Laikipia MP defends Defence CS Omamo, says she should not resign

Laikipia East MP Antony Mutahi has opposed calls for the resignation of Defence Cabinet Secretary (CS) Raychelle Omamo fronted by a section of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leaders following the recent attack on Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers at El Adde, Somalia.

Mutahi dismissed the Nicholas Gumbo-led resignation push saying that the Rarieda MP’s move was untimely since the CS had so far proved that she can handle the docket.

Laikipia East MP said that sacking Omamo is not the solution, adding that the government should draw fresh strategies to defeat Al-Shabaab.

At the same time, Mutahi also opposed the proposal to withdraw Kenyan troops from the war-torn country. The Jubilee MP stated that a withdrawal will only serve to embolden Al-Shabaab.

Calls for the Defence CS to resign came after the January 15th attack on on two camps in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) base camp at El Adde in Somalia.

The exact number of soldiers who died and those who sustained injuries in the attack is still unknown. Though the government has admitted that there were fatalities, they have declined to give details about those killed, injured and missing operatives.

While at a press conference on Thursday, Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo, Suna East MP Junet Mohamed, Kitutu Masaba MP Timothy Bosire and Balambala MP Abdikadir Aden expressed dissatisfaction with the leadership of the Defence Ministry.

The MPs verbally attacked CS Omamo saying that her docket’s poor performance resulted in the killing of soldiers in Somalia last Friday.

“The Defence CS must, by appearance, scare al Shabaab. This docket requires someone who can scare them just by the physical look,” said Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo

Junet said Omamo had turned out to be the worst performing minister in the Defence docket, adding heading the ministry was not “a small job”.

Chief of Defence Forces, General Samson Mwathethe, said lack of resources forced the Kenyan military to mobilize its own logistics from Nairobi to respond to the Al Shabaab ambush.

On Friday, President Uhuru Kenyatta attended a special remembrance in honour of fallen  KDF  soldiers and reiterated that Kenya will not leave Somalia as she continues the war on terror.

“We are at war with extremists, we are at war with terrorists and we are at war with fanatics. This is a war that we must win,” stated President Kenyatta.