UK announces counter-terrorism funding for Kenya

Security minister Tom Tugendhat has travelled to Kenya to agree a new security partnership with Kenya’s cabinet secretary for interior and national administration, Professor Kithure Kindiki.

The new agreement covers the full spectrum of security cooperation between the UK and Kenya and includes £10 million a year of funding to support counter-terrorism programmes, as well as commitments on defence, international cooperation, community security, law enforcement and criminal justice, cyber security, and bilateral, multilateral and regional coordination.

A new stabilisation programme has also been launched to support local communities in Somalia’s Borderlands in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia to tackle the causes of instability. The Deris Wanaag, or Good Neighbourliness, programme will encourage collaboration and collective progress, to improve regional security and counter the extremism of al-Shabaab.

Tugendhat said: "Kenya matters to Britain. Seeing Kenyan troops march alongside other Commonwealth forces at HM The King’s Coronation was a reminder of our shared history and the promise of a strong future. By working with Kenya, our key security partner in East Africa, we are helping to keep both our peoples safe and strengthen global security.

"Together, we’re countering al-Shabaab and tackling the growing threat from regional Daesh affiliates, fighting serious organised crime, and tackling the flow of dirty money. Our security partnership is growing ever stronger.

"I’m delighted to be able to announce this comprehensive new agreement, as well as our new Somalia Borderlands programme, which will tackle the root causes of instability to help end the scourge of al-Shabaab."

Professor Kindiki added: "The friendship between Kenya and the United Kingdom is longstanding, entrenched and long-term. We appreciate what the UK has done to support Kenya on the basis of mutual respect and reciprocity over the years.

"We will make sure that we sustain this relationship so that the peoples of our 2 countries can enjoy shared prosperity as we look into the future.

"The UK has remained a key partner for Kenya in the fight against corruption, and the fight against illicit financial flows."

Image by Chickenonline from Pixabay