Al-Shabaab complicates fight against COVID-19 in northeastern Kenya

MANDERA, Somalia - Active Al-Shabaab activities within the former Northern Frontier Districts [NFD] have grounded ongoing fight against Coronavirus, Mandera Governor Ali Roba said, adding that transportation within the region has been impaired.

Even though the Al-Shabaab is yet to launch any serious attack within the region for almost two months now, Roba argued, the group has been expanding its territories within the county and neighboring Wajir, making it cumbersome for vehicles to move freely.

So far, Mandera has reported eight positive COVID-19 cases, making it the worst-hit after Nairobi and Mombasa counties. Of the eight, three have been discharged while the other five are "progressing" well, Roba tweeted, Sunday.

But the county boss is worried due to challenges in testing the cases, forcing officials to delay at least 19 suspected cases. The victims could be in quarantine for slightly more days than required, he said, adding that "we're doing all we can to test the samples".

The county depends on the laboratory in Nairobi, which is over 2,000 kilometers away. But recently, the neighboring Wajir set a laboratory, around 350 kilometers away, but the county has no capacity to fly there due to Al-Shabaab threats.

“We wished to use the laboratory in Wajir but the current movement of terror cells in our region as known by the security agents and ourselves cannot allow us to do that,” he said, noting the threat imposed by the Al-Shabaab.

Roba also cited impassable roads as another challenge. Since independence, Mandera and other NFD regions have been marginalized by successive administrations, and it's only recently that many roads started opening up due to devolution.

“Impassibility of the roads in this rainy season is another challenge and we don’t want to put our staff and ambulances at risk,” added the second-term governor, citing several measures put in place to fight the disease.

Several security reports have shown increased movements of Al Shabaab insurgents in parts on Mandera South, Kotulo, Lafey, and Mandera East. In previous raids, the group has targeted health officials and security forces, thus making it difficult for transport within the region.

The Al-Shabaab has also been targeting vehicles to both the security and health services especially the ambulances, torching some in their unprecedented raids within Kenyan soil. In February, an ambulance was blown by an IED in Garissa.

But optimistic Roba said his administration is in talks with the Ministry to set up a laboratory in Mandera to make testing easier, and perhaps protecting the workforce from the Al-Shabaab threat.

“The Ministry of Health has promised to upgrade our capacity within one week but our best and safest alternative remains a flight to Nairobi,” he said.

The concerns come at the time security reports indicate that several residents from Mandera County are crossing over to Somalia for Taraweeh, a nightly prayer among the Muslims. This is despite the fact the government issued movement restrictions almost a fortnight ago.

Mandera County Commissioner Onesmus Kyatha said those found sneaking out to Somalia for the prayer would be placed under forced quarantine at their own cost and later prosecuted.

“We have information that several residents of Mandera have been crossing into Somalia to perform prayers in mosques there. We have activated our security operation, and anybody found will be arrested and prosecuted after completing a 14-day quarantine,” he said.

And Roba believes the cross-border movements between Kenya and Somalia is the biggest threat to the spread of COVID-19 in his county, noting the exponential rise in the number of infections within the neighboring country.

"We urge Mandera public to cease cross border movements and appeal to non-state actors and development partners to help support neighboring towns," he said in reference to the current 722 cases in Somalia. Of those cases, 32 have since died and 34 recovered.

The shocking report about Al-Shabaab activities comes almost at the time a confidential KDF and NIS report indicated that the curfew within the country and several roadblocks had "blocked" numerous Al-Shabaab attacks during this Holy month of Ramadhan.

GAROWE ONLINE