R 020738Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8107

UNCLAS NAIROBI 000002 
 
 
DEPT FOR INL; ALSO FOR AF/E SDRIANO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR KCRM SOCI PGOV KE
SUBJECT: 2009 INCSR 
 
¶1. Following please find Kenya's submission for the 2009 INCSR: 
 
¶2. QUOTE:  KENYA 
 
¶I.  Summary 
Kenya remains a significant transit country for cocaine and heroin 
bound for Europe and the United States. Quantities of heroin and 
hashish transiting Kenya, mostly from Southwest Asia bound for 
Europe and the U.S. have markedly increased in recent years. There 
is a growing domestic heroin and cocaine market and use of cannabis 
or marijuana is widespread, particularly on the coast and in 
Nairobi. There is also an emerging pattern of opiates trafficked 
from Kenya to the Indian Ocean islands of Seychelles, Mauritius, 
Madagascar and Comoros.  Although government officials profess 
strong support for antinarcotics efforts, the overall program 
suffers from a lack of resources and corruption at various levels. 
Kenya is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. 
 
II. Status of Country 
Kenya is a significant transit country for cocaine and heroin and a 
minor producer of cannabis for the domestic market. The production 
of khat, legal in Kenya, is an important source of foreign revenue 
for Kenya. Though there is some local demand for the product, the 
majority of khat grown is for export to Somalia, Ethiopia and Yemen, 
and increasingly, the U.K. and The Netherlands. It is believed that 
Kenya is becoming an increasingly significant transit country for 
multi-ton shipments of cocaine from South America destined for 
European and American consumers; however, cocaine seizures were 
modest in 2007 at 18.8 kgs compared to 23.5 kgs seized in 2006. 
Kenya's sea and air transportation infrastructure, and the network 
of commercial and family ties that link some Kenyans to Southwest 
Asia, make Kenya a significant transit country for Southwest Asian 
heroin and hashish. Although it is impossible to quantify exactly, 
officials believe that the United States is at least as significant 
as Europe as a destination for heroin transiting Kenya. Cannabis is 
produced in commercial quantities primarily for the domestic market 
(including use by some elements among the large number of tourists 
vacationing in Kenya), with additional quantities arriving from 
Uganda and Tanzania. While it is believed that small quantities of 
cannabis may be bound for export, there is no evidence of its impact 
on the United States. Kenya does not produce significant quantities 
of precursor chemicals, and the Pharmacy and Poisons Board closely 
monitors imports and exports of precursor and licit drugs. 
 
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2008 
Policy Initiatives. Counter narcotics agencies, notably the 
Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU) within the Kenyan Police Service, depend 
on the 1994 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act for 
enforcement authorities and interdiction guidelines. Revisions to 
the Narcotics Act on the seizure, analysis, and disposal of narcotic 
drugs and psychotropic substances drafted by the government of Kenya 
and the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2005 
were implemented in March 2006. 
 
The National Agency for the Campaign against Drug Abuse Authority 
(NACADAA), the governmental organization charged with combating drug 
abuse in Kenya was formally designated an Authority in June 2007 
giving it greater legal standing and autonomy.  In addition, its 
annual budget has been doubled.  These changes are widely viewed as 
improvements that will lead to enhanced efficacy in the pursuit of 
its mandate. In May 2008, NACADAA published the National Strategy on 
Prevention, Control and Mitigation of Drug and Substance Abuse, 
2008-2012 and the National Alcohol Policy. 
 
In September 2008, the Nairobi-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime 
hosted a meeting for regional members of the Paris Pact Initiative. 
The Initiative facilitates counter narcotics cooperation and 
coordination among countries affected by the illicit traffic of 
opiates from Afghanistan.  The meeting drew counter narcotics 
experts and policy makers from across Africa along with 
representatives of international drug law enforcement agencies and 
UNODC experts.  Kenya called on all African countries to enact 
tougher legislation to combat drugs and substance abuse. 
 
As a result of UNODC and bilateral training programs, the ANU and 
the Kenyan Customs Service now have a cadre of officers proficient 
in profiling and searching suspected drug couriers and containers at 
airports and seaports. Airport profiling has yielded good results in 
arrests for couriers but not major traffickers. Seaport profiling 
has proven difficult. Despite the official estimate that a 
significant portion of the narcotics trafficked through Kenya 
originates on international sea vessels, ANU maritime interdiction 
capabilities remain virtually nonexistent. Personnel turnover at the 
ports is high and Kenya currently has limited maritime interdiction 
capability. 
 
Kenya has no crop substitution or alternative development 
initiatives for progressive elimination of the cultivation of 
narcotics. The ANU remains the focus of Kenyan antinarcotics 
efforts. 
 
Corruption continues to thwart the success of long-term port 
security training. Lack of resources, a problem throughout the 
Kenyan police force, significantly reduces the ANU's operational 
effectiveness.  The number of ANU police officers has decreased to 
90 from highs in the 130s.  Malindi, an important coastal tourism 
destination and major narcotics transit site,  has but one ANU 
officer. 
 
Law Enforcement Efforts.   In 2007, seizures of heroin declined from 
136 cases involving 20.7 kg in 2006 to 94 cases involving 12.5 kg. 
(All statistics on drug seizures in this section reflect the period 
from January to December 2007 as provided by the ANU.  The ANU 
compiles statistics regarding seizures annually in January, thus 
statistics for 2008 are not yet available.)  ANU arrested 98 people 
in heroin-related charges in 2007, down from 149 the previous year. 
Seizures of Cannabis and derivatives increased substantially from 
10,280.5 kg in 2006 to 43,590.5 kg in 2007, although the number of 
persons arrested dropped from 5067 to 4618.  The ANU conducts joint 
operations with the Kenya Wildlife Service, including aerial surveys 
in the area of Mount Kenya.  However, there is no systematic program 
for detection and eradication and farmers are increasingly aware of 
techniques used by the ANU and often intercrop, effectively 
preventing detection.  Kenyans account for the majority of the 4,743 
persons arrested in 2007, mostly for seizures of Cannabis. 
Tanzanians are the mules of choice for heroin and cocaine. 
 
Cocaine seizures remained constant at 7, but 2007 netted only 18.8 
kg versus 23.5 kg in 2006.  Seizures of psychotropic substances 
increased, with Mandrax at the top of the list at 25 kg.  Other 
substances seized include 52 tablets of Diazepam and 1334 tablets of 
Roche.  In 2008, ANU forces discovered and dismantled a laboratory 
manufacturing illicit drugs and arrested three South Africans and 
two Kenyans in the process.  The case is pending in the courts.  In 
2008, five tons of pseudo ephedrine destined for Tanzania and onward 
to super-labs in Mexico was seized during transshipment from Kenya 
to Tanzania.  There is close cooperation between the ANU and the 
Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board in coordination of seizures and 
putting up measures to ensure drugs and chemicals are not diverted. 
Corruption.  Corruption remains a significant barrier to effective 
narcotics enforcement at both the prosecutorial and law enforcement 
level. Despite Kenya's strict narcotics laws that encompass most 
forms of narcotics-related corruption, reports continue to link 
public officials with narcotics trafficking. 
 
Agreements and Treaties.  Kenya is a party to the 1988 UN Drug 
Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention and its 1972 Protocol, and 
the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The 1931 
U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty remains in force between the United 
States and Kenya through a 1965 exchange of notes. Kenya is a party 
to the UN Corruption Convention and to the UN Convention against 
Transnational Organized Crime and its three protocols. 
Cultivation and Production.  A significant number of Kenyan farmers 
illegally grow cannabis on a commercial basis for the domestic 
market. Fairly large-scale cannabis cultivation occurs in the Lake 
Victoria basin, in the central highlands around Mt. Kenya, and along 
the coast. ANU officials conduct aerial surveys to identify 
significant cannabis-producing areas in cooperation with the Kenya 
Wildlife Service.  However, according to ANU officials, farmers are 
increasingly savvy about how to shield their crops from aerial 
detection and difficult terrain hampers eradication efforts. The ANU 
was unable to provide statistics on the success of their crop 
eradication efforts, although they reported that one acre of 
Cannabis was recently destroyed in 2008.  Routinely, when fields are 
found, the crops are uprooted and fields burned. 
 
