Kenya Defence Force

The section of the Constitution of Kenya pertinent to the Kenya Defence Forces is succinct and unambiguous:

PART 2—THE KENYA DEFENCE FORCES
241. (1) There are established the Kenya Defence Forces.
(2) The Defence Forces consist of
(a) the Kenya Army;
(b) the Kenya Air Force; and
(c) the Kenya Navy.
(3) The Defence Forces
(a) are responsible for the defence and protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic;
(b) shall assist and cooperate with other authorities in situations of emergency or disaster, and report to the National Assembly whenever deployed in such circumstances; and
(c) may be deployed to restore peace in any part of Kenya affected by unrest or instability only with the approval of the National Assembly.

Migingo, Todonyang and Lamu are NOT a matter of law enforcement. The Kenya Police has NO jurisdiction over soldiers from Uganda, tribesmen from Ethiopia or bandits from Somalia. The border has been breached - severally - and Kenyan lives have been lost, citizens defiled, property looted and an absolutely vital part of the national economy very, very seriously jeopardised by foreign armed groupings.

Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. Kenya does not have independent authority over Migingo. At best, it has agreed to share this authority with the very state that illegally usurped that territory. Nor, as we have seen, does it have independent authority over Todonyang or Lamu, where tribal militia and criminal gangs are able to waltz in and out at will, leaving dead Kenyans in their wake and kidnapping foreigners. Not isolated incidents. The perception is that the Government of Kenya has no authority here and is unable to enforce that authority.

Territorial integrity is the principle under international law that nation-states should not attempt to promote, inter alia, border changes in other nation-states. Yet the Ugandan flag fluttered over Migingo, Kenyan territory, for years before the Government of Kenya graciously agreed to share its authority with Uganda. Planting a flag is claiming a stake.

Article 241/3a of the Constitution of Kenya clearly provides for KDF intervention in cases such as Migingo, Todonyang and Lamu. There is no specification as to the nature of the threat to sovereignty and territorial integrity, merely the delegation of responsibility for the defence and protection.

Whichever way you want to look at it, it is the prerogative of the "Government" (read: C-in-C) to make the call. He could have but he hasn't, at terrible cost. And - considering the increasing bravado of the enemy in the face of Nairobi's indolent attitude - that cost is set to skyrocket.

No, Tom, this is not a bureaucratic failure. It is a failure of policy. Or sheer absence thereof.

The day the pirates attack that Kenya naval ship was the tale tell sign that Kenyas coastal defense systems had holes. Be easy on Nlkarei his hands are tied I feel. The guys at the top need to be tough with your government. I feel you could mange a small brawl

One Day (sorry for saying this), some unnoticed kenyan / somali of somali / kenyan origin will succeed in carrying out an IED attack fatal enough to cause a paradigm shift in the eyes of the bean counters, then as Kenyans are oft, reactionary legislators will hurriedly meet and attempt to have a patriot style legislation. I do pray that Ole man et al do have time to craft something that will survive such a moment.

My 2Cnts.

Brother Nicci, I find it impossible deny my shared anger on this constant thrusts into our Homeland from every quarter. But you are horribly wrong in your thesis and its conclusions. Probably if you read with some dispassionate objectivity my consistent posts on this matter from when we first started this walk together, and re-read the constitutional reference you have quoted above, you may begin to give some credit to my proposition. Brother Olekoima is equally aghast and with good reasons expressed, that Kenya seems to have become everybody's favorite target. Flying Crane, never thought I would ever thank your bailing me out ever, thanks mate!!

