Al-Qaeda allies active in Kenya, says US report

A group of al-Qaeda supporters is active at the Coast and in parts of Nairobi, the US State Department says in a global terrorism report issued on Thursday.

Al-Qaeda agents responsible for the 1998 US embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam remain at large and currently pose “the most serious threat to Kenya,” the State Department warns.

It adds that “the escalating conflict in Somalia provides a permissive environment for terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda operatives and al-Shabaab.”

While Kenya’s border with Somalia remains officially closed, “some Kenyan officials characterised the closure as irrelevant, given the ease of crossing in both directions,” the report notes.

Growing threats

These high-level expressions of concern about terrorist activity in East Africa represent the latest in a series of recent warnings by US officials concerning growing threats to Kenya.

Contacted, police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said: “Kenya as a country is very safe. We will study the report and take the necessary action.”

The State Department report also makes critical observations about Kenya’s own efforts to enhance its security.

“Kenya lacked the counter-terrorism legislation necessary to comply with the UN conventions it has signed,” the report says, noting that Bills of this sort “remained highly controversial in Kenya.”

Muslim leaders have criticised counter-terrorism proposals as “anti-Muslim” and have joined other elements of the Kenyan society in arguing that the proposals would heighten the danger of government violations of human rights, the report observes.

Kenya has also not adopted legislation to combat money laundering and other forms of terrorism financing, the State Department adds.

It points out that Kenya is one of only two countries in the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group without an anti-money laundering law. And Kenya currently serves as the head of that group, the report notes.

The State Department’s annual global terrorism survey outlines extensive military cooperation between Nairobi and Washington.

Kenya’s Air Force procured additional F-5 fighter jets last year to improve maritime and counter-terrorism surveillance operations.

And the Kenyan Navy and the Maritime Police Unit both received training and equipment from the US for interdiction initiatives in Kenya’s territorial waters, the report adds.