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After President William Ruto met his host in the United States on Wednesday, A 10,000-word fact sheet detailing all the deals and agreements made was released to the public, At the very bottom, the two governments made strategic military agreements in which Kenya was mostly the beneficiary…
They included agreements donations of choppers and sophisticated armored vehicles and allowance of Kenya Defence Forces candidates to attend training overseas, After getting dragged for chartering a plane and his team insisting that the end will justify the means, here are the biggest military deals Ruto signed in the US.
Military Precision
- Choppers: Kenya will receive 16 U.S.-manufactured helicopters between late 2024 and summer 2025 to bolster its ability to provide regional peace and security (8 Hueys) and participate in peacekeeping missions (8 MD-500s).
- Armored Vehicles: Kenya selected approximately 150 M1117 Armored Security Vehicles from U.S. Excess Defense Article stocks, which are projected to arrive in Kenya in September 2024.
- KDF US Training: In a historic first, the first batch of KDF candidates will attend courses at the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy beginning Summer 2024. Initially, Kenya only benefitted from the U.S. International Military Education Training courses.
The U.S. military currently has seven advisors in Kenya supporting Kenyan aviators and for the first time, the United States is providing a Strategic Logistics Advisor to Kenya’s Ministry of Defence. Kenya’s U.S.-trained Disaster Response Battalion has also been involved in recent search and rescue operations in response to recent flooding in Kenya,” read the fact sheet.
- Counterterrorism: Kenya committed to sharing counterterrorism information with the US and is in the process of joining Operation Gallant Phoenix, a program that advances multinational collaboration and sharing of terrorist information to build mutual capacity to collect and use battlefield evidence in civilian criminal justice proceedings in a multiagency, multinational setting.
- Manda Airfield: Kenya will sign an MoU with the US to expand the Manda Bay Airfield in coastal Kenya by building a 10,000-foot runway. The airstrip has been a target of terror attacks in the past.
- Courts: The US State Department Bureau of Counterterrorism announced $18.7 million (Ksh2.4 billion) to help build the Kenyan criminal justice system’s ability to address terrorism threats in a manner consistent with the rule of law. The funds provide training, mentorship, and equipment to investigators, forensic examiners, law enforcement, court officials, and prosecutors.
- Haiti: The US reaffirmed its support for Kenya’s plan to deploy 1,000 police to Haiti, scheduled to take place before the end of this month.
- Border Security: The US, as part of its investments, will build Kenya’s border security capabilities, increasing maritime security awareness, improving peacekeeping capacity, supporting humanitarian response, and strengthening civilian and military defense institutions. As of 2020, the US invested $230 million (Ksh30 billion) in civilian security.
- Assylum: Two countries agreed to strengthen the asylum system after investing more than $667 million in humanitarian assistance in Kenya over the last 10 years. “This funding supports basic needs, protection, and durable solutions for refugees and other vulnerable populations.”
- Training; the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations is funding the Public International Law and Policy Group’s 12-month training program to establish an effective mediation/negotiations support unit in the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Peace and Security Directorate.
- NATO: President Joe Biden informed Congress in US that he intends to designate Kenya as a Major Non-NATO Ally. “The United States has a deep respect for Kenya’s contributions to global peace and security. This is the first designation of a sub-Saharan African nation as a Major Non-NATO Ally.”
Yes, But: President William Ruto on Thursday raised concerns about terrorism in the country following the withdrawal of peace-keeping forces in Somalia, He, therefore, requested the intervention of the American government to beef up security in the region.
