Kenya orders all refugees into designated camps

Kenya on Tuesday restricted all refugees on its soil to two designated camps in the wake of a weekend attack on a church near Mombasa that claimed six lives.

Kenyans were asked to report any refugees or illegal immigrants outside the overcrowded camps - Dadaab in the east and Kakuma in the northwest - to the police.

"Any refugee found flouting this directive will be dealt with in accordance with the law," Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said in a statement.

Sunday's attack, in the Likoni district near Mombasa, came amid heightened warnings of a threat of Islamist violence in Kenya despite boosted security in major cities.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Kenya has been hit by a series of attacks since sending troops into southern Somalia in October 2011 to battle the Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab insurgents.

The latest attack also came just days after police arrested two men with a vehicle stashed full of large quantities of powerful explosives prepared in pipe bombs, which experts said would have been strong enough to bring down a major building.

Ole Lenku said 500 extra police would be deployed in the capital Nairobi as well as Mombasa, Kenya's second city.

Refugee registration centres in main cities will be closed, the statement said.

The two camps are known for being remote and overrun with refugees.

Dadaab, where people often live in appalling conditions, is home to more than 400,000 mainly Somali refugees.

Kakuma, a vast desert settlement, is home to more than 125,000 refugees from across the region, including Somalia.

Kenya, where Islamist commandos attacked Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall last September, leaving 67 dead, stepped up defences around the capital's airport in February amid "increased threats of radicalisation" from homegrown Islamist extremists.

The country had previously ordered all asylum seekers and refugees to report to the Dadaab and Kakuma camps in December 2012, after a spate of attacks in the northeast and in Nairobi that included several blasts in the capital's largely ethnic-Somali Eastleigh neighbourhood.

Somalia remains riven by war but some areas are more stable, with a 17,000-strong African Union force -- including Kenyan troops -- wresting a series of towns from the Shabaab in recent years.

Meanwhile in Kenya, rights groups have accused police in the past of a brutal campaign against Somali refugees, following a string of grenade attacks and shootings blamed on supporters or members of the Shabaab.

Senators accuse government of laxity in war on terror

Senators Tuesday condemned Sunday’s gun attack on a church in Mombasa and challenged the national government to tighten security surveillance at the Coast.

The Senate adjourned the day’s business to discuss the state of security in the coastal town blaming the government for not taking the serious the rise of insecurity in the region.

They want the Government to reveal what it was doing to ensure safety of all Kenyans.

The lawmakers said persistent attacks on churches and other places of worship was worrying and a trick to scare away Kenyans from enjoying the freedom of worship enshrined in the Constitution.

Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar moved the motion saying he was worried by the deteriorating safety of citizens in the county.

“We are greatly concerned by what is happening in Mombasa. The last one month we have seen increased insecurity. This state of affairs is untenable and unacceptable,” said Mr Omar.

He said the national government should take responsibility for failing to prevent such persistent attacks.

“The attack in Likoni was set to create discord and disunity between the two religious groups but leaders have stood up against this intention. It is a very heavy load to be constantly addressing the issue of insecurity in Mombasa. The national government should take responsibility of ensuring the county is secure,” the Senator told the House.

Minority Leader Moses Wetangula seconded the motion condemning the two attackers who aimed their guns at worshippers at Joy of Jesus church killing six people last Sunday.

“Attacking places of worship is unacceptable. It must be condemned in the strongest terms possible. Why are we having ruthless youths and extremists in our society? Is this a spillover from Somalia or is it an internal problem? We must ask ourselves these questions in dealing with the situation in Mombasa,” said Mr Wetangula, also Bungoma Senator.

The legislators expressed concern at the laxity in pursuing suspected past attackers saying they were yet to be apprehended months later.

“What profits a man to kill innocent people or someone who has not hurt you? We need to restructure our security system to involve the counties. We need to rethink our policing to enable ordinary people easily report such suspicious people,” said Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen.