| dc.description.abstract | Kenya has been a target and continues to face significant threat of terrorist activities emanating
from Al Shabaab, and Al Qaeda affiliated militant group in Somalia. This upsurge of violent
terrorist attacks, both in frequency and scale, began with the Westgate Shopping Mall attack in
Nairobi, followed by other large-scale attacks in other parts of the country including Mpeketoni,
Mandera and Garissa specifically targeting Kenyans.
Historically, terrorist attacks such as the bombings of Norfolk Hotel on 31st December 1980 and
US Embassy on 7th August 1998, although targeting Kenyans were aimed at foreign targets
especially American and Israel interests. However, recent terrorism incidences in the Country
point at local participation and support by youth recruited into Al-Shabaab to carry out attacks in
Kenya. This trend coincides with the emerging threat of homegrown operatives, including local
Muslim youth from Islamic backgrounds as well as recent converts, recruited into and trained by
the Al-Shabaab to carry out attacks in Somalia and within Kenya.
This study therefore assesses the impact of Kenya’s counter terrorism laws, policies and practices
on the spread of transnational terrorism, and establishes that there is urgent need for re-evaluation
of counter terrorism measures applied by the government as they are counter-productive and create
conditions conducive for the spread of terrorism in Kenya. | en_US |
