[kictanet] Security Situation in Kenya

Mon Jun 16 14:42:15 EAT 2014

I'm not convinced it's a technology issue, rather a lack of will. We've got
people who benefit from the lack of security (ivory trade, drugs etc), so
the government is not incentivised to fight crime in general. What the
government fails to realise is that petty crime finances larger crimes. Al
Shabaab does not have an investment bank where they can get a convertible
note to finance a terror attack, it can't really list on the NSE. They
traffic drugs, ivory etc. The solution is a thorough crack down on crime
which generally tends to provide the intelligence bodies with much needed
intel. We can't eat our cake and have it too. The government seems to think
that they can have lax security policy and still somehow secure the
country.

We additionally need to look at who is in charge of security policy. It's
absurd to have someone who thinks that a crack down on tint (an illegal
crack down no less) is in charge of the police force. The individual
charged with enforcing the law does not understand or respect the law. The
internal security minister is, frankly, clueless. We've got no cohesive
security policy.

Crime has always been an issue. You might have technology, but it's worth
precious little if it takes the armed forces 4-5 hours to respond, or if
they will try and shake down the terrorist for bribes. A lot of this
technology was not there in the eighties, nineties and noughties.

At this point, there is a shortage of police because they are busy washing
cars in the judiciary or guarding "VIP's". There is a shortage of police
cars because every "VIP" gets a chase car to ensure that they are insulated
from their policy failures (traffic, insecurity etc). The state at this
point does not really care about the citizen and it's primary concern is
extracting the citizen (corporate included) to finance rent seekers who
have no economic value. Our taxes keep increasing and because the state has
a monopoly on violence, we are not really allowed to question how the state
mis-uses our taxes.

What we have is not a technology problem but rather general failure of an
arm of government.

On Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 2:09 PM, Gichuki John Chuksjonia via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Kenyan Government needs to install the concept of Command, Control,
> Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and
> Reconnaissance "C4ISR", like the US and Israel did. The youth are
> capable of helping in such an initiative, and the Govt needs to use
> the youth instead of denying them projects, when we are the ones who
> know how to write applications, use computer networks to implement ICT
> Products that cant effectively and efficiently help Kenyan Security
>
> ./Chucks
>
> On 6/16/14, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> wrote:
> > Listers,
> >
> > In case you might not have heard, there has been a very serious security
> > breach that has occurred in Mpeketoni, Lamu that has so far claimed close
> > to 50 persons.
> >
> > The details on this are here
> >
> http://www.nation.co.ke/news/mpeketoni-Lamu-gunfire-al-shabaab-terrorism/-/1056/2349860/-/yf5qvgz/-/index.html
> >
> > To put this into context, Mpeketoni is the largest town, bar Lamu,
> between
> > the Somali Border and Malindi and the center of commercial activity in
> the
> > region.
> >
> > So, as much as a lot of us might not know it, the fact that Al-Shabbab
> > could drive trucks full of fighters into such a town and commit these
> > crimes and then leave should send all the security-bells that we have
> > ringing.
> >
> > This is exactly how Boko Haram started in Nigeria and we are seeing it
> > played out here right infront of us.
> >
> > I think its time that we spoke as the local ICT Community and came up
> with
> > a stand on what in our opinion needs to be done in ICT Terms to secure
> this
> > nation.
> >
> > As an example, it would actually be very irresponsible of us to let a few
> > gentlemen to come together and tell us the solution to our current
> security
> > problems, from an ICT perspective, is a police network deal that largely
> > puts CCTV Cameras in Nairobi & Mombasa, when maybe nothing is being spent
> > to secure our porous borders as well as actual on-the-ground intelligence
> > collection.
> >
> > We could send this as a proposal to the powers that be as well as the
> > parliamentary ICT Committee and hope, nay, push, until something gets
> done.
> > The way I see this working is, we draft a document, brief and simple with
> > what our recommendations are, then Listers can comment on it. If largely
> > agreeable, we send it to the powers that be.
> >
> > Let me now what your thoughts are, and we could see what we can do about
> > this.
> >
> > --
> > *Regards,*
> >
> > *Wait**haka Ngigi*
> > Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod
> > Building
> > T + 254 (0) 20 2333 471 |Office Mobile: +254 786 28 28 28 | M + 254 737
> 811
> > 000
> > www.at.co.ke
> >
>
>
> --
> --
> Gichuki John Ndirangu, C.E.H , C.P.T.P, O.S.C.P
> I.T Security Analyst and Penetration Tester
> jgichuki at inbox d0t com
>
> {FORUM}http://lists.my.co.ke/pipermail/security/
> http://chuksjonia.blogspot.com/
>
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-- 
Warm Regards,

Phares Kariuki

*E*: pkariuki at gmail.com | *Twitter*: kaboro |* Skype*: kariukiphares | *B*:
http://www.kaboro.com/ |
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