The recently unearthed cartel in Garissa County involving government officials illegally registering non-Kenyan citizens at a fee must be dealt with the full force of the law. It is something that one can confidently say is a threat to national security.
Generally, the North Eastern region has been battling with the monster that is insecurity, where dozens of unarmed and innocent civilians have become victims of circumstances.
The fact that Al-Shabaab insurgence occasionally stage attacks in the porous county means that the syndicate has been existing for a while now. Any sober-minded individual will agree that these 'immigration officers' could be working under a more influential individual in the government.
That original copies of birth and death certificates can freely land on the hands of individuals residing at the remotest parts of a county, meaning someone is sleeping in his or her job. The government should now crack whip on all the officials suspected to be involved in the vice.
State security officials have for long been criticized for not working to their expectations. With the unearthing of this cartel, we should now relieve our security officers from any forms of criticisms and instead crucify the state department of immigration.
The idea that very vital documents like passports and national identification cards or even birth certificates can be easily issued at a fee is disheartening.
Several youths in Garissa of Kenyan citizenry by birth are struggling to have the vital documents, but some people somewhere are busy working with cartels. If this is not inverted priorities, then what do we call?