Al-shabaab Militia, a Threat to Security in the Horn of Africa: a Case Study of Kenya

Abstract

Kenya is one of the countries within the horn of Africa that has over the years has been considered as one of the most stable nations. However recent happenings have seen Kenya experience an increase in terrorism incidents within her soil. Few studies have been done to critically evaluate the impacts of terrorism in Kenya and the possible corrective measure that Kenya need to adopt in fighting this terrorism menace. This study assesses the impacts of Al-Shabaab militia in the Horn of Africa using Kenya as the case study. The study was guided by three specific objectives; to understand the discourse of militia groups such as Al-Shabaab, to assess the response strategies to mitigate Al-Shabaab militia attacks, and recommend context specific response mechanism to counter Al-Shabaab militia attacks in Kenya. The study was pinned on the theory of cultural violence. The study adopted a transnational conceptual framework approach in its analysis, making use of secondary data, secondary data was sourced from book reviews, journals, internet sources, policy documents from the Kenyan ministries of foreign affairs. The study found out that the Historical issues such as the Cold-War, which saw the USA support Siad Barre in his dictatorial rule over Somalia led to the increased flow of arms in the country. The Horn of Africa also experience political challenges mainly involving funding of terror by some countries like Eritrea and Sudan, which has led to increased instability in the region. To curb the militia aggression in the region, the European Union has opted to instead support regional organizations like IGAD financially. The USA has also engaged in civil affairs operations aimed at improving the lives of civilians. Kenya has engaged in the implementation of counter-terrorism strategies. Kenya was also found to have borne the brunt of terror activities in the Horn of Africa Region. Kenya responded by creating NCTC to coordinate CT effort for the government, implementation of Operation Linda Nchi, and establishment of legislations for countering money laundering in the region. However, these efforts have not been effective in eradicating the Al-Shabaab in the area. Stronger measures to counter radicalization of Kenyan youth and violent extremism in the region are needed. The study therefore recommends that, to effectively fight terrorism in the region, the international community needs to implement harsher sanctions against countries like Eritrea and Sudan, finance terror groups. There should be increased cooperation of all organizations that have committed themselves to fight the Al-Shabaab. These organizations should create more channels for sharing information on terrorism in the region. The other new response strategy would be the introduction of a functional antiterrorism law in Kenya. For Kenya, the country needs to increase its border security capacities to prevent the entry of potential terrorists. The state also needs to improve the efficiency of the national identification system, which could help detect terrorists