It is simplistic (pls forgive the usage of this term) to see Policy in such a close-ended unyielding single-faced definition - far from it. Each situation demands interpretations specific to it guided by the very same Policy-Statement, acquiring shades that vary by the unique exigencies of each situation. For instance Armed Egress by the UPDF is not the same as the socially motivated Topoosa / Merille Egress at Tondonyaang, surely you must see. Even then, each Egress by the UPDF cannot be uniformly addressed. Such is the Statement on ''Territorial Integrity'' that you have quoted of the Kenya Constitution. So, yes, KDF is Constitutionally tasked to maintain Territorial Integrity. It has the means many times over to effectively do so, very well. Considering the fractious imploding neighborhood with little to lose counter-weighted by the huge risks to the Homeland from Civil Disorder, it is imperative that this task be undertaken well beyond our territorial borders to insulate the Homeland from spillovers, residue influences, etc; defense to depth, so to speak - take them out in their hell-holes, in their own backyard, just as the Americans have defined their forward-defense theory. The lacuna is that this ''Constitutional Trigger'' does not at present exist for this sort of defensive Military Posturing - once the bandits are through the sieve-like border of identical demography, the precedence of action passes to Law Enforcement - the RDU /GSU must engage the Topoosa/ Merile / Kenyan Brigands now masquerading as Al-shabaab in Lamu/Manda) as law-breakers, who obviously lack an organized State-like Structure (such as Ocampo has been harping about now!!). That is how it is framed in our Constitutional Make-up!

Preemptive Military deployments as a deliberate open strategy is just not constitutional at present - look at the insulated layers of approval that are demanded prior to ANY deployments? It is why the Lamu/Manda situation has Mathew Iteere's face on it presently. Moreover, Military deployments intended to sealing a border are preceded by a declaration of imminent external hostilities since that effectively places the Military in theaters that are primarily the domain of Law Enforcement. Damn it all!!

Amidst all this see saw about responsibility vis-a-vis constitutional mandate, my thinking surprisingly remains black and white. We have an army for a reason, shockingly the common man seems to understand more about the army's role than the beuraucrats. Kenyans, regardless of their income and remittance, as Nkarei is prone to arguing, have faith in this institution called the "Defence Forces". That the military should only be deployed to situations that make economic sense is utter rubbish and at best, an absurdity. In view of this, since i reside in area of the country that has nil economic value to the state save for the numerous coconut trees then i should expect to call on St. Michael if im suddenly besieged by a horde of marauding bandits? Is this military that taxpayers from as remote as Mandera pay to maintain only for Nairobi and other economic hotspots? Christ!



Let us move in harmony with the truth gentlemen, our failure to defend ourselves(forget about securing our borders, hell we don't even know where they end and where we start!) is primarily due to the spineless and laid back approach we employ in relation to security. I'm even starting to believe that our C-in-C is reminded we have an army when a Puma lands at state house lawns to play taxi. Constitution or not our C-in-C is spineless. Col, remind me, was this constitution in force when Turbi happened? was it in place when Todonyang happened? What excuse will you give for those? Aut pax aut bellum our military must be able and willing to defend this country, heck that's what you guys are paid....i think i've rapidly lost my apetite of serving coz now the whole of the KDF looks like a bunch of very expensive scarecrows who if a bird is brave enough to enter the wheat field will do nothing to protect the crop.

Jas, you miss the point completely in your emotive riposte expressing your disappointment in such a starkly blunt manner, which unlike myself you have the luxury to make. It would appear that there is a healthy ignorance about the structure of our Security Organs, and of growing and progressive Nations such as Kenya.

In my post, all I am postulating is that you want the Army to police within our borders? - make this clear in the constitution; you want the Army to offensively defend this nation Kenya projecting force across borders, then please let this be in the clear in the Constitution. You cannot have your cake and eat it. I remind you that the democracy is a fragile and constantly fluid sate of affairs, and it's safeguard against an intrusive Military in progressive societies the world over is the
constitutional definition of that armed element.

Nations that have not this distinction are invariably dictatorial and one-man-led - there is no absence of such around as, the leader-clique,their extended means of violence ( the Army) are one-and-the-same. The buck for this stops squarely on the Constitutional Civilian Oversight (you & myself) - which is not synonymous with the C-I-C who has become a favorite target of some tasteless, gutless, ludicrously out of focus censure by some persons on these blogs. Free the Military from these suffocating controls for the sake of control - but constitutionally.

