Open letter to the CIA: Kenya in high risk of Al Qaeda attack

The attempted bombing of Detroit bound US jetliner by an African Muslim from Nigeria has heightened my fears of the likelihood of Al Qaeda attacking Kenya yet again or using it as an exit route to commit atrocities elsewhere.

My fears are based on the following premises:

1. Kenya has born the brunt of two major terrorist attack before which were masterminded from neighboring countries,

2. The worsening instability in Somalia and the ever increasing strength of Al Shabaab militants coupled with their numerous warnings to Kenya ( recent bombing of a hotel in Mogadishu killing three cabinet ministers attest to their enhanced capability to launch major attacks within and outside Somalia)

3. Possible links of Al Shabaab to Al Qaeda and their growing aspirations to gain international notoriety by promoting religious fundamentalism and the might of Islam

4. Possible radicalization of Kenyan Muslim youths of Somali descent who are fighting alongside Al Shabaab

5. Increased financial capabilities of Al Qaeda from the proceeds of piracy in the Somali coast which is laundered in Kenya

6. Poorly policed porous border with Somalia, Sudan and the Ogaden Triangle

7. Poor intelligence gathering capabilities by Kenya’s NSIS( they failed to foil the 2008 Post Election Violence and previous terrorist attacks, Al Qaeda Most Wanted have sneaked in and out of Kenya in the past)

8. Lackadaisical will to combat terrorism and prioritization of internal politicking (the Internal Security Minister is inept, Felicien Kabuga is possibly being protected by the state, half-hearted will to cooperate with the ICC on Crimes Against Humanity committed in 2008)

9. Increased population of Somali Muslim Immigrants to levels higher than pre-1998 US Embassy bombings in Nairobi. Immigration officials are so venal that it is street knowledge aliens are getting Kenyan Passports and IDs by the thousands.

10. Poor security screening of passengers leaving and entering Kenya via airports. (Though immigration officials are currently keeping a keen eye on Somalis and the NSIS are hovering at the airport lobbies, they can easily be compromised with money. The Artur Brothers saga is still fresh in my mind and how they hoodwinked Kenya’s top security personnel)

11. Easy access to buildings in Kenya. (Even the Kenya National Assembly premises and offices housing cabinet ministers are easy to access without any security screening.)


12. The notion that Kenya is a western stooge and the many western tourists and interests in the country serve to heighten the stakes of Al Qaeda in attacking the country


13. Poor and ineffective anti-terrorism policing

I can equate the capabilities of Al Shabaab to those of the Taliban before US-NATO intervention and current Somalia to former Afghanistan. Though I am sure of competent CIA presence in the country, I am just voicing my concerns as a responsible Kenyan citizen in the interest of world peace and stability.

Yours faithfully,


Kiprotich Samoei

January 1st 2010

Nairobi, Kenya