives of Somali pirates.
They became hostages when their Korean-owned shipping vessel, the Golden Wave, was captured on October 9, last year.
The ship and crew were released on February 8 after payment of a reported Sh50 million ransom. Docking in Kenya a week after their release obviously made for emotional reunions, and there were heart-rending stories of the ill-treatment, deprivation, and sheer horror of life in captivity.
A key element that we should all pay attention to, however, is the threat to national security posed by Somali pirates as well as the collapse of the Somali state. It is worrying that the Golden Wave was hijacked deep inside Kenyan territorial waters, a mere 10 nautical miles off the Kenyan coast.
The freed sailors spoke of their captured ship prowling Kenyan waters in search of other ships to hijack.
Their captors seized five other vessels in Kenyan waters during the four months of the terrifying ordeal, and at no time were Kenyan security forces anywhere in the vicinity.
The conclusion then is that our security agencies do not have the capacity to protect Kenyan territorial waters.
That Somali pirates can operate with impunity deep inside Kenyan territory reveals a major security lapse by which much more evil intentions against this country, such as terrorist groups, can infiltrate our borders.
Kenya should learn a lesson and henceforth pursue, in concert with international partners, much more aggressive strategies against the pirates.
The message must go out that those who use Kenyan waters as a stage for nefarious criminal activities do so at great risk to their own lives.
Source: Daily Nation
