NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya Defense Forces [KDF] will have to operate with a $ 49 million deficit in the 2021/22 budget, it emerged, after the European Union slashed donor repayments to Kenya by 66%, ahead of AMISOM’s exit from Somalia .
AMISOM troops are expected to withdraw from the Horn of Africa nation upon full implementation of the Somali transition plan [STP] by the end of 2021. AMISOM has nearly 22,000 troops in Somalia, fully paid by the European Union, the UN, the United States among other partners.
In a report tabled in Kenya’s Parliament by the Treasury, the EU and other partners are expected to reimburse Nairobi $ 25 million for the new fiscal year, up from $ 74 million. This is necessitated by the planned exit of AMISOM, which is expected to transfer security responsibilities to the Somali security forces.
Kenya has a total of 3,500 troops in Somalia, primarily serving Sectors II and IV of AMISOM jurisdictions in Jubaland. The troops are deployed on a rotational basis each year after Kenya joined AMISOM in 2012 following the completion of Operation Linda Nchi.
Usually, Kenya obtains grants through the African Union Peace Facility in Addis Ababa. The soldiers are key partners in the fight against Al-Shabaab and are credited with liberating many towns in Somalia, including Kismayo, the regional administrative capital of Jubaland.
KDF estimates indicate that each soldier serving in the mission earns $ 1,028 but on dedication of $ 200 [administrative costs], he pockets $ 800. The troops that are deployed to the mission are selected by the senior generals after completing training.
Largely, the European Union funds the AMISOM team which includes troops, police and civilians working for the team in addition to operational costs. The United Nations Support Office in Somalia [UNSOS], on the other hand, provides on-the-ground logistical support to Amisom troops and Somali national security forces during joint operations.
A leaked PwC report that was published exclusively by Axadleraised questions about liability, with evidence showing either overpayment to phantom agents [those who may have died or left the mission]. It is estimated that millions of dollars were pocketed by unscrupulous individuals between 2016-18.
In March, the African Union Peace and Security Council extended AMISOM’s mandate until December 31, 2021. This was after Somalia failed to hold elections to expire. the lifespan of Parliament and that of besieged President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.
Although the African Union offered to mediate the crisis, Somalia refused, citing allegations that former Ghanaian President John Mahama, who had been appointed to mediate, was a close ally of Kenya. However, stakeholders have since agreed to hold elections within the next two months.
The stalemate was condemned by the international community, fearing to risk plunging the country back into the clan violence that marked the country after the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991. In fact, the security forces had split into two, further threatening to plunge the country into civil war.
Somali elections take place under a complex indirect system where the elders of the clans select the MPs, who in turn choose the president. The country had not put in place the logistics for the elections by universal suffrage, which have not yet taken place in the country since 1969.
Kenya Defense Forces troops also suffered immense losses despite the liberation of many towns in Somalia. One of the most memorable attacks took place in El-Adde in 2016, which left nearly 200 dead, after which the army also fell into the Al-Shabaab trap in Kulbuyow, killing 70 people.
There have also been complaints in Somalia of human rights abuse by KDF in addition to complaints of indiscriminate airstrikes in the Gedo region. Somalia last week demanded that the KDF notify authorities before such airstrikes which ideally target Al-Shabaab.
In particular, the United States should deploy special forces in Kenya and Somalia, according to a report published by the New York Times. Joe Biden, the report notes, is keen to help East Africa fight the Al-Shabaab insurgency, just over six months after the Donald Trump regime withdrew nearly 700 troops.
AXADLETM
