Sunday October 9, 2016
Vice Chief of Kenya Defence Forces Lieutenant General Joseph Kasaon addresses reporters at the Department of Defence (DOD) in Nairobi on September 19, 2016. Talking about El Adde has become almost a taboo in military barracks after KDF reportedly issued communication gagging such discussions. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Five years ago this week, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) moved into Somalia to pursue Al-Shabaab terrorists who had been carrying out cross-border attacks, including kidnapping foreigners in the coastal and north-eastern regions.
It was a decision that would change how the Kenyan security sector operates and have far-reaching implications for the country.
The first fatalities happened on October 16, 2011 after Operation Linda Nchi started, when a military helicopter crashed near the border with Somalia, killing five soldiers.
KDF would eventually “re-hat” and join the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) in 2012.
But as President Uhuru Kenyatta leads the country in celebrating KDF Day next Friday to pay tribute to fallen soldiers, questions linger on the cost of the war, the number of soldiers killed and the exit strategy.
This comes even after a weakened Al-Shabaab occasionally carries out cross-border attacks, particularly in north-eastern Kenya, with the latest in Mandera this week that was repulsed after at least six people had died.
The Somali incursion for the first time exposed KDF to increased public scrutiny, praise and criticism.
“It opened our military to public audit never experienced before. People started asking questions and the more they asked, the more questions emerged,” says Mr Timothy Bosire, the MP for Kitutu Masaba Constituency and ODM National Treasurer.
Even though the Kenyan forces under Amisom have gained respect and praise in the past five years for taking over towns from Al-Shabaab — including the southern port of Kismayu in September 2012 — the lowest point in the operation has been the El Adde attack on January 15 this year when Al-Shabaab overran the military base.
It has never been officially revealed how many soldiers were killed but the numbers range from 100 to 180.
The terrorists also recently released a video purporting to show two people they identified as Kenyan soldiers captured in El Adde, and claimed they would release more images.
UNLUCKY BATTALION
After the El Adde attack, the military boosted its sessions for soldiers facing trauma.
KDF sources, who spoke in confidence, said survivors of the attack were taken through post-traumatic stress disorder counselling sessions at their barracks and at the Forces Memorial Hospital, Nairobi.
In February this year, KDF set up a Board of Inquiry to investigate the attack but the results have not been made public.
However, multiple military sources who spoke to the Sunday Nation on condition of anonymity said the recommendations of the inquiry led to personnel changes, revision of the manner change-over of troops is done in Somalia camps and the protection of bases arrangements.
The Sunday Nation request for an interview with the Chief of Defence Forces, General Samson Mwathethe, had not been responded to by the time of going to press.
It is at Moi Barracks in Eldoret that the effects of the worst attack in Kenya’s military history continue to be felt.
Life seems normal as some soldiers go for their usual morning runs while others walk lazily and chat playfully.
But this was not the mood seven months ago when news filtered in that the 9KR Battalion had lost almost an entire company (typically 80 to 250 personnel).
Only a few soldiers escaped during the January 15 attack.
There is still hope at the Eldoret barracks that those missing — and who are presumed to be alive — will return home.
Recent propaganda videos released by al-Shabaab have reignited debate on the attack.
However, talking about El Adde has become almost a taboo in military barracks after KDF reportedly issued communication gagging such discussions.
Since the start of the war in Somalia five years ago, the 9KR Battalion has seen more troops killed and wounded in Somalia than any other barracks.
Even before the El Adde attack, the battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Chala Hassan on September 1, 2012, while on a forward match to Kismayu, drove into an Al-Shabaab ambush a few kilometres after Afmadow town in a small centre known as Miido.
Dozens of Shabaab militants were killed, but the battle led to the deaths of platoon commander Lieutenant Francis Muthini, Private Joseph Nditika Nyamu, Private Martin Kimngich and Corporal Charles Ndemo.
HUNDREDS KILLED
Two other soldiers were captured by Al-Shabaab and their bodies later paraded in Kismayu. KDF eventually retrieved the bodies after capturing Kismayu.
The ambush was the first time that KDF had lost more than three soldiers in a battle. But this pales in comparison to El Adde.
“Days after the attack, nothing seemed to be moving. This was a place of anguish. You either lost the man you shared a meal with, a drink with, went to church with or the person who was close to your children,” a sergeant told the Sunday Nation.
Formed on September 1, 1979, the 9KR is one of the country’s infantry battalions — the principal fighting arms of the Kenya Army.
Most of its former commanding officers have risen through the ranks to become celebrated generals in the military.
The battalion’s first commanding officer, Lt Col Daniel Opande rose to become a general before retiring, having served as a force commander for both the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone and the United Nations Mission in Liberia.
Lt General Joseph Kasaon, another former commander of 9KR, is the Vice Chief of Defence Forces.
The tragic El Adde events started on December 20 last year when the battalion left Eldoret for duty in Somalia.
The battalion comprised four companies — A to D — with only one company left behind in Eldoret.
Before entering Somalia, hundreds of soldiers were deployed to Fafadun, Kolbio, and Abadere.
The ‘D’ Company arrived in El Adde, a remote town in southwestern Somalia, Gedo region. There were soldiers from other battalions at the base.
Although the military has declined requests to give the official number of those who went to El Adde, Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said in an interview that “more than 100 soldiers” had been killed.
COMPENSATED
The ‘D’ Company was headed by Major Geoffrey Obwoge, with a Captain Wachira as the Second in Command and three lieutenants as platoon commanders.
According to surviving soldiers, Major Obwoge did not entertain mediocrity and was as stubborn as a mule.
“He is the kind of guy you couldn’t tell anything. He was ever right and you wrong,” a soldier said.
After joining the military, Major Obwoge was first deployed at 9KR Battalion and then transferred to the Recruits Training School, where he earned a reputation as a punisher, destroyer and crusher of the souls of the recruits.
One survivor, who spoke in confidence, blamed the commander for not heeding warnings like “flashing lights” that had been spotted before the attack and a Land Cruiser belonging to the Somali National Army that had supposedly stalled and was pushed into the camp for repairs.
Questions also remain on whether the communication masts were working and if indeed calls for reinforcements were made during the attack — and why it took so long for a rescue team to arrive.
What is clear is that despite their valiant efforts, the soldiers had no chance against the surprise Shabaab attack. Reconstruction of what happened can be made from survivor accounts and graphic videos released by the terrorists.
The full picture may, however, not be clear as military sources say survivors gave conflicting information during interrogation after arriving home.
Most of the survivors who underwent trauma and psychological treatment are back to work, while families of the fallen soldiers are said to have been compensated.
But the reality of the war remains. On Wednesday, a senior officer who survived the El Adde attack was among those who travelled to Nairobi to receive the body of a soldier who died recently in Somalia.
Dr Duncan Ojwang, a security expert and law lecturer, says that although KDF has made major changes and transformation in areas such as command and acquisition of weaponry, the Somalia war has led to many questions on integrity.
Unconfirmed reports claim some officers are involved in charcoal and sugar smuggling — an accusation the military has repeatedly denied.