Political Risk:
High
Score:
47/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
58/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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The Kenya Constitution stipulates in Article 238 (2a) that national security, which includes Defence organs, are subject to authority of the Constitution and Parliament.…
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Parliament reguarly reviews defence-related policies, especially budgets. The PAC, for instance, reviews Auditor-General’s annual audit reports, which include Ministry of Defence (MOD) audits. PAC…
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The Executive, has, in the past, overlooked provisions of the constitution that require parliamentary approval before deploying troops internally or externally for missions. For…
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Q2
67/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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The National Assembly has two main defence and security committees in Parliament. These are the Defence and Foreign Relations Committee in the National Assembly,…
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Only two out of the nineteen members of the current Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee in the National Assembly, for instance, have experience in…
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Various committees regularly review the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in a variety of areas. In the period under review, the Defence and Foreign Affairs…
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The two main committees that are responsible for regular budget oversight of the defence sector are the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) and Budget and…
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Defence and Foreign Relations Committee (DFRC) is the only National Assembly Committee that is mandated by Parliamentary Standing Orders 216 to ‘investigate, inquire and…
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MOD has in the past responded to recommendations raised from the various committees, such as the auditing processes and Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee…
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Q3
19/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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On a macro-level, Kenya has developed a Grand Strategy which is informed by, among others, the Constitution, Vision 2030 blueprint, the Defence White Paper…
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Although the MOD has published a Defence Policy (Defence White Paper), the policy mainly focuses on the exisiting and possible threats that Kenya faces…
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There has been no evidence of formal consultation process involving the public in the last 5 years in relation to the defence strategy. However,…
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Although the defence policy document is available to the public via the Ministry of Defence website and the National Defence College Website, the process…
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Q4
25/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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There is no formal policy that requires security institutions in general, and the defence sector in particular, to be open towards Civil Society Organisations.…
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Today, Kenya has a relatively significant and diverse number of Civil Societies Organisation (CSO) in the country compared to most countries in the East…
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Kenyan defence institutions rarely engage civilian and non-governmental organisations on operational issues. However, recently the KDF engaged non-governmental organisations in monitoring one of the…
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Q5
75/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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Kenya is not a significant defence exporter, and it has not signed the the OECD Convention. However it was actually the first country to…
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Kenya has signed several conventions, including the UNCAC. A task force appointed by the Attorney-General to advise the President on appropriate interventions for enhancing…
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Q6
63/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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There are occasional public debates on defence issues the majority are held in the media often led by pundits drawn from academia, policy practitioners,…
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There are on occassions, where official authorities are involved, the majority are done, for instance, within parliamentary committee hearings or general National Assembly debates…
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Q7
25/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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Kenya has only recently adopted a National Ethics and Anti-Corruption Policy (NEACP), which was officially launched in October 2020. The policy was developed in…
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As the NEACP was only launched in October 2020, it remains too early to assess its implementation. Nevertheless, the implementation of other corruption-related policies…
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Q8
58/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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There is no specific independent institution tasked with countering corruption in the defence and security sector. The defence and security sector rely on existing…
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Although the EACC still has weaknesses such lack of prosecutory powers, unlike its predecessor, the KACC, EACC as an independent commission has both institutional…
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Despite the independence granted to the EACC, ODPP and Judiciary by the constitution, these institutions faces several challenges, particularly with respect to mandate and…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. In the 2018 Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission’s National Ethics and Corruption Survey, the Ministry…
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Q10
25/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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The EACC conducts system assessments for corruption risk in public bodies, however there is no publicly available evidence that this has been done for…
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This indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’, as there is no evidence that risk assessments are conducted. An evaluation survey is conducted annually and…
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This indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’, as there is no evidence that risk assessments are conducted. One of the objectives of the annual…
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Defence Budgets
Q11
33/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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It is not clear from infomation currently publicly available what equipment is covered in acquisitions; however, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has, through its…
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The public has limited access to the information and processes on both the acquisition planning process, including the changes to the acquisition process. Moreover,…
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There is no indication of the oversight mechanism for the Defence Procurement process outlined on the website. Information available from literature indicates in the…
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Q12
88/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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The defence budget for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is published publicly by the National Treasury. Review of published budgets indicates that the budget…
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The legislature receives an accurate defence budget proposal between 2-4 months before the start of the budget year. The Kenyan Constitution requires the National…
