The European Union is sending military support worth about €20 million (Sh2.78 billion) in military support to the Kenya Defence Forces in a boost against threats such as Somali militant group al-Shabaab.
It means Nairobi will draw support for the first time directly from the EU Peace Facility, a fund established in 2021 by the European Union bloc to help support security initiatives in allied countries in Africa.
A dispatch from the European Council said the money will support the Kenya Defence Forces to protect Kenyan borders as well as deal with internal and external threats.
“The assistance measure will also contribute to securing border areas and countering increased al-Shabaab’s operations along the border with Somalia.,” the European Council said on Monday.
Drawing from the European Peace Facility means the money will finance purchase of equipment and other services such as technical training.
The Kenya Army infantry combat units will also receive tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, non-lethal interceptors and jammers, systems to defeat improvised explosive devices, electronic warfare means, cross-country tactical military-type vehicles, and a mobile medical post, a dispatch indicated.
The European Union has been one of the backers of the outgoing African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) forces which Kenya Defence Forces have been a part for the last decade.
But the EU, and other donors had lately cut back some budgetary allocations to the Mission, citing multiplicity of security challenges on the continent.
Since 2021, when it created the EU Peace Facility, it had targeted the Sahel region where an insurgency had held down countries such as Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. The Kenya Defence Forces had never directly benefited from the Facility, however.
The Sh2.78 billion also includes support for the Kenya Navy’s naval marine units who will receive night vision googles, life vests and other personal protective equipment.
The money is new but it comes under an older arrangement: The EU-Kenya Strategic Dialogue agreed on in June 2021 where the two sides agreed to engage towards implementing bilaterally the trade and the economic and development cooperation provisions of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the East African Community.
This EPA was supposed to be a bloc-to-bloc arrangement but countries have since agreed on variable geometric, with ach stepping in at a convenient time to implement the deal.
The EU, like most Western countries has lately been tying security issues on business and investment deals, putting the role of Kenya’s national security upgrades at the centre of pacts that would otherwise focus on economic issues only.
According to the EU, the Strategic Dialogue of 2021 was supposed to strengthen EU and Kenya's regional and multilateral cooperation, targeting issues such as democracy, governance and human rights, including gender equality; peace, security and stability; trade and investment; social development; climate change and the green transition; and the digital agenda, among others.
“By investing in the capacities and capabilities of its Defence Forces, the EU reaffirms its support to Kenya as a pillar of peace and stability in the region,” the Council said.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden formalized Kenya’s inclusion in the list of Major non-NATO allies, becoming the first sub-Saharan African country to be included.
As a non-Nato ally, Kenya will have privileged access to sophisticated military equipment, training and loans to augment defence spending.
But it will not necessarily guarantee US defence of Kenya should the latter be attacked by a third foreign country.
During President William Ruto’s State Visit to Washington in May, his host said Kenya will also receive $18.2 million for counterterrorism efforts and an upgrade of the criminal justice system.
Last month, it also given Kenya some 8 refurbished helicopters and agreed to expand presence on Manda Airbase. The choppers though will be serviced at a cost to Kenya.
Kenya’s military, however, could need more money for the actual upgrade of its equipment and service over the next four years.
