Report blames police over Mpeketoni raids

A report has exposed a broken-down National Police Service and extensively blamed the top brass for inaction when terrorists attacked Mpeketoni, leading to the killing of 60 people.

The report released on Monday by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority says that senior commanders in Nairobi cautioned their juniors against moving in to confront the attackers and save the residents.

In so doing, the first specialised response units arrived at the besieged township in Lamu County seven hours late, after the slaughter and wanton destruction of property was over and all the assailants had escaped.

And the security operation that followed was chaotic, because different units of the police could not agree on a joint counter-offensive, giving the fleeing assailants room to carry out a second attack in Kijijioni.

DISREGARDED REPORTS

The situation is made worse by information that the National Intelligence Service had, for the past year, been giving regular updates warning of an imminent attack, reports that were disregarded by police bosses.

“All the (police) officers interviewed denied the existence of specific intelligence on an impending attack on Mpeketoni. National Police Service headquarters denied the same.

“The Authority contacted NIS. Enquiries ascertained that there were intelligence reports dated as far back as July 2013, which specifically reported that affiliate members of a known outlawed group intended to carry out attacks on particular communities in Lamu.

“Later, intelligence identified individuals who were to perpetrate the attacks as well as locations and communities that were the targets,” says the report.

ROGUE OFFICER

One of the intelligence reports ignored by the police was given in May, and indicated that a police officer attached to the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit was working with terrorists to bring in arms from Somalia.

“The arms were brought in from Liboi under the protection and escort of that police officer. The ATPU officer, based in Witu, was coordinating the activities of the arms smugglers, who were said to be Al-Shabaab operatives,” says the report.

According to Ipoa, the arms were kept in two locations, including a hotel in Witu Town, and the information was given to security chiefs, who promised to carry out raids.

The raids were never conducted.

“The failure to act on this specific intelligence displays lack of appreciation of the gravity of the matter on the part of security agencies. There is a possibility that had this intelligence been acted upon, the attacks may have been prevented or at the very least, disrupted,” adds the report.

AL-SHABAAB'S HAND

The 23-page document links the Mombasa Republican Council and several of its affiliates registered as community welfare organisations to Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab, and says they were responsible for the attacks.

It also cited searing ethnic and religious differences as well as political and land tensions as the reasons for the formation of these alliances blamed for the massacre.

About 30 heavily armed men attacked Mpeketoni township at 8.45pm on June 15.

In the confusion, according to the findings, conflicting orders were given from various command centres.

Orders were given from NPS headquarters at Jogoo House, the headquarters of the Rapid Deployment Unit in Embakasi, the GSU headquarters in Ruaraka as well as Vigilance House, the Kenya Police headquarters.