Khat, categorized as a Class 1 narcotic in the U.S. but legal in 
Kenya, is a major generator of foreign exchange revenues.  Khat is 
packed with cathinone, a naturally occurring chemical similar to 
amphetamines which is best chewed within 48 hours of being picked, 
when the leaves are still fresh.  Grown primarily near the town of 
Meru on the slopes of Mt. Kenya, khat is primarily exported through 
Somali networks to countries in the Horn of Africa, particularly 
Somalia, Ethiopia and Yemen.  Tanzania has banned the sale of khat, 
and Uganda has drafted legislation to ban sales as well, but bans in 
these countries have had little impact on the massive khat trade to 
Somalia.  Exports to U.K. and Netherlands, where the drug is legal, 
have increased in recent years to satisfy the demands of immigrants 
from the Horn of Africa residing in those countries. 
 
Drug Flow/Transit.  Kenya is strategically located along a major 
transit route between Southwest Asian producers of heroin and 
markets in Europe and North America. Heroin normally transits Kenya 
by air, carried by individual couriers. A string of cocaine and 
heroin seizures at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in 
spring 2006 (most from flights originating in West Africa) 
highlights the continuing drug trafficking problem in Kenya. While 
the arrests of drug "mules" may alert trafficking syndicates that 
enhanced profiling measures and counter narcotics efforts make JKIA 
an increasingly inconvenient entry/exit point for drugs, the arrests 
have achieved little in the way of assisting authorities to identify 
the individuals behind the drug trafficking networks. ANU officials 
continued to intercept couriers transiting land routes from Uganda 
and Tanzania, where it is believed the drugs arrive via air routes. 
The increased use of land routes demonstrates, in the minds of ANU 
officials, that traffickers have noted the increase in security and 
narcotics checks at JKIA. Postal and commercial courier services are 
also used for narcotics shipments through Kenya, particularly 
shipments of khat to the U.K. and U.S. Though officials have never 
identified any clandestine airstrips in Kenya used for drug 
deliveries, it is likely that such airstrips exist.  There is 
evidence that poor policing along the East African coast makes this 
region attractive to maritime smugglers. An emerging pattern is that 
of opiates shipped from Kenya to the islands of the Indian Ocean: 
Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar and Comoros.  In June 2008, a 
Kenyan woman was arrested in Mauritius in a USD 1.8 million drug 
bust.  She appeared to be the contact in Mauritius for two Tanzanian 
boxers and four officials who had arrived for the African boxing 
championships with the heroin. 
 
Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction.  Kenya continues to make 
progress in efforts to institute programs for demand reduction. 
Illegal cannabis and legal khat remain the domestic drugs of choice. 
Heroin abuse is generally limited to members of the economic elite 
with a broader range of users on the coast.  Cocaine is generally 
limited to urban centers.  Solvent abuse is widespread among street 
children in Nairobi and other urban centers. NACADAA actively 
combats drug abuse, although the organization's budget remains 
inadequate to the challenge. In May 2008, NACADAA published a 
National Strategy on Prevention, Control and Mitigation of Drug and 
Substance Abuse, as well as a National Alcohol Policy.  In an effort 
to offset the dearth of reliable statistics on drug abuse in Kenyan, 
NACADAA developed a comprehensive survey of the problem in 2007.  It 
has also done an assessment of drug counseling and treatment centers 
in Kenya.  NACADAA and a number of communities sponsored programs to 
commemorate International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit 
Trafficking on June 26, 2008 with public fora and speeches.  NACADAA 
is presently engaged in developing certification standards for drug 
treatment centers and implementing a licensing service to formalize 
the process.  NACADAA continues to be actively engaged at the 
community level, distributing public information brochures and 
leaflets through schools and community centers.  Community 
associations and local activists promote peer counseling and provide 
training to volunteers.  Of particular note is that all Kenyan civil 
servants now have clauses in their performance contracts relating to 
what they will do to counter drug abuse. 
 
