By William Lewis in Kampala
The aftermath of the Westgate massacre in Nairobi has got everyone looking over their shoulders. The upscale mall was a meeting place for many people especially foreigners working for NGOs and United Nations agencies. I was in Nairobi in April this year and I must have visited that mall some four or five times – mainly because it’s closer to where I always stay when I am in Kenya for work or pleasure.
It has been an uneasy calm in neighbouring Uganda, where I live, but the government here is not folding arms about the threat of Al-Shabaab. Memories of 2010 are still fresh on the minds of Ugandans when terrorists stuck at a fun park where people were watching a World cup match. Therefore, there is the threat of another attack especially with Uganda’s high involvement with troops in Somalia, and being the host of the United Nations Logistics Base in Entebbe.
When I visited Kampala, the capital city over the weekend, the presence of armed police personnel was ubiquitous. The two biggest malls in Kampala are Garden City and Oasis. The number of security personnel has increased to deal with screening of every person entering the mall. These malls are mostly visited by foreigners and locals alike, which obviously makes it a big target. I further drove downtown and entered some other shopping centres. It was business as usual but you can still see the presence of armed police officers strategically placed to keep watch.
Since the bombing in 2010, all the major hotels in Uganda have invested heavily in security apparatus. Since the new threat, all the major offices are doing likewise. I went into Standard Chartered Bank at Freedom City Mall and I was surprised that all the customers were screened electronically before they are allowed to enter the bank.
At my office, the threat level has increased. Every staff member, regardless of their position, is thoroughly screened before entering the compound. All welfare evening functions have been temporarily suspended to ensure that staff members go home early and avoid unnecessary movements.
I arrived for Sunday morning mass and I could not help but notice armed police personnel surrounding the church compound. I went over to one of them and enquired and he told me that churches were also on the terrorists’ target list. “We will protect this country in every way we can” he told me in a no-nonsense mood. Just before the mass ended the vicar encouraged the parishioners to be vigilant. He said the security officers had told him that 75% of the security of the nation lay with the civilian populace.
Sierra Leone cannot allow itself to be dragged into conflicts or terror threats. However, the question persists as to whether the country is strong enough to deal with it if it comes. My main fear is that we as a nation have developed a bad culture of failing to heed early warning signs. We take things for granted and only act after a catastrophe. I understand the frustration in many quarters with many people trying to make sense of our involvement in the AU force in Somalia. But peacekeeping is beneficial to our troops. Many other West African countries like Ghana, Nigeria and Benin are far more experienced in these types of operations as they have been involved in them for many years. Their countries enjoy relative peace and calm and boast of military and police officers who have a wealth of experience in peacekeeping.
We are already deep into it now and there is no turning back. We cannot chicken out of Somalia because of threats from Al-Shabaab. That will as cowardly as it will be a betrayal of our international obligations. Now is the time to stand up and be counted and fly the green, white and blue tricolour flag. Now is the time to demonstrate that we are a nation and are serious to protect our people in every quarter. We have to show forth the good that lives in us as we join other nations. This means to defend and to stand up for our right and our land. The land that we love our Sierra Leone.
© Politico 03/10/13
