Kenya’s new army chief tours volatile northeast as al‑Shabaab tests the border
NAIROBI — Kenya’s new army commander, Lt. Gen. David Ketter, has made his first inspection swing through the country’s northeastern frontier, a scrubland expanse where the line between Kenya and Somalia blurs and al‑Shabaab’s shadow lingers. His tour of forward operating bases in Marsabit, Wajir, Mandera, and Garissa was part morale boost, part fact-finding — and a clear signal that Nairobi wants to steady the front at a time of shifting dynamics in Somalia next door.
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“We have witnessed illegal cross‑border movements in the recent past, coupled with inter‑communal conflicts in this region,” Ketter told soldiers during the visit, urging them to intensify patrols and coordination. “You act as the buffer to these vices, and it is your responsibility to ensure our borders are safe from external aggression while ensuring peaceful co‑existence among communities living within the border.” The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) said the trip formed part of a routine assessment of border operations, noting that the number of forward bases has grown in response to evolving threats.
The general’s message was blunt: hold the line, even as the theater of conflict evolves. Kenya has paid dearly for the insurgency over the past decade, from the 2015 massacre at Garissa University to the 2019 DusitD2 attack in Nairobi, and a steady drumbeat of roadside bombs and ambushes in Mandera, Wajir, Garissa and parts of Lamu. In the past two years, local officials and security monitors have recorded a resurgence of improvised explosive devices laid along rural roads and on the approaches to remote security posts — attacks that target convoys, road crews and teachers traveling between towns.
On the ground: Forward bases and a long frontier
Kenya’s northeastern border stretches roughly 680 kilometers, across terrain where seasonal rivers vanish into sandbeds and thornbushes ripple to the horizon. KDF’s forward operating bases anchor that frontier, supporting patrols and quick‑reaction forces that respond to roadside blasts or cross‑border raids. In practical terms, those bases also support the lifelines of local communities — escorting buses, clearing stretches of road after an IED strike, and providing the deterrence that keeps markets open.
In Garissa and Lamu counties, Kenyan forces have long battled militants filtering through the dense Boni Forest, a battleground that forced the government to launch targeted operations and revive a plan for a border fence. Officers on the ground say the enemy often moves in small, lightly‑armed cells, melts into the bush, and relies on IEDs rather than direct confrontations. That means technology and local intelligence matter: drones spotting disturbances in sand tracks, bomb‑sniffing dogs at chokepoints, and community elders quietly warning of strangers who don’t belong.
Why now: A shifting fight across two countries
Ketter’s visit comes amid a broader transition in Somalia, where African Union peacekeepers have been drawing down under the ATMIS mandate and Somali forces are taking on more responsibilities. Kenyan troops, who entered Somalia in 2011 and later integrated into the AU mission, maintain a heavy presence in Jubaland — in effect, a buffer zone on the Somali side of the border. That deployment has complicated the insurgents’ ability to mass, but it has not eliminated their capacity to strike inside Kenya.
As peacekeeping downsizes, security analysts warn of a predictable risk: insurgents test for gaps. That is not unique to East Africa. From the Sahel to the Lake Chad Basin, militant groups have learned to outwait foreign missions and then exploit seams between national forces. Kenya’s approach — layered defenses at home, cross‑border operations with allies, and a push to harden vulnerable infrastructure — is designed to counter that pattern. Whether it can hold in the face of political shifts in Somalia, and an insurgency that has survived every tactical defeat, is the central question.
Communities on edge
In the counties Ketter toured, the fight is not only about patrols and bases; it is about daily life. Teachers have periodically fled postings after attacks on school convoys. Health workers talk of detours to avoid suspected IED stretches. Truck drivers radio warnings about suspect patches of sand. When the rains fail — as they have in recent years during the Horn of Africa’s punishing drought cycles — pastoralists push deeper in search of water and pasture, sometimes crossing the Somalia line without papers. Those movements are normal for pastoral life but can be exploited by armed groups or inflame disputes over wells and grazing land.
That is why Ketter emphasized inter‑communal peace along with border security. Stability in Mandera and Wajir often hinges on negotiations between clans, agreements on grazing corridors, and the capacity of county governments to deliver services. It is the kind of quiet work that rarely makes headlines but determines whether a village markets its goats or mourns its sons.
The military’s message and the road ahead
By visiting early in his tenure, Ketter is signaling continuity: the bases stay, patrols intensify, and Nairobi will keep the pressure up in Jubaland as well as in Kenya’s northeastern counties. The KDF framed the tour as both oversight and a morale boost — a chance for rank‑and‑file soldiers to flag practical needs like spare parts, better route‑clearance kits, and more robust communication gear.
Kenya’s security establishment has paired that with efforts to reinforce local police, expand community policing, and invest in roadworks that make it harder to plant roadside bombs. Experience suggests the most effective antidote to insurgent intimidation is connectivity: a graded road that keeps buses running, a mobile tower that stays on, a clinic that remains open under the protection of law.
What to watch
- Tempo of IED incidents in Mandera, Wajir, Garissa and Lamu counties, particularly along secondary roads used by security convoys and contractors.
- Coordination between KDF and Somali security forces in Jubaland as ATMIS continues its drawdown and responsibilities shift further to Mogadishu.
- Community resilience: whether county governments can maintain schooling, health services and markets in areas where militants attempt to impose blockades or curfews.
- Border infrastructure: progress on fencing, surveillance and vetted crossings that facilitate lawful trade while curbing illicit movement.
A broader lens
The struggle along Kenya’s northeastern frontier is also a test of how societies adapt to long, grinding conflicts that rarely produce decisive battles. Many Kenyans remember the shock of Garissa University and DusitD2. The day‑to‑day attrition of roadside bombs lacks that drama but erodes confidence and dignity in smaller, relentless ways. The government’s challenge — and the military’s — is to protect without suffocating local life, to deter without alienating, and to outlast an enemy whose strategy is patience.
As the Horn of Africa navigates climate shocks, political transitions and a patchwork of armed actors, the question for Kenya is whether the mix of forward bases, cross‑border cooperation and community engagement can produce durable calm. Ketter’s tour offered reassurance to the troops and a message to the public. The hard work now lies in the long distances between bases, on roads where a lone mound of sand can conceal a bomb — and in town squares where peace depends on neighbors choosing it, again and again.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
