When in 2013, young men started taking over mosques in coastal Kenya, it produced two sets of narratives; one, the youth were extremists, and two, the youths were reformists. The extremism narrative framing has created a set of policy responses that have exacerbated the problem. The Elephant in conversation with Dr Hawa Noor M., a scholar, and peace and security commentator based in East Africa and Germany.
Ten years after Kenya’s military foray into Somalia began, what have been the significant achievements of the intervention?
Muslim leadership, whether political or in civil society, is crucial if the instrumentalization of grievances to entice Kenyans to join al-Shabaab is to be avoided.
The government’s decision to withdraw all non-local teachers has played into al-Shabaab’s hands and consigned the region’s youth to a life of poverty.
The peace and safety that were the raison d’être of the Kenya Defence Forces’ incursion into Somalia are nowhere in sight a decade after the first boots marched in.
Ten years ago this month Kenyan troops invaded Somalia. Coverage of the incursion by the Kenyan media has consistently and uncritically favoured the Kenya Defence Forces.
Twenty years later, the US has little to show for its massive investment of trillions of dollars and the countless lives lost. Its defeat in Afghanistan may yet prove more consequential than 9/11.
Would US-Kenya relations be significantly different today had the al-Qaeda attacks not taken place?
The government security apparatus has failed to contain Al-Shabaab in Garissa, Wajir and Mandera counties, leaving the residents' lives at the mercy of the militant group.
A section of Kenyan citizens has been labelled dangerous to the main body of the country and denied a national identity and equal status with their fellow citizens.
African states are involved in the War on Terror more than we think. They’re surrounded by an eco-system of the war industry.
US and Kenyan diplomatic and intelligence officials tell Declassified UK why the CIA set up a covert paramilitary counter-terror team, how it flies recruits to the US for special training, and why Britain helps gather intelligence on targets.