Editorial Cartoon.
Several times police in Kilimanjaro Region have
arrested children confined in houses where they are believed to be
undergoing special training.
Very unfortunately police have never come out clear to tell the
public the kind of training individuals recruiting these children have
been offering nor who are the godfathers sponsoring it.
These incidents emerge at a time when East African region is
fighting against Al-Shabaab, an extremist group that has killed hundreds
of innocent civilians with our neighbours in Kenya being the most
affected.
While police and intelligence personnel are stepping up
surveillance and security measures, information trickling into the
newsrooms from Kilimanjaro casts doubt with regard to the state of
security in the northern region.
Incidents of children being confined in houses for special training
in Moshi with security personnel being kept in the dark is food for
thought to all of us. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to establish
whether the teachings offered to them have anything to do with ordinary
Islamic studies since most of them are found dressed in Islamic attire.
The training offered to these children are indeed doubtful simply
because information shows that the environment under which it was
conducted was surrounded with high level of secrecy in the sense that
no other people are allowed to access it, a factor that always attracted
police to storm the venues to rescue the children.
Looking analytically at these incidents one may ask the following
questions: Who is responsible for recruiting these children? From which
areas, regions or districts these children are being recruited? Who
finances the recruitment and up-keep of the children?
What kind of teachings is being offered to the children? And, why
offer the training in secret environments? If security personnel get to
the bottom of these questions it may help give a clue of what these
recruitments are all about.
We start giving Kilimanjaro Region a benefit of doubt with regard
to the state of security simply because it is the same region from which
Rashid Charles Mberesero, a Tanzanian, who took part in the deadly
attacks that left 148 people dead at Garissa University in Kenya, hails
from.
It should be clearly understood that by mentioning Rashid’s name it
does not mean that this status is now assumed by all residents hailing
from Kilimanjaro region, rather the point we are making here is that
these teachings offered in secret environments need to be carefully
examined as they might have played a key role in psychologically
changing Rashid - who knows!
Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner Leonidas Gama has already been
quoted by newspapers that came out on Thursday as admitting that the
state of security in the region’s boarders was worrisome, citing
Al-Shabaab threats.
According to newspapers, RC Gama ordered all district commissioners
to strengthen all security committees from ward to village levels as
part of strategies to deal with security threats from ‘bad individuals’.
While Al-Shabaab continues to pose threats in the EAC region,
Arusha, Kilimanjaro and Tanga are the three regions in Tanzania through
which Al Shabaab can find entry points.
Though there are organs charged with the role of protecting people
and property as well as the country’s territory in general, defence and
security remains everyone’s duty.
Editorial Cartoon.
Very unfortunately police have never come out clear to tell the
public the kind of training individuals recruiting these children have
been offering nor who are the godfathers sponsoring it.
These incidents emerge at a time when East African region is
fighting against Al-Shabaab, an extremist group that has killed hundreds
of innocent civilians with our neighbours in Kenya being the most
affected.
While police and intelligence personnel are stepping up
surveillance and security measures, information trickling into the
newsrooms from Kilimanjaro casts doubt with regard to the state of
security in the northern region.
Incidents of children being confined in houses for special training
in Moshi with security personnel being kept in the dark is food for
thought to all of us. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to establish
whether the teachings offered to them have anything to do with ordinary
Islamic studies since most of them are found dressed in Islamic attire.
The training offered to these children are indeed doubtful simply
because information shows that the environment under which it was
conducted was surrounded with high level of secrecy in the sense that
no other people are allowed to access it, a factor that always attracted
police to storm the venues to rescue the children.
Looking analytically at these incidents one may ask the following
questions: Who is responsible for recruiting these children? From which
areas, regions or districts these children are being recruited? Who
finances the recruitment and up-keep of the children?
What kind of teachings is being offered to the children? And, why
offer the training in secret environments? If security personnel get to
the bottom of these questions it may help give a clue of what these
recruitments are all about.
We start giving Kilimanjaro Region a benefit of doubt with regard
to the state of security simply because it is the same region from which
Rashid Charles Mberesero, a Tanzanian, who took part in the deadly
attacks that left 148 people dead at Garissa University in Kenya, hails
from.
It should be clearly understood that by mentioning Rashid’s name it
does not mean that this status is now assumed by all residents hailing
from Kilimanjaro region, rather the point we are making here is that
these teachings offered in secret environments need to be carefully
examined as they might have played a key role in psychologically
changing Rashid - who knows!
Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner Leonidas Gama has already been
quoted by newspapers that came out on Thursday as admitting that the
state of security in the region’s boarders was worrisome, citing
Al-Shabaab threats.
According to newspapers, RC Gama ordered all district commissioners
to strengthen all security committees from ward to village levels as
part of strategies to deal with security threats from ‘bad individuals’.
While Al-Shabaab continues to pose threats in the EAC region,
Arusha, Kilimanjaro and Tanga are the three regions in Tanzania through
which Al Shabaab can find entry points.
Though there are organs charged with the role of protecting people
and property as well as the country’s territory in general, defence and
security remains everyone’s duty.
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