Mpeketoni Attack, Nation Under Siege.

It happened again, I awoke to another sad tale of the declining state of insecurity in the country and less than encouraging remarks of how we are one.
But we all know the truth of the matter is that we are not, we are a segregated cohesion of independent communities set to build a nation together riddled by continued internal strife. Last time it was West Gate, it was heart breaking to see so many lives senselessly lost to group of hoodlums masquerading under the illusion of a holy war. This was followed by a series of minor IDE/grenade attacks orchestrated by unknown assailants aimed at disrupting the peace we try so hard to maintain.

This time it’s Mpeketoni, body piled on top of body, all that’s left is a shell of someone that once was, someone that once loved and breathed and cared and shared. Is this how safe we are? What stands between us and another close encounter with these so called terrorists hell bent on causing havoc and instilling fear into the hearts of men?

This is only a fraction of the situation on the ground.We are a nation under siege, plagued by Al Shaabab and security personnel that seem more clueless than Tom in his attempts to catch Jerry. Must we come this close to staring death in the face, perpetually riddled with the question of whether or not we are next?

In as much as we say “Ulinzi unaanza na wewe,Ulinzi unaanza na mimi” , we are not all equipped to face these kinds of threat. What then becomes the point of security personnel if we are pushed to a point where we must act as our own defenders? The questions are many but they will not bring back the dead, they will not protect me or my family and sadly they seem to not push the government to want to do better.

This cycle must end, we cannot keep living under this illusion that things will turn out fine, a prayer for the nation is not enough, God helps those who help themselves and unless we do something tangible towards securing our borders we have no right to air our grievances when we are hit again and again. We should not have to rise above, we should not have to suffer this pain not as individuals and not as a nation. So I ask the question, Where are we heading?