Officials, religious leaders urge civil servants to stay in Mandera

Residents stand around the Makkah Travels booking office in Mandera following an al-Shabaab attack that killed 28 people on November 22nd. [Bosire Bonfiace/Sabahi]

By Bosire Boniface
Wednesday, December 3, 2014

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GARISSA, Kenya — It did not take long for Samson Nyataya to fall in love with Mandera County and its residents after he moved there in 2010 for a teaching job.

"Teaching jobs were difficult to come by," said Nyataya, 36, who comes from Nyamira County in western Kenya. "When a relative told me that a Mandera primary school was looking for a teacher, I took the opportunity in order to earn a living for my family of three and help impart knowledge to local children."

"My native county is very cold and rainy. It is the direct opposite of Mandera with its blistering temperatures oscillating between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius," he told Sabahi. "Then there is the issue of highway bandits and occasional inter-clan clashes."

But despite the heat and the occasional security challenges, Nyataya said he fell in love with Mandera and decided to stay. His family was also happy to settle there and his wife even established a small grocery store, he said.

However, the family's sense of safety and love for the community was shattered following al-Shabaab's execution of 28 non-Muslims near Mandera on November 22nd, he said.

"There have been similar targeted killings of Christians by al-Shabaab, but the recent attack was very close to me because I was to travel on that bus and I knew the majority of those who died," he said, adding his relative who had informed him of the job was among those killed.

The attack spread fear among non-Muslims working and living in Mandera, sparking an exodus out of the county, he said.

"Once I receive my November salary, I will get a flight ticket out of here never to return back," he said. "My heart is no longer with Mandera."

Justus Mwongera, 29, a nurse in Mandera Hospital, told Sabahi he is "staying put" despite many of his colleagues having left already.

Mwongera said he had attended public rallies held after the bus attack demanding the government help evacuate Christians from the area, but eventually he decided to stay to secure his job.

"After some soul searching I decided that staying put is the best option," he said, adding that he is talking to some of his colleagues to convince them to stay.

While the public's security concerns are real, Mwongera said some non-local civil servants in Mandera are using the recent attacks as an excuse to seek transfers for personal reasons.

"Mandera is very far from their [home] counties. The distance has kept many from their families for a long time," he said. "Other civil servants want a transfer to other counties to pursue further education since there are no higher learning institutions in Mandera."

The attacks have also coincided with the holiday season and some people may be pushing for evacuation just to be with their families for Christmas and New Year festivities, he added.

Exodus could paralyse delivery of education, healthcare services

Mandera County Governor Ali Roba said that if the exodus continues, the county could face a debilitating crisis in its ability to deliver critical services.

"Teachers and health services are very crucial in our region," he told Sabahi. "We have a shortage already and if the few we have leave, it will be a crisis of unimaginable proportion."

The exact number of civil servants who have left the area is not yet available, he said, adding that he remains optimistic that those fleeing will rescind their decision and return.

"We are assuming that they left to be with their families for the December festivities and they will resume duty in January," he said.

Roba said county and national government officials are working together to convince civil servants and their unions to rescind their decision to leave and instead continue to support Mandera.

"Muslims and non-Muslims are in this situation together," he said. "We condemn the killings of the non-Muslims and we have appealed to the Muslims to co-operate with security officers to maintain security."

SUPKEM: Do not give victory to al-Shabaab

Supreme Council of Kenyan Muslims (SUPKEM) Vice Chairman Abdullahi Sirat also urged civil servants to stay united and not to succumb to al-Shabaab's desires.

"Withdrawing service from Mandera is giving victory to a criminal group that does not deserve anything," he told Sabahi, adding that citizens' fleeing would actually help al-Shabaab revive from its death bed.

In addition, Sirat said, the exodus would punish a whole community for crimes committed by terrorists.

"There are innocent children who will suffer because of the collective punishment and education performance will also suffer," he said. "We condemn all acts of violence especially the ones aimed at the crucial service providers like teachers and health workers."

"The resilience and religious unity we as Kenyans have demonstrated together during adversity should not be forgotten when we are about to win the war," he added.

'The suffering has already started'

While the full impact of the fleeing teachers will be felt in schools starting in January, health provision is already suffering, according to Mandera County Assembly Member Abdirahman Hajj Ismail.

"There is mounting pressure on the few native health workers who are struggling to serve patients flocking local health facilities," Ismail told Sabahi. "The government and private hospitals have all been affected. The suffering has already started."

For its part, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) said its advisory for teachers to stay away from Mandera still stands.

"We know our directive to teachers will have negative implication in affected counties' education, but at the same time, life is very precious," KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion told Sabahi.

"We have been losing our teachers in that part of the country to al-Shabaab related attacks since 2011," he said. "We have had enough of the government's standard response that security has been strengthened, yet we continue losing very important people in a society."

"Similar attacks are bound to happen because our government has exhibited that it is not on top of security," he added.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) also said it is maintaining its call for members to evacuate Mandera, despite Tuesday's shakeup of the country's top security leaders.

"These security changes are meant to appease the public but we all know that the criminals are walking free. The killing of quarry workers days after the killing of [bus] passengers is enough of a signal that Mandera is very volatile," KMPDU Secretary General Abidan Mwachi told Sabahi.

All union members are advised to leave the region until security is tightened, he said.

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