AFRICOM DEPUTY COMMANDER DISCUSSES SECURITY,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 000994 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2019 TAGS: MASS MARR PREL PGOV PTER KE US SO SUBJECT: AFRICOM DEPUTY COMMANDER DISCUSSES SECURITY, PARTNERSHIP WITH CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF REF: NAIROBI 43 Classified By: Ambassador Michael Ranneberger, reasons 1.4 b,d -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) On May 5, Africa Command Deputy Commander for Civil-Military Activities Ambassador Mary Yates had a wide-ranging and cordial meeting with Kenya's Chief of General Staff, General Jeremiah Kianga. Kianga discussed the inherent difficulties of controlling Kenya's border with Somalia and the Ministry of Defense's new focus on maritime security in light of increasing pirate attacks in the region. Kianga also discussed the growing pains of the East Africa Standby Brigade but emphasized the organization's long-term importance. Kianga expressed his strong interest in partnering with Africa Command on the State Partnership Program, which would partner Kenya's armed forces with a National Guard unit in the United States, and on providing civil affairs doctrine training to Kenyan military engineer battalions. Kianga was more hesitant in his reaction to queries about Kenya's interest in more active human rights training and substantive exchanges between the Africa Command Inspector General and his African counterparts. End Summary. -------------- The Security Threat From Somalia -------------- ¶2. (C) In spite of the recent public threat by the Somalia-based Al Shabaab to invade and annex Kenya's North Eastern Province and subject it to Sharia law, Kianga said that there were no specific indications that any militia units were preparing to invade Kenya. "We have been expecting difficulties (with Somali militias),but we are not intimidated," Kianga said. ¶3. (C) With respect to border control along Kenya's border with Somalia, Kianga admitted that it was extremely difficult to monitor cross-border movement. Kianga explained that although Kenya had officially closed its border with Somalia, trucks with humanitarian shipments, livestock herders, people with relatives on the other side of the border, and asylum seekers/refugees regularly crossed the border. Kianga said that there is not enough political will to erect a fence along the border; so the army's strategy was to post troops close to the border to support Administration Police, who have the day-to-day border contol mandate. ¶4. (C) Kianga said that the Ministry of Defense was having to divert major resources to build its maritime capacity to respond to the threat posed by Somalia-based pirates. Air Force surveillance of Kenya's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has not reduced the threat, and ships that supply goods to Kenya have to "run the gauntlet." Tourist cruise ships are starting to avoid Kenya, and ships the Kenyan military are sending for refurbishment are now taking the southern route -- around Cape Horn -- to Europe. ¶5. (C) Kianga thanked Ambassador Yates for both land and maritime security training support from the U.S. military. He asked that the training for the Ranger Strike Force be fast-tracked, and opined that the decision by Somali-based terrorist groups to avoid the maritime corridor to transit into Kenya was evidence of the effectiveness of U.S.-provided maritime training. -------------- EASBRIG Has the AU Security Mandate -------------- ¶6. (C) In response to a question about the role of the East Africa Standby Brigade (EASBRIG) vis-a-vis other East African regional organizations that have been active in the security sector -- the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the East African Community (EAC) in particular -- Kianga said that East Africans were still trying to find their feet. Different organizations were established at different times to respond to different problems, and East Africans will eventually figure out how to eliminate duplication and optimize the role of each organization. ¶7. (C) EASBRIG, however, is the only organization with a NAIROBI 00000994 002 OF 002 security mandate from the African Union, Kianga said. Although there are inherent complications with the organization (reftel),all EASBRIG members are focused on the same strategic goal. There may be misgivings by some members along the way -- like Ethiopia's current refusal to participate in the upcoming EASBRIG Field Training Exercise -- but Kianga was confident Ethiopia would eventually agree to participate. -------------- Kenyan-American Partnership Ideas -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Kianga expressed strong interest in launching a State Partnership Program that would pair Kenya together with a U.S. State National Guard unit. Ambassador Yates said that AFRICOM had made arrangments for a team to come to Kenya to provide an overview of the program, and things could move forward from there. Kianga reiterated his interest and asked that this initiative be fast-tracked if possible. ¶9. (SBU) Kianga was also interested in the idea of his military engineering corps receiving training in civil affairs doctrine. (Note: This program is envisioned to begin soon with 1207 funding aimed at supporting stability in areas affected by Kenya's 2007/8 post-election violence. End Note.) Kianga said that he would like to make sure that the program would be sustainable, and perhaps this could be accomplished by incorporating civil affairs doctrine into other training programs. ¶10. (SBU) In response to an inquiry about Kenya's interest in broader engagement by Africa Command on human rights training, Kianga said that other organizations had these bases well covered. The International Committee of the Red Cross has conducted a lot of training for cadets on human rights issues, and they are quite good at it. Kenyan soldiers also receive human rights training before they deploy on peacekeeping missions, and it has been very beneficial in improving soldiers' understanding of human rights, he said. Kianga said he was not worried about the conduct of Kenyan soldiers: "Our men know their limits and what will happen if they violate them." Therefore, Kianga added, Kenya would likely agree to participate in human rights training that was embedded in other courses, but would be less interested in stand-alone courses on human rights. ¶11. (C) Kianga was lukewarm to the idea that Kenya play a leadership role in helping regional counterparts promote military professionalism by strengthening the role of the Inspector General. He agreed that it was important to look at military oversight mechanisms, and said that Kenya had done an extensive amount of work to create their own Inspector General office and institute other oversight mechanisms. Kianga admitted, however, that the presence of the office is not as important as the power the office is given, and said that Kenya's Inspector General was not really an independent entity, nor were the internal or external auditors assigned to the Ministry of Defense, as even the external auditors work for the Ministry's Permanent Secretary. The most effective move toward increased accountability that had happened in Kenya, Kianga said, has been the introduction of performance contracts. Under- or over-achievers now have to justify their performance, Kianga said. Performance contracts have provided improved visibility to government operations, he said. ¶12. (U) This cable has been cleared by DCMA Mary C. Yates. RANNEBERGER