 
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
 
U.S. Policy Initiatives.  The principal U.S. antinarcotics objective 
in Kenya is to interdict the flow of narcotics to the United States. 
A related objective is to limit the corrosive effects of 
narcotics-related corruption in law enforcement, the judiciary, and 
political institutions, which has created an environment of impunity 
for well-connected traffickers. The U.S. seeks to accomplish this 
objective through law enforcement cooperation, the encouragement of 
a strong Kenyan government commitment to narcotics interdiction, and 
strengthening Kenyan antinarcotics and overall judicial 
capabilities. 
 
Bilateral Cooperation and Accomplishments.  USG bilateral 
cooperation with Kenya on antinarcotics matters is ongoing. The 
donation by the Department of State's Anti-Terrorism Assistance 
(ATA) program to the government of Kenya (GOK) of seven boats 
(coupled with training) will enable GOK multi-agency shallow water 
patrols along Kenya's coastline, which should significantly improve 
the capacity of the GOK to patrol and secure Kenya's coastal waters 
and assist drug interdiction efforts on the coast. ATA is also 
assisting with building Kenya's capacity to patrol points of entry 
to and in the Port of Mombasa by providing training and refurbishing 
existing patrol boats.  The Department of Homeland Security's 
Customs and Border Control (CBP) office is assisting the Kenya 
Revenue Board (KRA) Customs Bureau in meeting the World Customs 
Organization (WCO) Framework of Standards to Secure Global Trade and 
addressing Export Border Control Issues.  CBP has provided 
multi-agency training through workshops, seminars, and courses 
covering airport, seaport, land border, and export control issues 
and provided $443,000 worth of inspectional equipment to customs and 
other agencies in Kenya engaged in port/border security issues.  CBP 
is also assisting the KRA in improving and expanding its Canine 
Enforcement Program.  KRA is scheduled to procure four additional 
canines for its program from the US in January 2009.  In May 2008, a 
GOK delegation traveled to the US to witness CBP best practices 
pertaining to airport, seaport, land border, headquarters operations 
programs, and training facilities which they are now adapting to 
enhance programs, operations and training in Kenya.  USAID/Kenya 
provides support to projects offering addiction treatment services 
to substance abuse addicts in Nairobi and on the Kenyan coast.  The 
Department of State's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law 
Enforcement Affairs will provide training to Kenyan drug addiction 
counselors in the therapeutic communities model beginning in January 
2009 as well as assist the GOK in establishing a three-year training 
program to train drug addiction counselors throughout the country in 
Level 1 certification and prepare them for an 
independently-administered examination by the U.S.-based The 
Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC). Certification 
training will be scheduled in January 2009. 
 
The Road Ahead.  The USG will continue to take advantage of its good 
relations with Kenyan law enforcement on enhancing its operational 
capacity, and information sharing. USG will actively seek ways to 
maximize antinarcotics efforts both in Kenya and throughout East 
Africa. Perhaps most significantly, the USG will work with local, 
regional, and international partners to better understand and combat 
the flow of international narcotics through Kenya. The USG will also 
continue to expand our public awareness outreach to assist demand 
reduction efforts in Kenya. 
 
¶V.  Statistical Tables (Majors Only) 
 
Not required. 
 
 
VI. Chemical Control 
 
Kenya is not a major producer of precursor and essential chemicals. 
Those chemicals which are imported are for use in domestic 
production for domestic use.  Imports and exports are monitored by 
the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.  Companies must report import, 
manufacture and exports of precursors on a quarterly basis.  At the 
beginning of each calendar year, companies must provide an estimate 
of their projected annual consumption and an explanation for any 
increase. 
 
The Pharmacy and Poisons Board maintains inspectors at all major 
ports, e.g. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the Port of 
Mombasa, as well as rotational inspectors who oversee postal and 
courier services.  In additional, there are provincial inspectors in 
Eldoret in western Kenya and Nyanza on Lake Victoria. 
 
Distributors of precursor chemicals are required to submit quarterly 
reports with exact information on quantities and recipients of 
precursor chemicals.  Import permits are valid for six months, and 
distributors' licenses to import precursor chemicals expire annually 
on December 31, making them subject to an annual review process to 
ensure compliance with existing regulations.  END QUOTE. 
 
RANNEBERGER