Please forgive my simplistic view (no offense taken) of things, ole Nkarei. I am not privy to the inner workings of Kenya's security apparatus nor to the logic and reasoning that drives its policy and strategy.
I maintain my position that every nation must foster and guard with jealousy an underlying precept, an elemental tenet of security, in respect of the inviolability of its sovereignty - its borders, the lives of its citizens, their livelihood - upon which any number of strategies may be built for an array of scenarios. This is the responsibility of government. Ours seems to be failing on that front.
I am not wholly familiar with military-speak but the gist of your explanation as it percolates down to me is that because of the complexity of regional, internal and whatnot equations, the policy is to take a specific course of action which, I am to believe, will at some point in the nebulous future have some kind of unspecified positive outcome. OK, but blind faith only goes so far. There is no tangible indication whatsoever that such policy is succeeding (unless contained in some classified for-your-eyes-only brief). Au contraire.
At pain of sounding simplistic again, I do not understand the purpose of the argument on the unconstitutionality of preemptive action when the events subject to the preemption have already occurred. This renders the argument academic. To preempt means to forestall, to take action in order to prevent an anticipated event - the occupation of Migingo, for example - from happening.
Your responses seem to suggest (correct me if I'm wrong) that the KDF does not have the mandate to confront an armed force once it crosses our borders (apparently, it becomes a matter for the police), yet this has always been my understanding of the most fundamental role of any national military. And if, arguably, this principle could be applied to the tribesmen and the bandits, can it also be applied to the armed forces of a nation-state, such as the UPDF? Are they, too, to be dealt with by constables on patrol? Perhaps. I am no constitutional expert.
I do not think you gauged the gist of our grievances correctly, ole Nkarei. We (certainly I) do not seek for the dogs of war to be unleashed indiscriminately and charged with scorching our neighbours' earth, come what may. However, if that's what it takes, then so be it. The security of our nation and lives of our citizens is paramount. It comes before those of our neighbours or the legacies of our politicians. And that such action should precipitate civil disorder in the homeland, I find simply incredulous. It would most likely be a rallying call at a time when presidential wannabes are fracturing the nation along ethnic lines. Ask any shrink.
Ultimately, whichever disciplined force in Kenya is tasked with our defence and protection from the above, there has been a clear failure by the politicians in charge to perform their constitutional duty (a failure, incidentally, that now extends to the financial sector and the economy in general. But that's beside the point).
Hiding these failures behind the guise of a bigger picture will do nothing to assuage the nation. If the top dogs cannot understand the enormity of the problem they are facing - ethnic fracturing, crippling unemployment, runaway inflation, financial collapse and - as the cherry on the cake - capitulation of sovereignty and security cock-ups - then I must, as a matter of urgency, be very, very afraid.

To add to what you are saying Vitruvian,where is the harm in deploying our men in uniform to the various trouble spots ( and we know them- Todonyang, Moyale,Mandera,Lamu etc ) to deter the would be aggressors? They don't have to fight, but their mere presense will send shock waves to the trouble makers to think twice before risking their own destruction. To avoid building tensions with neighbours they need to be informed clearly about the real intentions- i.e that of securing our borders from marauding gangs. This can even include the sharing of security information between neighbours in a manner that benefits everyone. I doubt whether this will be misunderstood by anyone who has the interest of peace in mind. Quite clearly, our leaders are not paying enough attention to our country's security and we have real reasons to worry. Now our tourist earnings are going up in smoke thanks to all the political bickering at the expense of the states well being. During the PEV some army officers appeared briefly in a few places to restore order and i must admit that the results were immediate. Now if we could deploy these men internally, what is so hard in deploying a few to border areas? Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda have done the same in the past close to our borders and we did not complain since we were aware of their intentions. We cannot keep on playing the nice boy in the region forever and having our balls caressed even by low grade militia.

Guys they is a lot the Forces knows and can do to handle such situations, but our hands are tied as Iron bird said. KDF is not a weak for or ill equip force, I think we all agree on that, but if the boss don’t call for the service until the last minute what else can we do. KDF will be relegated to a management by crises unit, until the right administration is at the helm. So until then lets not expect much. That’s the honest truth.

Agreed, Bulletman.

Vitruvian, OleKoima - we have walked together a long time, and I feel practically that I know you well enough to respect your opinions. Hence please be certain that I personally respect your expressions - probably that means nothing in this charge environment.

