OPINION: Kenyans want better security outcomes and not fancy equipment

By Leonard Wanyama

Jitters over budget balancing have seen security sector chieftains speak up more on the kind of resources needed to protect lives and liberties of Kenyans.

Many citizens will be quick to point out that they’re more interested in a conversation on better security outcomes as opposed to more effective equipment.

As witnessed from the sentiments of Director General Noordin Haji of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) while appearing before the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations, Kenya needs better tools to deal with numerous threats all round its borders.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Defence officials previously perplexed or mesmerised the public with the acquisition of a sophisticated, advanced Israeli Spyder missile defence system as part of its modernisation.

This showcased a gulf in understanding between officials and citizens on what really constitutes threats Kenya faces, especially in the context of their understanding of massive fiscal challenges, countrywide inequality and low economic productivity.

However, this speaks to a glaring evolution of what contemporary security means for citizens and what the institutional establishment needs to consider as an opportunity to evolve if they are to serve Kenyans not only diligently but satisfactorily.

Kenya’s overall stability in relation to its territorial sovereignty, as projected by the integrity of its borders plus its internal security, popularly referred to as governance, law, and order sector needs to go beyond the national security agenda preoccupation.

This may require a greater consideration for public safety that infuses a civil protection agenda to complement the existing national security agenda. In as much as the citizenry appreciates the hard power needed to keep them safe, the disappointments arise from chronic unresponsiveness to cyclical emergencies for which they require consistent government intervention.

If the security establishment can match the requested equipment to public safety needs and outcomes, then it would be much easier to justify such expenditure. Kenyans foremostly desire fair warning and evacuation in good time during floods or landslides but none ever comes to their aid reliably.

Despite annual drought or famine, there has never seemed to be a clear discussion on properly managed shelters in the face of normalising the phenomenon of internally displaced camps and such like approaches over many years to the level of now becoming habitual.

Last year’s floods pointed to a need for more robust blackout responsiveness plus both urban and rural rescue measures with seamlessly coordinated medical services, voluntary assistance, and firefighting, if need be, as was the desperate need during a gas explosion in Embakasi, but this week’s floods point to no lessons learned.

Not much is known in relation to stockpiling of provisions in readiness for the next emergency and the culture of corruption tends to dismally handle supplies. Even in the media there’s never ever any serious coverage on whether repair and recovery of indispensable public utilities or homes has taken place.

How about handling of the deceased plus need for DNA collection to ascertain genealogy and facts; or should the country wait for another murderous disaster like Shakahola to see the urgency of technology?

What if heritage sites are destroyed or objects of great national value and significant relics are in danger? Does Kenya have the wherewithal to ensure their preservation for survival?

There are many complementary activities that need to be carried out to achieve the public safety measures mentioned but it requires that an emergency is not only seen from the lenses of security restoration and maintenance of order during distress alone.

Military and security equipment that best serves multipurpose or dual functions will help Kenyans appreciate the hard power capacity even more when it solves the common service delivery concerns of everyday life at the local level.

The author is chief executive of the International Relations Society of Kenya (IRSK) and Regional Coordinator of the East African Tax and Governance Network (EATGN). Follow: @lennwanyama