Terror stabs East African Community’s soft underbelly

By Deogratias Kishombo

It is obvious that the East African region is not safe. It is now no secret that the leaders from the member states should react aggressively against terrorist attacks from Somalians who had pledged to conduct more blasts after the Kampala twin bombings last week.

Alternatively, all entry points in the EAC have to remain strict in order to make the region safer and a better place for free movement of people, capital and labour to make the common market a reality.
The Sunday night attacks that claimed lives of at least 74 and injured a dozen of soccer fans watching World cup final in Kampala had disappointed most of us due to the fact that the terrorists have even forgotten that the region is a refuge for war victims in Somalia.

Ironically, we have been told by an Al Shabaab spokesperson that more bombings would continue until Uganda and Burundi withdraw troops from the AU force which is trying to help Somalia end two decades of disputes.

However, this warning should be taken seriously by all EAC people because the target would affect not only the two nations. With the common market, Tanzanians will be operating their businesses in Uganda or Burundi and Kenyans partly in Rwanda, Burundi and vice versa.
The foreign media was aggressive last week after the blast as the Reuters called the incident an “Al Qaeda Somali allies take bloody push onto world stage” on Tuesday. The agency said the prospect of an al Shabaab campaign is especially worrying since the group contains several al Qaeda men who have contributed to global networks and anti-West campaign.

The region has been the target since the twin blasts in 1998 when al Qaeda men bombed US Embassies in Dar re salaam and Nairobi respectively. Many people died during the incident and it has left a scar in the minds of many.

Furthermore, Tanzania is more at risk due to the fact that the country is receiving a big number of illegal immigrants from North Africa who are mostly Somalians. The Tanzanian authority had confirmed recently that the country was a hub for illegal immigrants from the Horn of Africa.