President says Kenyan politics not Islamists behind attacks
Tue Jun 17, 2014 3:04pm GMT
* Politics in Kenya largely split along ethnic lines
* Gunmen killed 49 in first attack, then 15 a day later
* Al Shabaab militants claim responsibility
* Kenyatta's main rival returned from abroad in May (Recasts with Kenyatta's
address, opposition comment, changes dateline)
By Edmund Blair and Duncan Miriri
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 17 (Reuters) - Kenya's president shifted blame to
domestic rivals on Tuesday for two attacks that killed 65 people on the
coast and he dismissed claims of responsibility by Somali Islamist
militants, which Nairobi usually fingers for such assaults.
Somalia's al Shabaab militant group has said its gunmen carried out the
attacks on the town of Mpeketoni on Sunday night and on a nearby village
early on Tuesday morning.
In comments that could further stoke political tensions in a country where
allegiances generally run along ethnic lines, President Uhuru Kenyatta
instead pointed the finger at rivals he described as "hate-mongers", though
he did not name anybody.
"The attack in Lamu was well planned, orchestrated and politically motivated
ethnic violence against the Kenyan community," Kenyatta told the nation in
an address, referring to Lamu county where the two attacks took place.
"This, therefore, was not an al Shabaab terrorist attack. Evidence indicates
local political networks were involved in the planning and execution of the
heinous crime. This also played into the opportunist network of other
criminal gangs," he said.
Blaming domestic rivals could ease pressure on Kenyatta's government, which
has faced strong criticism about its handling of security and the threat
from Somali-linked militants.
Analysts said politicising the issue of security by either side risked
undermining efforts to tackle shortcomings.
"We live at a time when our people are vulnerable to reckless leaders and
hate-mongers who manipulate them to create hate, intolerance and fanaticism,
which makes them easy prey to radicalisation and crime," Kenyatta said in
his address.
Though Kenyatta, an ethnic Kikuyu, did not mention him, his comments
appeared directed at his opponent and main presidential challenger in last
year's election, Raila Odinga, an ethnic Luo, who returned to Kenya in May
after a long period abroad.
Odinga has been rallying supporters and has urged dialogue with the
government. He has condemned the latest assaults.
In Sunday's attack, gunmen stormed Mpeketoni, which lies near the popular
tourist attraction of Lamu town, and killed 49 people. Then 24 hours later,
gunmen raided nearby Poromoko village, going through the town from house to
house and ordering residents to recite an Islamic creed, witnesses said.
Kenya has blamed al Shabaab for a spate of gun and bomb attacks in recent
months. Kenya also holds al Shabaab responsible for an attack on Nairobi's
Westgate shopping mall in September last year in which 67 people were
killed.
ETHNIC VIOLENCE
Al Shabaab has said its attacks are intended to punish Kenya for sending
troops to Somalia to confront its Islamist fighters. Kenya has previously
said it would keep its troops in Somalia.
Witnesses in Mpeketoni said they heard the gunmen speak Somali, although
that does not automatically link them to al Shabaab as Kenya has a large
minority with Somali origins who also speak the language.
Violence between different ethnic groups is not uncommon in Kenya. Tribes of
Somali origin and other ethnic groups have in the past fought over land and
other issues, though that has mostly occurred in Kenya's lawless northern
border area.
After the 2007 presidential vote in Kenya, ethnic tensions erupted into
violence that killed about 1,200 people.
In a statement condemning the Mpeketoni attack on Monday, Odinga said: "This
is not time for blame games ... We must as leaders and as a nation rally
together to respond to this serious national tragedy."
The new attacks have fuelled public criticism of the government for failing
to do more to improve national security.
Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku, who has defended his government's
security efforts, has been a particular target for fury. Many Kenyans have
said he should have been fired after the Westgate crisis, particularly after
soldiers involved in retaking the mall from militants were found to have
looted it.
Ole Lenku said he sacked a senior regional officer in Lamu county after this
week's attack. Kenyatta said security officials, who he said ignored
intelligence, would face charges.
The series of recent assaults have hammered the vital tourist industry,
particularly on the coast.
Some hotels in the palm-fringed coastal region say they face closure, while
others which offer safaris up-country say bookings are down 30 percent - a
worrying sign as the July-to-September peak tourist season approaches.
"This government is full of talk and no action," said one angry resident in
Mpeketoni, speaking as Ole Lenku arrived in the town on Tuesday. "They keep
saying the country is safe and we keep on suffering at the hands of
terrorists."
The Red Cross had previously put the death toll for the Mpeketoni assault at
50 but on Tuesday said the total figure was 49. That number did not include
victims of the latest attack. (Reporting by Feisal Omar in Mogadishu, Joseph
Akwiri in Mombasa, Humphre Malalo in Nairobi and Drazen Jorgic in Lamu;
Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Gareth Jones)