Mombasa has been in
chaos since the brutal murder of Sheikh Aboud Rogo on Monday. The following
day, Tuesday, the Prevention of Terrorism Bill 2012 was tabled in Parliament. Are
the two connected or is it just a coincidence? The Prevention of Terrorism Bill
2012 was withdrawn from parliament several weeks ago after it caused public
uproar due to the freehand it gave police in the so called war on terror. The bill
allowed the police to tap phone conversations of suspected terrorists, and to
search and seize homes and properties suspected of housing terrorist activities.
It also allowed the police to arrest and detain any person suspected of
engaging in terrorist activities. It is feared that if enacted in its current
form, the ambiguous definition of terrorism in the bill would lead to the rampant
arrest and detainment of innocent Kenyans.
The so called “war on
terror” that was popularized by the United States government during the Bush
administration, is primarily a tool of psychological warfare. The ruling capitalist
class creates or takes advantage of any civil unrest in the country in order to
heighten fear, suspicion and animosity among the masses. During this heightened
state of fear, the state passes legislation which further disempowers the
masses and infringes on their civil and human rights. Why, for instance, should
someone defile our mothers by passing metal detectors over their sacred bodies
as they enter churches and supermarkets? Because of the heightened state of
fear, we quietly accept such forms of dehumanization under the illusion that it
is for our own security. But in reality, these tactics do not improve our
security; they only help the ruling capitalist class to fasten its grip on
power and to maintain the status quo which continues to oppress the masses. Only
now, instead of a critical and conscious population which keeps the state on
its toes, there is a fearful population which, driven by a false sense of
patriotism, supports the Kenya Defence Forces invasion of Somalia and the
government’s purchase of a Ksh. 4 billion naval ship. Kenyans should wake up to
the fact that the militarization of Kenya is a militarization against Kenyan themselves.
The ruling capitalist
class in Kenya, in partnership with the international capitalist class, which
has major interests in Kenya, has created or taken advantage of the current
situation to further militarize the country against the masses. This is so as
to ensure that when the revolutionary forces in Kenya arise, and they will
surely arise, and organize beyond ethnic, class and religious bigotry, the
ruling class will have the state machinery and propaganda to suppress the
revolution. In other words, the ruling capitalist class and her foreign partners
have strategically used the invasion of Somalia and the Mombasa riots to
continue with the militarization of Kenya. This militarization further disempowers,
dehumanizes and deceives the masses into thinking it is in their best
interests.
The Prevention of
Terrorism Bill 2012 is being tabled in parliament at a very strategic time in
our country. The riots in Mombasa have shocked and started to balkanize the
masses and these are perfect conditions for the Bill to pass with little or no opposition.
Kenyans need to recognize the set-up they are being put into, escape the snare
of religious bigotry (as evidenced in social media sites) and vehemently oppose
the Prevention of Terrorism Bill 2012. They also need to demand for the immediate
withdrawal of the Kenyan troops from Somalia. The war in Somalia is a
fabricated one and it belongs to the United States and not Kenya. This is why
the US has pumped millions of dollars into Amisom (African Union Mission in
Somalia).
