Ex-Governor Korane faults security agencies over rising insecurity in Garissa

Speaking to journalists, Korane, who is eyeing a return to the county's top seat in 2027, said Garissa's small, rural, and closely knit character should make it one of the easier towns in the country to police.

"Unfortunately, the situation in Garissa is not good," he said. "Its criminality is not very complex and the criminals are not very sophisticated. For every crime, it is almost certain that the local community knows who has committed it, and the security network there will know who has done what."

Korane said he could not understand why the insecurity had been allowed to persist and worsen, describing it as neglect by those mandated to keep the town safe.

"They need to wake up and do something about the criminality in Garissa," he said, urging the national government, which is charged with maintaining law and order, to pay closer attention to the county.

The former county boss claimed that residents often identify suspects on their own and track their movements, including to Dadaab and the Dagahaley refugee camp, after incidents.

"If ordinary people can follow a suspect to that level, I am very sure those who are trained and who have the necessary networks and intelligence cannot fail to contain the situation," he said, calling on security agencies to round up suspects, gather evidence, and take them through the justice system.

He, however, downplayed any link between the current crime wave and Al-Shabaab, describing it as petty, local, and internally generated.

"The Al-Shabaab threat has been there and it is still there, but the nature of the current crime, which is alarming in Garissa, is locally generated by local elements whose intention is to engage in petty crime for personal benefit," Korane said.

According to him, phone snatching has become the main motive behind attacks, with victims who resist often stabbed. He argued that people now carry far more of value than they did two decades ago, when a person's clothing might have been worth about Ksh.200, compared with the Ksh.1,500 to Ksh.5,000 an average person carries today.

Korane also linked part of the insecurity to drug addiction, saying some users turn violent within hours of missing a dose and will rob anyone, including family members, to fund their next fix.

He noted, however, that drugs were only one of several drivers and that officers on the ground were best placed to establish the full scope of the problem.

Asked what he would do if elected in 2027, he acknowledged that security is not a devolved function but said the county government could work with security agencies to address its social roots.

He recalled a spike in burglaries during his tenure that residents blamed on job seekers from one community arriving in town. After consultations with the community's leaders, he said, the county provided funds for temporary accommodation and food for the new arrivals as they searched for work, and the burglaries stopped.

"If we work with the local security agencies whose mandate it is to deal with criminality, then I am sure collectively we will be able to solve that problem overnight," he said.

Korane also called on religious leaders to lead prevention efforts, recalling that his administration had employed local sheikhs to preach against crime and promote peace among communities. He claimed all of them were later dismissed.

"The best part of containing crime is the prevention part. Once a crime has been committed, it becomes individualised and the legal process is very long," he said.

He commended residents for protecting themselves, noting reports that worshippers now carry knives to early morning prayers, but warned against a society where each individual is left to fend for himself.