Deputy president William Ruto Wednesday said the 36 quarry workers killed by Al- Shabaab militants in Mandera Tuesday morning had been advised to relocate for security reasons but declined.
Ruto said today that police had advised the workers to relocate to a place close to Mandera town.
He said the government was committed to improving security in Kenya, as indicated by recent changes.
“I admit failure by security agencies, we should have used force to get them out of there. Even after they were informed, they continued to stay there,” he said on Citizen TV’s “Cheche” program.
The deputy president reiterated that Kenya Defence Forces will not leave Somalia and they will continue to fight Al-Shabaab further faulting utterances by some leaders saying their remarks were emboldening terrorists.
“When a leader stands on a podium and says they doubt whether 100 militants were killed, what message are you sending to the terrorists?” he said.
He reiterated that the government was committed to revamping its security apparatus to be responsive to the challenge of terrorism.
AUTHOR: EDNER MAGANGI