But Risasi has called it bluntly for what it is. As the preeminent social-economic entity in this region, defensive planning of our borders cannot begin at Tondoyaag or at Wajir. It must begin inside Crazy town, and at Juba - and that is the principle of Defense to Depth - which you Olekoima understand very well.But that is just simply how defined in the Constitution!! Now, the demography and history of these region also complicate border defense no ends and hence making ''repulsion of a foreign Egress'' a Law Enforcement Matter - it is not morally permissible nor acceptable that I send licensed Killers the Rangers or the Deltas to deal with a socio-invasion by the Merille or the Borana simply to assuage some bruised Nationalistic sentiments. That is defined by the Constitution as a Law Enforcement matter, Period!! As concerns the Migingo, the principle that applies is that War must ensure when all other peaceful avenues are exhausted, is a last resort especially when the gains are outweighed by the costs of it - Uganda will forever be our neighbor in an expanding block of shared ideals, our largest and most critical economic partner in the world, with shared history and demography.

Beyond this principle of ''territorial integrity'', do all other principles of War and Governance simply just fade into insignificance? I am really not able to credit such a limited perspective to chaps who have so much educated my world-view over the past two years such as you Vitruvian and you Olekoima! I repeat what I have posted for months, and which Risasi reinforces above - release the Armed Forces from these irrational fetters of political control. Allow free rein to Military Planner to fully exploit the principle of Defense to-depth, so that Military Planning becomes the clenched fist of our Diplomacy in our Sphere of economic and political influence. Change the Constitutional Definition of the KDF - like the Israeli did pre-1967 War.

My adjutant found this bit while scrolling through some Kenyan blog - very interesting slant, very refreshing though obviously colored by our usual partisan political shades. But it does show that as many as would crucify present CIC exist who place this miasma-like Somali border maneno on another's doorstep!
Of course, I find both views very uninformed.

http://hardtalkkenya.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/the-politics-of-the-kenyasomalia-border/

HTK, Tom, is renowned for its heavily slanted opinions. Not to be taken seriously.

Vitruvian wrote:HTK, Tom, is renowned for its heavily slanted opinions. Not to be taken seriously.

I know so, buddy. Disturbingly there those that swear by it!! When are you back in, btw?

I can literary see the Ugandans here laughing their rumps off!

@Risasi, well put. Plain black and white, just the way i like it, no shades of gray.

@Col, your adjutant seems to be a very cheeky fellow. Carefull what he may prep for a briefing one morning.

jasiri wrote:I can literary see the Ugandans here laughing their rumps off!

@Risasi, well put. Plain black and white, just the way i like it, no shades of gray.
It is matter of ''martial orientation'' - feel the rumbling air as he approaches? and hear his sonic boom? do you not see the Bullet-man's contrails? That is his calling card.

@Col, your adjutant seems to be a very cheeky fellow. Carefull what he may prep for a briefing one morning.

Not to fear, Jas. All shades are just important in briefings, some very nutty ones too. Then the sifting through starts. Desk Jockey I am, these days!! Eeeish!!

Ole Nkarei, Risasi,

Thank you for your comments. Indeed i appreciate the role of our men in uniform and know for sure that they can't hesitate to dicharge this role wherever and when called upon. I was just pained to see what is happening to our country without the requisite response from the concerned. At least i have noted some action in Lamu by our security apparatus even though the CIC has hardly commented on anything. The action thus alleviate my pain though.

ole Nkarei wrote:

Vitruvian wrote:HTK, Tom, is renowned for its heavily slanted opinions. Not to be taken seriously.

I know so, buddy. Disturbingly there those that swear by it!! When are you back in, btw?

Back in?

Vitruvian wrote:

Back in?

Homeland, guy!

ole Nkarei wrote:

Vitruvian wrote:

Back in?

Homeland, guy!

Impeccable timing. What DO you do behind that desk?

Now on a different note. I have been wondering loudly why the naval officers who were tasked to pursue the pirates after abducting a tourist recently had to do so in a fishing boat which incidentally they had to borrow. Where were the naval boats including the 6 speedboats received from the US in 2006? Wasn't it risking the lives of officers to use a fishing boat which cannot manhouver? Indeed 2 officers are still missing and feared to have drowned. I believe it is time some equipments were moved from Mtongwe to Lamu especially in view of what is currently happening.

