A stand-by force in Africa is a top priority

In the same week, American special forces were dispatched by President Barack Obama to a Somali beach with one mission in mind - to capture another US-suspected terrorist Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulkadir. That operation was not successful. Three weeks ago, Al-Shabab terrorists ook over a shopping centre in Nairobi, Kenya and killed dozens of people. The list of deceased included people from around the world and from this region. At the point when this terrorist attack took place we, in these pages, urged African leaders to rise to the challenge of instability in the continent.

The accident that took place in Namibia is a very tragic event. However it is worth looking at the importance of what the soldiers were engaged in to understand why such programmes need to be sustained. Africa is faced with a myriad challenges one of which is instability.