Mandera leaders oppose security wall

Religious leaders in Mandera County have opposed the construction of a security wall along the Kenya-Somalia border.

The leaders say it is better for the government to post security personnel along the border rather than constructing the wall.

The proposed 700 kilometers anti-terror security wall separating Kenya and Somalia from border point one in Mandera and Kiunga in Lamu is on course.

The project, which was mooted in the aftermath of the Garissa University terror attack, is one of the most ambitious anti-terror strategy to bar Al Shabaab militants from infiltrating into the country.

The National Security Advisory Council chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta approved the construction of a full proof security wall stretching from Kiunga at the coast to Mandera in the north.

According to the Interior Ministry spokesperson Mwenda Njoka, the wall will not be purely a concrete and mortar affair stretching all the 800 kilometres but a serious security and surveillance infrastructure.

It will include a physical wall, barbed electric fence, and trenches.

Al Shabaab attacks in the North Eastern region have seen more than 200 people killed in recent past.

The attacks have been rampant in the area due to the easy access of Kenya-entry points especially through the Bulahawa border point thus allowing militants to enter Kenya, attack and return to their bases in Somalia.

A standard anti-terror wall, according to experts, costs 2 million dollars per kilometre.