Kenya has resumed the construction of the 435-mile wall along its porous border with Somalia in an attempt to shut out al Shabaab from Somalia. The wall was expected to curb the increased cases of al Shabaab attacks especially after the Garissa university attack in 2015. The construction has been stalled for some time but the recent attacks in Mandera county and Lamu towards the end of last year and the beginning of the year appear to have revived the commitment and commencement of construction of the wall.
The construction of the wall had been stalled by the fact that the Somalian government accused her Kenyan counterpart of encroaching on its territory. Kenya has insistently maintained that the wall is built on the border between the two countries and as such, it is its sovereign duty to build the wall as a permanent measure to protect her citizens from the external threat posed by the al Shabaab.
The Federal Government of Somalia as well as Jubbaland administration to inspect and assess the situation triggered by riots by the residents of Beled-Hawo. The Kenya government insists that the wall will be built at the border and will go a long way to protect her people.
The resumed construction can be viewed as Kenya’s way of preparing to stabilize security in the wake of an anticipated AMISOM exit from Somalia and increased attacks by the terrorists.
