The Challenge of Securing Kenya: Past Experience, Present Challenges and Future Prospects

Authors

Mumo Nzau, University of Nairobi
Mohammed Guyo, Special Envoy to Somalia, Government of Kenya

Abstract

The dynamic nature of insecurity and mitigation strategies cannot be adequately understood without comparing the present conjuncture and the past experiences. This paper provides a temporal assessment of security in Kenya by scanning convergent and divergent insecurity experiences and mitigation strategies of the regimes of Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel Arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta. The security dynamics have been shaped by drivers located at local, national and global levels. The convergence of local insecurity and protracted transitional terrorist attacks has produced a high trajectory of insecurity with a negative impact on the economy, social cohesion and stability. The contradiction is that the complexity of the emerging threats has not been matched by the optimal policy, structure and overall security architecture at the national and local levels to mitigate the threats. The paper concludes that different regimes adopted similar national security policies, strategies and institutions to deal with insecurity. The paper concludes that the best way forward for Kenya is to approach security as guided by a holistically sound institutional outlook guided by the bounds espoused by the constitution and by the tenets of governance aimed at building a future society for the good of all.

Recommended Citation

Nzau, Mumo and Guyo, Mohammed (2018) "The Challenge of Securing Kenya: Past Experience, Present Challenges and Future Prospects," The Journal of Social Encounters: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, 37-59.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/social_encounters/vol2/iss1/4