For security, withdraw the KDF Amendment Bill

NAIROBI: The KDF Amendment Bill 2015 was published in the Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 115 (National Assembly Bills No. 41), Special Issues, dated July 24 2015.

There is nothing in this Amendment Bill that will enhance KDF combat effectiveness or increase its war capabilities; national security will not be strengthened. In fact, enactment of this Bill will damage Kenya's ability to defeat foreign aggression and defend its sovereign borders.

GOK capabilities to maintain domestic peace and security, to fight terrorism and to counter insurgency all within the letter and the spirit of the 2010 Constitution will be irrevocably damaged. The 2012 KDF Act has not been implemented; its provisions concerning command relationships with the National Police Service (NPS) when troops are employed domestically have been ignored.

It is inadvisable to continue to deploy KDF elements domestically; the problem is the failure to fully implement the National Police Service Act 2011, which has the potential to equip Kenya with a modern, cost-effective internal security architecture. The KDF Amendment Bill 2015 formally expands KDF missions without increasing KDF capabilities. Creating an "Auxiliary Reserve Force" comprising "civilians" who wear uniforms and/or carry firearms to serve as instant KDF soldiers, sailors and/or airmen looks great on paper, but does nothing to enhance national security.

KDF needs to establish organised armed forces reserve units to complement or supplement its regular establishment during external security operations outside Kenya's borders. It should be noted that "Auxiliary Reserve Force members (like KWS Rangers, KFS Forest Guards and National Youth Service members) who are ordered to serve with the KDF can be deployed into combat outside Kenya (that is, Somalia); inside Kenya these "civilians" in uniform – some trained in the use of weapons – could be deployed to suppress cattle rustling and tribal militia activities all over northern Kenya.

Parliamentary oversight of all aspects of the KDF needs to be strengthened, not weakened into irrelevance. Parliament is being asked to approve the legal subordination of the NPS to the KDF in violation of the 2012 KDF Act and the 2010 Constitution; such subordination is implicit throughout clauses of the 2015 Bill that refers to "...also address the idea of delegation to civilian employees which is undesirable."

This is further confirmed by provisions for "civilians" in uniform – members of the Auxiliary Reserve Force – who are activated to be assigned appropriate KDF ranks and titles and to be subject to military judicial laws and regulations. Members of the NPS are not included in the Auxiliary Reserve Force because they are always considered to be "civilians".

Whether the NYS is being militarised is not an issue, unless NYS training is expanded to include basic military skills including weapons handling, combat field craft and others. Successful NYS recruits should be encouraged to join the National Police Service – especially the still non-existent NKPR – as well as the regular – and still uniformed reserve - KDF, NIS, KWS, KFS and Prisons' service. The NYS should not be permitted to become a permanent career since its mandate is to provide discipline, civilian skills training, basic technical qualifications and access to employment outside the NYS.

The 2010 Constitution deliberately established clear limitations on all of the country's security forces to specifically avoid excessive military and/or police interference in civilian control of government functions.

The drafters of the Constitution were obviously worried about the potential for usurpation of authority by the KDF; the Kenyan voters reflected this concern when voting "yes" in 2010.

Kenya is facing an insurgency in the four Front Line Counties of Mandera, Wajir, Garissa and Lamu, which is instigated, aided and abetted by Al Shabaab; this insurgency will spread south along the Coast and this Bill will do nothing to mitigate or combat terrorism.

We can counter insurgency and combat terrorism but only by implementing all of the security legislation enacted since the promulgation of the Constitution on August 27, 2010.