Mandera Governor Ali Roba says the planned construction of a wall between Kenya and Somalia will improve security in the county. Mr Roba says the wall along the porous border will ward off terrorists. “My administration supports the national government in this project because the wall will help stabilize Mandera by defining specific entry and exit points for better screening,” said Mr Roba who spoke at the weekend after meeting the county security team. He blamed insecurity in Mandera on past administrations which he accused of failing to define the border. “There are more than 300 households from Somalia on what should be No-Man’s land.

Better demarcation will reduce rate of crime,” said Mr Roba. He said the porosity of the border has aided suspects who easily disappear into Somalia after committing crime. “The wall will reduce crime rate in Mandera since it is difficult to pursue the criminals once they crossover to Somalia,” Mr Roba said. He said the wall will be necessary until Somali stabilises. “It can be demolished after that,” says Mr Roba. The ministry of Interior plans to construct a security wall along the border from Mandera to Kiunga in Lamu. However, the Somali administration is uncomfortable with the ‘separation barrier’, which it argues would further divide the larger Somali community.