On security, world should stand by Kenya

Given its history and geographic position, Kenya faces profound security challenges.

Without a political class that regards security as a bipartisan matter, and allies who stand firmly with us, these challenges can become existential threats, not only for Kenya, but for the nearly 200 million people of the greater Eastern and Central African region. Since the start of the multiparty era, political violence has recurred. And though its frequency has declined in recent years, prudence demands that a careful eye be kept on the political class’s propensity for violence.

Large-scale economic crime remains a genuine problem, as does organised crime.

But perhaps the two most severe security challenges at the moment – in terms of their potential for mass violence, political disorder and divisiveness – are serious violent crimes against the person, and transnational crimes.

Transnational crimes of the sort Kenya experienced at Westgate have the potential for severe effects on political crimes, and violence against persons. Crimes of the other sorts – serious domestic economic crimes, for example – are sometimes a precursor for transnational and domestic crimes against persons.

We would do well, therefore, not to confine any analysis too closely to crimes of one category.

Given the severity of the threat that transnational crimes pose, and their potential for worsening our domestic security, it is prudent to consider our foreign policy as part of our machinery for maintaining security.

There have, for example, been persistent and widespread reports that poaching in Kenya pays for terrorism against Kenya and her allies. If that is the case, we  should work with countries which have a market for the illegal trade in our wildlife and their products. This should either stop the trade, or substitute it with a legal alternative.

It is also true that transnational crimes are made easier by the state of the region.

Though our neighbour Somalia is slowly emerging from the wars that have raged since the early 90s, South Sudan has recently fallen into civil conflict. Other parts of the region are experiencing violent conflict, or have substantial spaces in which State authority is weak or absent.

Those circumstances certainly ease the work of those who would do us harm, as we saw when Islamist terrorists used parts of Somalia to plan and launch attacks against us. The situation calls for a number of measures.

If our security now depends on our neighbours’ security, we must strengthen the integration of the region. Integration means prosperity, which can be expected to lower the likelihood of some of these crimes; it would also make it easier to share intelligence and manpower in the fight for security. We also have a strong interest in ending regional conflicts as soon as possible – the quicker we do, the lower the chances that conflicts in the region will spill across our borders into Kenya. Finally, our security situation demands tighter ties with countries that face similar situations, and have advanced means to handle them.

In particular, a number of Western countries have experience with terrorism, have strategic interest that align with ours, and are already friendly with us.

It is these allies with whom we should forge stronger bonds. That is already happening.

At the US-Africa Leadership Summit, the US government committed to a partnership with six African countries, Kenya among them. Over the next three to five years, the US and the group of six African counties committed to a strategic partnership to strengthen their civilian and military security.

Given the new terrorist threats on the horizon, and the difficulty of dealing with the transnational crimes we already see, the path of prudence for all parties is to maintain the best possible relations between Kenya and its Western allies, and between Kenya and its regional partners.

No matter the temptation, we must remember that our security, and theirs, now depends on these relationships.