Jeez, a lot has hppnd thus far, Nkarei, i see ur a true patriot! good on u mate, as most of us are tradin blame games, i wnt! am sure the C in C is Kenyan just like most of us and marrinatting in shame just like sme of us, Nkarei, buddy! our SOCOM chaps, do they carry out ,'night ops,' u knw there's nothin more terrifyin for terrorists than to wake up odd hrs n the last thing they see n feel is a painted face n a bayonet up their guts! now that's terror!

Vitruvian wrote:

ole Nkarei wrote:

Vitruvian wrote:

Back in?

Homeland, guy!

Impeccable timing. What DO you do behind that desk?

Take it easy, Vitruvian. Iam friendly, and you know so! Behind that desk? - lot of things I wouldn't dare tell Mum about. Someone gotta do them, no?

Olekoima wrote:I have been wondering loudly why the naval officers who were tasked to pursue the pirates after abducting a tourist recently had to do so in a fishing boat which incidentally they had to borrow. Where were the naval boats including the 6 speedboats received from the US in 2006? Wasn't it risking the lives of officers to use a fishing boat which cannot manhouver?

@ OleKoima, a Covert Spec ops that unraveled- planning was really top-notch and all very aggressively set. The Brigands were closely ringed in, near to shore, and no way to break in / out without an uncontrolled firefight with aggravated risks to the hostage. Egress decided by a CDU – HALO night jump with a secondary by a civilian skiff disguised as lost locals on a passing trajectory. As it is, HALO jump cancelled at last minute due to volatile weather over staging area and out-sea, and but the Skiff with a stick of CDU chaps went it anyway - the numbers of the Brigands was not that distressing. Distracting ‘smoke and thunder’ cover by withering large caliber fire by surface ships and Helli-gunship, Brigands indiscriminate in
response shooting at anything that moved inside this ring – including a mating pair of papooses (killed them dead too!!). Additional responding fire from offshore. So, the Ops becomes a desperate search & rescue mission, the brigands crush through the resulting gaps in the blockade, and land the hostage.


You chaps are as indiscriminate with your fire! Those boys did very well under the circumstances – every good plan has inherent possibilities of failure and one cannot plan enough to secure against every failure. Eiiish!! Kenyans, Bana!!

bravotwozero wrote:Jeez, a lot has hppnd thus far, Nkarei, i see ur a true patriot! good on u mate, as most of us are tradin blame games, i wnt! am sure the C in C is Kenyan just like most of us and marrinatting in shame just like sme of us, Nkarei, buddy! our SOCOM chaps, do they carry out ,'night ops,' u knw there's nothin more terrifyin for terrorists than to wake up odd hrs n the last thing they see n feel is a painted face n a bayonet up their guts! now that's terror!

Damn right they do, BtO. Amonst other such types of manenos. The Deltas have been quite active over at Crazy Town for months, all over north of Illemi last couple years, presently into the Ogaden, as far east as Ituri, CAR and parts of South Kivu. Where the heck do you reckon all those Billions are going? Time Kenya appreciated the good things about Kenya - hell, many of you chaps would walk right past RUDISHA,VIVIAN, TONJE, without even blinking an eye in idle recognition!!

Olekoima wrote:Now on a different note. I have been wondering loudly why the naval officers who were tasked to pursue the pirates after abducting a tourist recently had to do so in a fishing boat which incidentally they had to borrow. Where were the naval boats including the 6 speedboats received from the US in 2006? Wasn't it risking the lives of officers to use a fishing boat which cannot manhouver? Indeed 2 officers are still missing and feared to have drowned. I believe it is time some equipments were moved from Mtongwe to Lamu especially in view of what is currently happening.

Picture this, our navy has 5 OPV's(Offshore patrol vessels). 3 of them are toothless, the other two that can bite are stationed outside Mombasa. Haya, then kuna these speed boats, shockingly apart from those Archangel death traps donated by the USG most of the others are either derelict or not in good shape to conduct their patrol duties. This is exactly here i have a problem with the navy. Seriously, close to half a decade of existence n they still can't live up to their commander's vision "To maintain a lean but highly professional Navy with the ability to operate at par with other world Navies". This will bring me back to the line we have argued over so many times of Kenya having an at least miniscule capacity for weapons manufacture.

