Kenya has begun building a barrier along its entire 700-kilometre border with Somalia in an apparent effort to prevent the movement of insurgents linked to al-Shabab.
According to Interior Ministry spokesperson, Mwenda Njoka, the National Youth Service will build the barrier under the supervision of the army. He says: “There will be designated points for people to legally use while entering or leaving the country.”
The project has generated heated debate. Deputy President William Ruto says, “Whatever it is going to cost us and whatever it will take, we are going to make sure that our country is safe.”
George Morara is Vice-Chairman of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. He says that constructing the barrier is an “exercise in futility,” adding: “It is a monumental waste of taxpayers’ money. Where similar walls have been built or exist to keep out the so-called ‘undesirables,’ they have not been successful.”
To read the full article, go to: http://www.irinnews.org/report/101377/kenya-s-anti-terror-border-wall-sparks-heated-debate [1]