Terrorists Will Not Derail Us, Says Kenyatta
May 7, 2014
ABUJA. — Kenya’s president vowed that “attackers will not derail us” following a deadly weekend in which suspected Al-Shebaab militants killed seven people in a spate of bombings. Speaking during a state visit to Nigeria, President Uhuru Kenyatta said, “My presence here is indication that these people will not derail us. We will continue and we shall fight this battle and we shall win this battle.”
Kenya’s capital Nairobi was hit by twin bombings on Sunday that killed three and left 86 injured.
That came one day after a double attack in the port city of Mombasa that killed four.
Somalia’s Al-Shebaab militants have been implicated in both attacks.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, president Kenyatta said both countries “have suffered at the hands of cowardly terrorists, people who have no value for life, who continue to wreak wanton havoc on lives and property in our two countries.”
Nigeria has experienced a series of brutal attacks by Islamist Boko Haram militants that have killed an estimated 1 500 people since the start of the year, including 75 killed in a car bombing in Abuja on April 14.
Boko Haram have also claimed responsibility for the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in Borno state last month.
“These attacks are aimed at cowing the people of our country and cowing the people of this continent to derail them from the new agenda that we have set for ourselves,” said Kenyatta.
He is due to attend the World Economic Forum which opens today in Abuja.
However, many Somalis and Kenyans of Somali origin are complaining of feeling profiled since the terrorism crackdown began a month ago.
Jina Moore writing on BuzzFeed.com days after the two deadly attacks said riders in Kenya are now profiling each other.
She says that while bus blasts are not rare in Nairobi, Sunday’s explosions came at a time of heightened tension about terrorism and ethnicity.
Kenya has allegedly been routing out illegal immigrants, especially in Nairobi’s big Somali neighbourhoods, because it considers them a terrorism threat.
Somalis have allegedly been rounded up in house-to-house raids to have their residency papers checked, and some have reportedly been held for as many as eight days in a local soccer stadium.
Both Somalis and Kenyans have resorted to social media to register their displeasure about the apparent xenophobic attacks.
An observer wrote on their Twitter account: “Sad. My daughter boarded a mat this evening where passengers forcefully threw out a Somali lady #SomeonetellUhuruKenyatta”.
Another reader wrote, “Somali woman thrown out of 105 matatu was ready to prove innocence, but citizens would not listen #ThikaRoadBlast via @shecyclesnbi”, while another remarked that “if Kenyans of Somali origin cannot peacefully board a mat without fear or prejudice, then as a nation we should have a #WalkToWork campaign.”
— AFP/Agencies.
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| Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has issued a warning against terrorists. |
ABUJA. — Kenya’s president vowed that “attackers will not derail us” following a deadly weekend in which suspected Al-Shebaab militants killed seven people in a spate of bombings. Speaking during a state visit to Nigeria, President Uhuru Kenyatta said, “My presence here is indication that these people will not derail us. We will continue and we shall fight this battle and we shall win this battle.”
Kenya’s capital Nairobi was hit by twin bombings on Sunday that killed three and left 86 injured.
That came one day after a double attack in the port city of Mombasa that killed four.
Somalia’s Al-Shebaab militants have been implicated in both attacks.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, president Kenyatta said both countries “have suffered at the hands of cowardly terrorists, people who have no value for life, who continue to wreak wanton havoc on lives and property in our two countries.”
Nigeria has experienced a series of brutal attacks by Islamist Boko Haram militants that have killed an estimated 1 500 people since the start of the year, including 75 killed in a car bombing in Abuja on April 14.
Boko Haram have also claimed responsibility for the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in Borno state last month.
“These attacks are aimed at cowing the people of our country and cowing the people of this continent to derail them from the new agenda that we have set for ourselves,” said Kenyatta.
He is due to attend the World Economic Forum which opens today in Abuja.
However, many Somalis and Kenyans of Somali origin are complaining of feeling profiled since the terrorism crackdown began a month ago.
Jina Moore writing on BuzzFeed.com days after the two deadly attacks said riders in Kenya are now profiling each other.
She says that while bus blasts are not rare in Nairobi, Sunday’s explosions came at a time of heightened tension about terrorism and ethnicity.
Kenya has allegedly been routing out illegal immigrants, especially in Nairobi’s big Somali neighbourhoods, because it considers them a terrorism threat.
Somalis have allegedly been rounded up in house-to-house raids to have their residency papers checked, and some have reportedly been held for as many as eight days in a local soccer stadium.
Both Somalis and Kenyans have resorted to social media to register their displeasure about the apparent xenophobic attacks.
An observer wrote on their Twitter account: “Sad. My daughter boarded a mat this evening where passengers forcefully threw out a Somali lady #SomeonetellUhuruKenyatta”.
Another reader wrote, “Somali woman thrown out of 105 matatu was ready to prove innocence, but citizens would not listen #ThikaRoadBlast via @shecyclesnbi”, while another remarked that “if Kenyans of Somali origin cannot peacefully board a mat without fear or prejudice, then as a nation we should have a #WalkToWork campaign.”
— AFP/Agencies.
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