Just a day after armed millitants attacked a village in Mandera, Police officers in Lamu county are on high alert following a terror-related incident on Sunday night which has caused anxiety among the locals.
Heavy gunshots were reportedly heard a few metres from Ishakani GSU Camp and when officers went to find out what was happening they found messages written in Arabic warning non-Muslims in the region.
“The officers noticed Arabic writings on the road which loosely translated to “Let the non-Muslims prepare for war.”
Officers also found the road along the Kenyan-Somalia border blocked by suspected terrorists who fled into a bush after noticing that the police had arrived at the scene.
The incident took place just hours after suspected militants stormed a store in Mandera and made away with food.
Two weeks ago, an intelligence report issued by the police warned that suspected militants from Somalia had crossed the border into Kenya.
In the report, the militants were 15 in number and were targeting to make attacks in the Nprth Eastern targeting hospitals.
Last week, Immigration Principal Secretary Major-General (Rtd) Gordon Kihalangwa called for more preventive measures to be put in place to curb the menace.
The PS particularly called for tighter security at the National Assembly and the Senate.
Kihalangwa was attending a five-day conference of national conference for Sergeants-at-Arms in Naivasha which brings together Sergeants-at-Arms from Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Mauritius and all the Kenyan counties.
“We are glad that no security threat has been reported in our National Assembly or Senate but this is no reason to drop your guard,” he said.
He challenged the officers to be alert, noting that Senate and the National Assembly are critical for the country’s governance, hence the need to enhance security.
“Your job as Sergeant-at-Arms is not only about the safety of the mace but also about the honourable members and their wellbeing,” he said.
Kihalangwa said with an increase in the number of visitors to the two Houses, there was need for security agents to be alert and heighten surveillance.
“Parliament and nearby buildings have expanded and there is need to address the issue of security in the wake of increased cases of terror attacks,” he was quoted by People Daily.
The PS also said corruption was a threat, and called on officers to be on the lookout for fraudsters around Parliament Buildings.
According to the police, the prime suspect of last year’s botched terror mission targeted the Supreme Court and other government installations in Nairobi and worked with several Kenyans who helped him acquire fake documents and move around.
The security officials said that the suspects targeted the Supreme Court as the epicentre of the bomb attack, which would have been followed by successive explosions at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Parliament Buildings, County Hall, Technical University of Kenya, Central Bus Station, Jeevanjee Gardens, Serena Hotel, the University of Nairobi, and Milimani Law Courts.
The then Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet said had the plot succeeded, it would have caused massive infrastructural devastation, deaths and injuries.