Seek abducted chiefs
The latest reminder that the terrorist threat is far from over is the abduction of five chiefs in the northeastern region. The local administrators were reportedly seized by al-Shabaab gunmen in Mandera County.
It was while on their assignment of screening applicants for national identity cards that they were seized and spirited across the border to Somalia.
What is often a routine engagement turned into a major scare, with security agencies, including the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) swinging into action.
President William Ruto, who is on a five-day tour of the region, has vowed that the government will do everything to free the kidnapped chiefs.
He has given an assurance that they will soon be brought back home safely and the fight against criminal gangs and terrorist groups stepped up.
The Somalia-based terrorist group has been active in this region, staging attacks on local residents and sabotaging mobile phone masts. This area located 15 kilometres from the border is prone to attacks, with the terrorists striking and easily slipping back into Somalia.
A security operation led by the KDF is continuing with no positive results yet. But police are also investigating whether the abduction of the chiefs could be linked to the hefty bribes paid by foreigners to obtain Kenyan ID cards.
As has often happened before, al-Shabaab demands ransom to free people they abduct in Kenya. However, giving in to such extortion only emboldens them to keep on crossing the border and working with their local allies for the lucrative illicit gain.
Steady gains have been made in the fight against terrorism, with no attacks reported in recent years in the rest of the country. However, the northeastern region continues to bear the brunt of insurgency and terrorism.
The security agencies should intensify the war on terror to safeguard every inch of our territory.