Assessing National Security Strategies in Combating Terrorism in Africa: Case Study of Kenya

Abstract

Combating terrorism in Africa has been collective task involving the effort of the government through regional and international cooperation. Kenya has battled the emergence of terrorism since the 1975 Nairobi bombing, 1980 Norfolk Hotel bombing, 1998 United States embassy, 2002 Kikambala hotel bombing, 2013 Westgate Mall shooting, to the recent Mpeketoni attacks in 2014, Garissa attack in 2015 and the ongoing rebellion in North Eastern Kenya and parts of Somalia by Al Shabaab and Al Qaeda members. To prevent further causalities and improve the economic status of the Kenya, strategies have been put forward by relevant authorities to curb the menace. Different scholars have argued that with proper national security strategies, succeeding in the fight against the terror groups would be achieved. Data collection involved various tools such as interviews, secondary sources from the document reviews and other relevant sources such as cyberspace. The target population included government officers and the civilians. The data was analyzed using MS Excel and the results presented in tabular forms. The findings of the study are the budgetary allocation, training methods and the national strategies which plays a vital role in planning, acquiring sophisticated weapons in managing terror related activities. This has improved the security status of the nation. This study will be crucial in various sectors in the combating insecurity due to terrorism within the country and also in the regional level. Recommendations highlighted in the study includes increasing the budgetary allocation to the military, creating awareness the nature of terrorism to the people, cooperating multi-national agencies and Non-governmental bodies and lastly implementing stiff and strict laws against terrorism.