Interior CS Fred Matiang'i has ordered the freezing of accounts and property of nine individuals suspected to be financing terrorism activities in the country.
In a press release dated Wednesday, September 2, the CS stated that the decision was based on comprehensive counterterrorism strategy laid out to nab perpetrators, financers and sponsors of terrorists.
"Fellow Kenyans, terrorism knows no bounds. We shall neither surrender into the hands of terrorism nor play into the narrative propounded by terrorists of discrimination along ethnic and religious lines in this war.
"The only way to dent terrorists the means to threaten our way of life is to choke their facilitation networks, and this is why I have published the foregoing list so that they can no longer finance Al-Shabaab's operations within our borders," Matiang'i stated.
The nine individuals red-flagged by Matiang'i were.
"Halima Adna Ali
Waleed Ahmed Zein
Sheikh Guyo Gorsa Boru
Mohammed Abdi Ali (Abu Fidaa)
Nuseiba Mohammed Haji
Abdimajit Adan Hassan
Mohammed Ali Abdi
Muktar Ibrahim Ali
Mire Abdullahi Elmi
He highlighted that the government had set about reorienting its counterterrorism policy to incorporate preventive and socio-economic interventions into the existing security/military operations.
"Once again, we condole with the victims and families of those who have lost their lives to terror activities, and we pay tribute to our brothers and sisters who continue sacrificing day and night fighting this war from various fronts," the CS added.
On Friday, January 17, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced a comprehensive new strategy to deal with terror groups such as Al-Shabaab and radical extremism.
The new structure focuses on multi-agency coordination, advanced training and equipment upgrades, community involvement and incentives for security officers.
He directed the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to ensure security officers working in terror hot-spots in the North-Eastern region and parts of the Coast receive a field allowance. The head of state further instructed the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to investigate terror financiers funding Somali-based Al-Shabaab through illicit businesses.
CS Matiang'i was also ordered to fire police officers who failed to deliver rather than transferring them to other police posts.
Kenya lost 83 people in 2019 as a result of terror attacks, a 20% increase from 2018 when terror-related deaths stood at 56.
This is according to a report released by the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies (CHRIPS).
