The government should consider building a monument in Nairobi on which names of Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) soldiers who were killed in Somalia will be written as a way of paying tribute to them, Borabu MP has said.
Speaking at Omonono region in Nyamira County in a meet Wananchi tour on Thursday, Mr Ben Momanyi faulted the decision by the country’s top military brass to withhold the exact number of slain soldiers who were killed by Al Shabaab last week Friday.
He said the monument would be a perfect tribute to the fallen soldiers and would motivate those still pursuing the terror group.
“It’s said that the country lost a number of soldiers in that deadly ambush. I would like to challenge the government to build a monument in which all their names will be written. That would be a perfect tribute to them since they died in the line of duty. It will also motivate those still pursuing the militants. The military should make the names of those who died public to reduce criticism from members of the public,” he said.
He ruled out withdrawing soldiers from Somalia and called for deployment of more forces to neutralise the Al-Shabaab militants.
“The group (Al-Shabaab) is becoming deadly and withdrawing our soldiers won’t be a solution. We have to remain in that country till the enemy is defeated and it doesn’t matter how long our soldiers stay there,” he said.
Momanyi also defended the absence of President Uhuru Kenyatta from the airport to receive bodies of the fallen soldiers saying the government was adequately represented.
“He (Uhuru Kenyatta) has been blamed for being absent at the airport to receive the fallen heroes but I think Kenyans should not dwell on that. The government was adequately represented by top military brass and senior officials from Defense Ministry," he said.