After Kenya bombing and killing, concerns about instability

Investors in East Africa’s largest economy are used to the possibility of terror attacks, but a recent bombing in Nairobi's business district and others highlight Kenyan's continued struggle with security.

A bombing in the heart of a Nairobi business district and the murder of a controversial Muslim cleric threaten to fuel further violence in Kenya.

Investors in East Africa’s largest economy are used to the possibility of terror attacks, particularly after last year’s bloody shooting spree in Westgate mall. But these latest incidences show the continued struggles of Kenya’s security services, and could spark rioting in the port city Mombasa and retaliatory attacks in Nairobi.

“There’s been a rise in frustration of the government’s ineptness to stop this,” says our correspondent in the capital, Nairobi. “There’s been no improvement of the security situation [since Westgate]. In fact, it may be getting worse.”

Three blasts in Nairobi’s Eastleigh neighborhood killed six people on Monday, a week after six people were killed in a church near Mombasa. That was followed up on Tuesday with the murder in Mombasa of Abubakar Shariff Ahmed, a Muslim cleric popularly known as Makaburi. The United Nations and the United States had accused Mr. Ahmed of supporting Somali militant group Al Shabab, which has claimed responsibility for the Westgate attack.

Eastleigh is a bustling business district and home to large numbers of Somalis and Kenyans of Somali descent. It’s been the scene of several bombings over the past few months, but it’s difficult to say who is behind the bombings, our correspondent says.

But Ahmed’s murder is further worrying. His death could incite his followers to carry out waves of bloodshed, as occurred when two other controversial preachers were gunned down in similar circumstances.

According to one Kenyan intelligence source, a recent mantra in Ahmed’s mosque is “they do, we do,” our correspondent said.... For the rest of the story, continue reading at our new business publication Monitor Global Outlook.