Centre for Peace and Security Management

15/02/2025

Reflections on 60 Years of Strengthening Military Professionalism in Kenya
Kenya has made a purposeful and sustained effort to create a culture of military professionalism within its armed forces since independence. This process has included continuous efforts to upgrade its professional military education system. It has been further supported by the active engagement of the Kenyan Parliament and provisions adopted in Kenya’s 2010 Constitution. While every country’s path to establishing military professionalism is unique, Kenya’s ongoing effort to inculcate and strengthen a culture of military professionalism holds lessons that may be applicable elsewhere. To gain a deeper understanding of Kenya’s experience, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies spoke with several current and former Kenyan officers to gain their perspectives on how the Kenyan Defence Force’s culture of military professionalism has evolved: General (retired) Robert Kibochi, former Chief of the Defence Forces (May 2020-April 2023); Lieutenant General (retired) Njuki Mwaniki, former Chief of the Army (November 2010-July 2011); Colonel James Kirumba, former student at the National Defense University in Washington, DC (August 2023-June 2024). Africa Center for Strategic Studies

25/11/2024

How Kenya's Evangelical President Has Fallen Out with Churches
Over the last two years, taxes on salaries have gone up, the sales tax on fuel has doubled and people are also paying a new housing levy and a health insurance tax that is yet to benefit many Kenyans. When momentous anti-tax protests erupted in June, the young people who led them...also called out churches for being too close to politicians and allowing them to preach from their pulpits. Their anger forced the government to retract a controversial finance bill that had included more tax increases - and it woke up the churches, whose clergy began to openly criticise [President William Ruto] and his policies. The most hard-hitting criticism was last week’s statement from Catholic bishops, who carry more weight because of the respect and influence they command in Kenya. They accused Ruto’s government of perpetuating a "culture of lies", citing unfulfilled campaign promises. BBC

22/11/2024

16/01/2024

24/07/2023

https://berlin-climate-security-conference.de/system/files/document/Nairobi_Statement.pdf

20/07/2023

01/07/2023

23/06/2023

Kenya: President Ruto Vows to Defend Independence of the Media

President William Ruto has weighed in on the ongoing debate over the remarks by Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria directed at the media. The remarks disparaging the Nation Media Group following the expose' over the edible oil scandal has sparked mixed reactions, with media organizations and rights groups expressing concern over the potential threats to press freedom. Speaking Wednesday in Naivasha, President Ruto said that in as much as the rights of the media needs to be protected, the rights of those who call out the media should equally be safeguarded. Speaking in Naivasha on Wednesday, President Ruto emphasized the importance of protecting both the rights of the media and the rights of those who criticize the media. CapitalFM

17/04/2023

CABO DELGADO: TWO YEARS SINCE PALMA INVASION

The attack prompted nations and security companies to help fight one of Africa’s most rapidly evolving terrorist hotspots.

For nearly two years, Mozambique resisted the call for foreign military intervention in Cabo Delgado to help fight the insurgency that started in 2017. But when militants stormed the town of Palma in March 2021, forcing construction on the US$20 billion liquefied natural gas project to stop, Maputo had to accept foreign boots on the ground.
President Filipe Nyusi said in December 2020 that offers of help had been received from many countries, highlighting the need to carefully manage this mix of interventions. But two years on, domestic and international security forces in Mozambique are still fragmented.

Rwanda has the largest military and police contingent in Cabo Delgado – about 2 800 personnel. The Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) has about 1 900. These forces technically ‘support’ Mozambique’s security forces. Local militia and several private military companies have helped restore stability, mainly around gas exploration and liquefaction projects.

The relative calm in Palma and neighbouring Mocímboa da Praia districts has enabled global investors to return to Cabo Delgado, particularly to the natural gas project. TotalEnergies, which suspended operations at its billion-dollar plant in April 2021, is preparing to restart. Some construction work is already underway. (ISS today BY BORGES NHAMIRRE)

28/08/2020

Conflict, Climate and COVID-19 Contribute to Cabo Delgado Crisis
Mozambique's Cado Delgado province has seen an alarming rise in insurgent attacks in the first half of 2020. Violence associated with various Islamist groups started in 2017 and according to the United Nations, more than a 1 000 people have been killed and over ‪210 000‬ displaced. The rise in scale and frequency in violent attacks on villages in Cado Delgado in the first half of 2020 and insurgents capturing Mocímboa da Praia, a port strategic to gas companies operating in the region, has raised concern throughout the region and beyond. Prior to this year, authorities in Mozambique had been relatively secretive about the burgeoning insurgency. Now the humanitarian impacts of the violence, the scale of the attacks, fear of regional spread and potential economic impacts have led to a call for help. Cabo Delgado's crisis is representative of so many others around the world. DefenceWeb