VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNR #2644/01 3551308
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 211236Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0220
INFO RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
RUEILB/NCTC WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS NAIROBI 002644 
 
SIPDIS 
S/CT: RHONDA SHORE, STEPHANIE CURTIS 
NCTC 
AF/E FOR DAN EPSTEIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER ASEC PREL KE SO
SUBJECT: KENYA: 2009 Country Reports on Terrorism 
 
REF: STATE 109980 
 
"Africa Overview" input 
 
 
 
¶1. Al-Shabaab extremists, supported by members of al-Qa'ida, 
continued to present a serious terrorist threat to American and 
allied interests throughout the Horn of Africa.  Due to ongoing 
fighting between al-Shabaab, Somalia's Transitional Federal 
Government (TFG), and other armed factions within the country, 
Somalia remained highly unstable, offering a permissive environment 
for terrorist transit, training and organization.  Foreign fighters 
and al-Qa'ida operatives continued to live and work inside Somalia. 
Counterterrorism forces killed al-Qa'ida senior leader Saleh Ali 
Saleh Nabhan in al-Shabaab controlled territory in mid-September. 
Nabhan was an associate of Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, aka Harun 
Fazul, one of several al-Qa'ida leaders charged with carrying out 
the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. 
 
 
 
Kenya 
 
 
 
¶2. Cross-border kidnappings and arms smuggling, reports of 
extremist recruiting within refugee camps and Kenyan cities, 
increased allegations of terrorist plotting, and public threats by 
al-Shabaab leaders led to a heightened recognition among government 
officials, the diplomatic community and civil society that Kenya is 
vulnerable to terrorist attacks.  Whereas Kenyans have 
traditionally perceived terrorism as primarily a 'foreign' problem, 
during the past year an increasing number of Kenyan citizens and 
government officials came to recognize that their own country and 
society are also threatened by violent extremists. 
 
 
 
¶3. Al-Shabaab's continued dominance of most of southern Somalia 
provided a permissive environment for al-Qa'ida to conduct training 
and terrorist planning.  Although the Kenya-Somalia border 
officially remained closed large numbers of refugees continued to 
flee to refugee camps in Kenya in order to escape the fighting and 
drought.  Armed militants also crossed the porous border into Kenya 
to obtain supplies, funding, medical care, and recruits.  There was 
a disturbing increase in incidents of armed Somalis crossing the 
border to kidnap foreigners inside Kenya.  In July gunmen claiming 
to belong to al-Shabaab kidnapped three foreign aid workers, 
including one American, inside Kenya and took them back to Somalia. 
The militants released the hostages in October, reportedly after 
payment of a ransom.  This followed the February release of two 
Italian nuns who had been kidnapped from the Kenyan border town of 
El Wak in late 2008. In mid-December armed Somalis attempted to 
kidnap an Italian nun working in the northeastern town of Wajir but 
were driven off by Kenyan police. 
 
 
 
¶4. Despite increased concern over security, the lack of 
counterterrorism and anti-money laundering legislations continued 
to hinder Kenya's efforts to combat violent extremism.  Existing 
laws did not permit police to detain terrorist suspects and 
prosecute them effectively. The government did not submit a revised 
version of counterterrorism legislation that was defeated in 2006. 
In December the Kenyan Parliament passed the "Proceeds of Crime and 
Money Laundering Bill" for combating money laundering and terrorist 
financing but the measure still awaited the president's signature 
at year's end. 
 
 
 
¶5. Kenya did demonstrate increased political will to prevent 
infiltration into the country and apprehend suspected terrorists. 
The government took steps to increase security along the 
Kenya/Somalia border and track down extremists operating inside the 
country. 
 
 
 
¶6. The United States continued to enjoy close and productive ties 
with the Kenyan Armed Forces.  During the year the United States 
provided training and equipment to the Kenya Navy for coastal 
security and maritime domain awareness.  Equipment grants included 
six coastal radar sites and three Defender class patrol boats, plus 
training and spare parts for existing equipment.  The United States 
 
also assisted the Kenyan Army to train and equip two Infantry 
Battalions and one Ranger Strike Force company tasked with 
providing border security. Training for the Ranger Strike Force is 
based in part on the curriculum for the U.S. Army Ranger Course. 
 
 
 
¶7. Kenyan law enforcement agencies also worked with the United 
States and other allies to increase their counterterrorism 
abilities. Security along Kenya's land and maritime borders 
remained a primary focus of these efforts.  The Kenyan Maritime 
Police Unit (MPU) and other agencies not only received equipment 
and training for coastal security from the State Department's 
Antiterrorism Assistance program (ATA) but also demonstrated an 
increasing degree of self-sufficiency.  During the latest 
iterations of ATA's 11-week Comprehensive Maritime Security 
Training program previous graduates of the course served as 
associate instructors.  ATA-trained Kenyan personnel also developed 
and presented a basic two-week maritime operations course which 
they taught to students from multiple security agencies at the 
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Marine Camp in Malindi. In December 
the U.S. Ambassador formally turned over three donated patrol boats 
for use by the MPU and Administrative Police (AP) coastal security 
forces. Other ATA courses provided training in border control 
management, fraudulent travel documents, protecting digital 
infrastructure, and internet investigations. ATA also provided 
digital forensic equipment and training to the Kenyan Police 
Service (KPS). 
 
 
 
¶8. The U.S. Department of Justice conducted a number of training 
activities through the offices of the Resident Legal Advisor and 
Senior Law Enforcement Advisor aimed at building the capacity of 
police and prosecutors.  This included courses in trial advocacy, 
witness protection, trafficking in persons, forensic and digital 
evidence, cyber crimes, and piracy.  In December Kenya and ten 
other regional countries participated in a U.S. Dept of Justice 
sponsored regional conference on combating criminal organizations, 
including terrorist groups.  Conference topics included terrorist 
financing, cooperation between intelligence and law enforcement 
agencies, electronic evidence gathering, and legal regimes. The FBI 
also provided training and equipment to the KPS, the AP, and the 
KWS. Training activities included courses in crime scene 
investigation and terrorist finance, and money laundering. 
Equipment grants included fingerprint kits and gyro-stabilized 
binoculars for use in air surveillance operations. 
 
 
 
¶9. In July and August officers from the Department of Homeland 
Security/Customs and Border Protection (DHS/CBP) provided 
specialized training and equipment to the newly established AP 
border patrol unit and the KWS.  In September ATA funded a study 
tour for AP and KWS personnel to observe CBP operations along the 
Mexican-American border and to meet with State Department and 
Department of Homeland Security officials in the nation's capitol. 
The CBP plans additional training opportunities for the AP's Border 
Patrol Unit and KWS in the future. 
 
 
 
¶10. Embassy POC for this CRT is Samuel Madsen, madsensa@state.gov 
RANNEBERGER