Declare KDF exit from Somalia in State of the Nation address, MP tells Uhuru

Wednesday March 30, 2016

A monument erected at Moi Barracks in Eldoret for Kenya Defence Forces soldiers killed in an attack by al Shabaab militants in El Adde, Somalia, on January 15, 2016. Photo/MATHEWS NDANYI

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Uhuru Kenyatta must break his silence over the KDF's continued stay in Somalia in his State of the Nation address on Thursday, an MP has said.

Tim Wanyonyi of Westlands said it is time for Kenya to develop a strategy for exiting the war-torn country as "we are no longer welcome, even by the government".

“It is time the President tells the nation when we are pulling out of Somalia. Our soldiers have stayed there for a long time,” he said at Parliament buildings on Tuesday.

The MP further said Uhuru should give the number of soldiers killed in an ambush by al Shabaab fighters in El Adde on January 15.

“To date we do not have official figures yet other countries do,” he said.

The militants initially said they killed 63 soldiers but revised the number up to 100, and added that some were kidnapped. The government confirmed that some soldiers were captured.

Uhuru said on January 28 that Kenya will not pull out of Somalia , despite the massacre of its soldiers.

He said at a memorial for those killed in El Adde that the Kenya Defence Forces will pursue al Shabaab terrorists “to their last hideouts”.

“We will continue in Somalia to fulfil our mission. Some, whose courage has failed, want to give up the mission now,” he said.

“They want to retreat, to leave the field to the enemy in the hope that he will leave them alone.”

But Wanyonyi said the Jubilee government has failed in securing Kenya and "perfected the art of arrogance" on national security matters.

Members of Parliament in the Defense and Foreign Relations Committee have grilled Defence CS Raychelle Omamo over inconsistencies of the El Adde attack.

The committee led by Ndung'u Githinji also questioned KDF commanders and is preparing to table a report before Parliament.

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