Al SHABAAB IN NAIROBI – IS KAMPALA NEXT?

Fears are growing that the horrifying attack by Somali militants that took place in the Kenyan capital Nairobi may soon be repeated in other East African capitals especially that of Kampala in Uganda and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

The ease with which Al-Shabaab militants managed to infiltrate a shopping mall partly owned by Israel, a country that is always on the alert for such an attack from Arab militants, has sent shock waves amongst security officials not only in East Africa but in major Western capitals where Somali immigrants have made such countries their home.

Kenya and Uganda are two of the East African countries where for over three decades governments have been sympathetic to the plight of Somalis escaping dictatorial rule especially during the regime of Gen Mohamed Siad Barre who ruled the country from October 1969 until he was deposed in January 1991 and exiled, yes, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi before being forces by Somali opposition groups to leave Nairobi for Lagos where he died of a heart attack in January 1995.

Somali refugees have made both these countries their homes, engaging in businesses of every kind and are often seen on the streets of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kampala munching away at their khat, a green-leafed shrub that has been chewed for centuries mostly in the horn of Africa. While most Somalis who have settled in Kenya and Uganda are peace loving people and have blended in well with folks in those countries, their presence in these countries have made it difficult for security services to differentiate them from a new breed of Muslim extremists who want to preserve Somalia as an entirely Muslim state aligned with the thinking of the detested Al Qaeda terrorist group.