When you look at the Kns Shujaa (P3130?) and it's sister you wonder why the hell can't we make a copy of it? More times than once, Navy boats have crossed the chanel for dry docking service at the African Marine and Engineering www.africanmarine.com. This indegineous kenyan company has excellent facilites so much so that one of our decomissioned ferries the MV Mvita was constructed here. Which begs the question, why can't the government take a leap of faith and give this guys a chance to prove their worth? the way i see it it's a win win. The gov't saves on hard currency, the MRC members get jobs and they forget their seccecionist ideas, the company get's more profit, KRA more tax and the country an indespensable propaganda tool. Why they don't do it is honestly beyond me.

Great idea, Jasiri. We need to take such bold steps forward. Without them, 2030 is a pipe dream.

@Nkarei thanks that’s the way I see stuff from my perspective.
@ Olekoima . the fish boat was “a improvised situation”. had it gone down well the boys would be on a high way to responsible positions.
@ bravotwozero the rangers and Spec forces are equipped adequately for their duties.

@vitruvian & Jas. I normal don’t like discussing politics but allow me too today. nice ideas your fondering with, but take a veterinarian or an Ex-provincial administrator among others give them the task of formulate policies to abet a defense forces. What do you expect? These are some of the things that throw us behind the pack.
Visa kama migingo ni vidogo sana katika harakati za jeshi letu la taifa. a CoY from 9KR can easily disarmed Ug at the island without a bullet being fired

Taifa lina taka a change of administration zaidi kuliko kubaadili katiba. Katiba ya sema sasa the commission general police doesn,t necessary have to come from the police force. Swala hilo liki pewa viyongozi waliomo sasa jee mwafikiri tutasimamia wapi kesho???

Anyway may be these are the necessary evil for a brighter future.

@Risasi, I think Jas and I are simply voicing a general frustration at what's going on. It is clear from our posts that we are as patriotic as any and have utmost respect for the forces. There are many out there who do not share this sentiment and lay the blame squarely on your epaulettes. Our complaints are not directed at the military. The spin here on this forum has been pretty effective since its enigmatic materialisation and I am (we are?) more than glad to turn a blind eye to the occasional inconsistency.
Far be it for a veterinarian or ex-provincial admin to formulate national security policy. But one gets the impression, then, that the security services must be staffed with countless veterinarians and ex-provincial administrators. You are right, this is not a political forum, in which sense such a debate is misplaced. But the security implications and consequences of these events bring this discussion smack into the middle of this forum.
Incidentally, I get the message (but am uncowed). Or is it just the first crack in the facade of this surreptitious forum?

The following has nothing to do with this post. My young son, sitting on my lap, insists on sending all you folks some smilies. How can I say no?

@ Vitruvian you misunderstood me. I am not saying that we shouldn’t talk about politics , I am saying I personally don’t like discussing politics but this time I will just to shed my view and opinions on the matter. I will go at it again.

Brilliant from jasiri
This indegineous kenyan company …………. Which begs the question, why can't the government take a leap of faith and give this guys a chance to prove their worth?

Brilliant from Vitruvian man
Great idea, Jasiri. We need to take such bold steps forward. Without them, 2030 is a pipe dream

Those are brilliant ideas, but the current administration ya wizara ambayo ina husika na ulinzi . Minister of State for Defence ina ogozwa na watu wenye credentials gani? The former was a daktari wa mifugo Murungaru. he eventially lead the force into the anglo leasing saga because hata kama wataka kula, he was not Passionate about what the force was to be equiped with. Na jee aliyoko sasa stakabadi zake kulingana na secta ya ulinzi nini? They could be good personalities but if they are not versatile in that field then we will not realize the best out of the armed forces. appointment za office hii ni za umuhimu na wako personalities wenye ujuzi zaidi that can be nominated to assist the gov,t in formulating defense policies . that was what I meant to say.

peya jambo kwa young son