Kenyan Defence Forces serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) man their position at El-Adde in the southwestern Gedo region of Somalia on January 22, 2016.Photo Amisom.

Kenyan filmmakers should seize the moment and tell the story of the al Shabaab raid before foreigners, who may not be sensitive about our country's image or even accuracy of the information they put out, steal the thunder from us, argues JOHN KARIUKI.

The El Adde attack that claimed the lives of a yet to be specified number of KDF soldiers is bound to haunt us for a long time and forms a strong story for a future movie.

It is not the first shocking incident for foreign soldiers fighting to save Somalia. Americans had their cruel lesson of war when Somali insurgents shot down the sophisticated fighter helicopter in 1993 and led to a 15-hour battle in the streets of Mogadishu.

Several years later, the incident was documented in the 2001 movie titled Black Hawk Down. It was directed by Ridley Scot, then a top director with a star cast that included Ewan McGregor and Tom Sizemore.

The objective of such movies is to tell one's own story and in a way act as a marker in history, just like the dozens of movies on the Vietnam War and World War II.

Ideally, it provides an opportunity to define oneself in a manner that best serves the country’s interest and image.

For a country that has been flung to the forefront of global history making, Kenya needs to appreciate the significance of telling its own stories; to define itself in its own terms and also serve the enterprise of film industry.

Already the movie Eye in the Sky, made last year and based on the terror attacks in Nairobi, has extended the tradition of other people telling our stories.

Initially, the film was to be shot in Nairobi and was understandably scheduled to commence around the same time that the Westgate attack was executed and obviously, sentimental reasons informed the decision to take it to South Africa.

But it is inconceivable that Kenya snubbed The First Grader which, although filmed here, was given a cold treatment by people and institutions that should have known better.