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Like many years, 2019 was a year fraught with security challenges. The year began with 21 people being killed in a horrendous Al-Shabaab attack on the Dusit D2 Complex in Nairobi.
With five attackers, including one suicide bomber, taking over the Riverside Drive complex, 19 tense hours ensued before the remaining hostages were released.
The outcome was terrible, thanks to the swift and efficient work of the security services that the death toll was not higher.
While this was the worst attack of the year, other particularly horrific attacks took place as well. Many of these took place in Wajir County, where five attacks have been perpetrated over the last 3 months alone.
Although violent extremism is nothing new to Kenya, what is new is government’s approach to fighting it. This approach will undoubtedly ensure Kenyans across the country enjoy a safer and more prosperous new year.
Given the spike in recent attacks, the Wajir County Commissioner Jacob Narengo, at the direction of the national security apparatus, announced a two-pronged approach to fighting terror.
The first part is aimed at directly combatting terror. This will be accomplished through increasing our security services’ intelligence capabilities, particularly on the border with Somalia.
It will focus on affording the military enhanced intelligence gathering techniques, such as more comprehensive surveillance abilities along the border.
As Sun Tzu teaches in The Art of War, “The reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge.” Intel is key.
The second aspect of this strategy seeks to make use of “soft power” in order to stem attacks before they take place.
Understanding that many of the perpetrators are deeply religious people for whom tribal leaders hold a great deal of influence, the strategy makes use of these individuals to facilitate dialogue with disaffected individuals.
Indeed, by liaising with community elders and leveraging their influence, the security services will reach the individuals in question. With the subsequent help of the persuasion of these elders, those planning attacks will hopefully be stopped before the attacks are executed.
Other than tackling terror threats in this innovative way, President Uhuru Kenyatta has also taken a regional approach to fighting terror.
The President has been criticised as being the most travelled president to date, passing the 100 official state visit mark last year.
This is in stark comparison with former President Mwai Kibaki, who only made 33 official state visits abroad.
These trips, however, not only reflect Kenya’s standing as a regional and global leader, but have practical results too.
Uhuru’s trips have included far flung destinations, such as Barbados and Russia, but have also heavily focused on regional trips.
These are aimed at, among other things, regional security cooperation. Countries visited in this context include Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia (to which he has traveled to most) as well as Tanzania. The underlying strategy guiding these trips has been an expansive one, namely that regional threats cannot be addressed without regional cooperation.
Uhuru’s international vision and regional approach to security matters, has most impressively led to our country being considered for a seat at the United Nations Security Council. Thus, as one of the ten campaign pledges put forth in our country’s bid for the council, President Kenyatta has emphasised the need “to seek long lasting solutions to security challenges.”
With the election of non-permanent members coming up in June 2020, the time to show our ability to provide innovative approaches to these security challenges is now.
Our success has led to Kenya’s bid being strongly endorsed by the African Union member states, who recently expressed their support by voting for Kenya’s candidacy 37-13 over Djibouti.
Without the president's travels, this would have probably never been possible.
Natural resources continue to play an important role in regional geopolitics, which can be explosive. This is evident in the Ethiopia-Egypt case, where Ethiopian threats to construct the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam sparked an international crisis.
Our country faced a similar challenge when Tanzania protested Kenyan plans to construct a dam across the River Mara.
A robust regional security strategy, which focuses on both diplomacy and power, as is the case with Uhuru’s counter-terrorism policy, is required in order to prevent the outbreak of such avoidable international crises.
The New Year will bring with it a host of challenges for Kenya. Having adequate strategies in place to address them, particularly when they relate to security, is increasingly necessary.
Our country’s track record this past year gives us good reason to believe that Kenyans can look forward to a 2020 that will be even safer and more prosperous than the last.
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