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Q13
75/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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The Defence and Foreign Relations Committee has the mandate to scrutinise the defence budget. The Committee also has the powers to summon under both…
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Despite the powers and privileges above, the committees’ power and influence is only limited to recommending changes through policy recommendations, or inviting enforcing institutions…
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Q14
50/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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The constitution of Kenya under article 221 requires the Finance Cabinet Secretary to submit to the National Assembly estimates of expenditure of the national…
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Although the comprehensive national and ministerial approved budget including MOD is fully published by Treasury for the public, there are sensitive areas that are…
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While the National Treasury does release proposed budgets in advance, according to the Article 221 of the Constitution, together with the Ministry of Defence…
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Q15
75/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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Treasury publishes goverment revenue, grants and loans for every financial year. This includes actual receipts for previous two years, printed and revised estimates for…
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There are mechanisms of scrutiny in place. The Office of the Auditor-General is a constitutionally mandated office to conduct audits of all public instititutions,…
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There is a considerable level of public scrutiny, especially on expenditure, on both KDF and the Ministry of Defence largely by Parliament. Parliament’s Budget…
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Q16
31/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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The Ministry of Defence notes on its website that the internal audit division carries out its activities independently. [1] This division notes that its…
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Despite having parliamentary committees, such as Public Accounts Committee and the Budget Appropriation Committee, which have the mandate of oversight of the appropriation of…
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The internal audit division of the Ministry of Defence states that it publishes and submits periodical reports to the Office of Auditor General (OAG),…
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The Ministry of Defence sometimes addresses audit findings especially when tasked by parliament to accout for expenditure and accountabilty of public funds allocated to…
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Q17
50/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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Other than Parliament, the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) is the only external entity that has the statutory mandate to conduct an in-depth review…
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The Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) is the only institution that can independently audit military defence expenditure. OAG operates independently and has its own…
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The Office of the Auditor-General conducts audit processes using International Standards on Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs) or consistent national auditing standards. The audit reports…
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The Ministry of Defence sometimes addresses audit findings but it is usually when tasked by parliament to address issues that arise from audit reports…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
83/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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The Kenya Defence Force, according to the Constitution of Kenya, is a statutory security organ established as a national security institution with the sole…
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There are no known cases where Kenyan defence institutions are involved in exploitation of natural resources. According to section 285 of the Kenya Defence…
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There are no cases of defence personnel being involved in natural resource exploitation. All funds allocated to KDF are either from the government or…
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KDF is not involved in exploitation of natural resources and hence there is no precedent. The law requires that all funds allocated to KDF…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. Due to the lack of involvement of defence in exploitation of resources, there is no precedence of oversight.
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Organised Crime
Q19
13/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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There is evidence of penetration of organised crime into the defence and the security sector. There have been past reports that have linked some…
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Despite the publication of media reports, whose investigations were backed by UN monitoring group, suggesting the involvement of some defence officials in illicit trade…
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Q20
50/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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There is a directorate of counter-violent extremism and organised crime within the National Policing Service. [1] While this unit is authorised to work on…
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The Kenya Defence Force has an independent Director of Military Prosecution (DMP) established under section 213 of by the Kenya Defence Force Act. [1]…
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There is no evidence that can be used to determine the effectiveness of the Director of Military Prosecution (DMP) on investigating corruption and organised…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
50/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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There is limited information in the public domain about oversight of the National Intelligence Service’s (NIS) policies, administration and budgets. According to the National…
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According to the National Intelligence Service Act, oversight bodies such as the NSC and National Intelligence Service Complaints Board have access to classified information…
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Q22
58/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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The criteria for selecting senior officials of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) particularly the Director-General (DG) and other Directors within the service is well…
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Although the criteria of selecting members of the services are, in general, outlined in the NIS Act; there are issues of impartiality. This is…
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All individuals joining the service according to the National Intelligence Service Act of 2012 have to undergo Security screening by service. [1] This involves…
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Export Controls
Q23
0/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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Although Kenya voted to support adoption of Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in 2013, it has not – according to the United Nations Register of…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as Kenya is not a member of Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). According to United Nations Register of Conventional…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as Kenya is not an arms exporter. [1]
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Lobbying in Defence
There is no framework to regulate lobbying activity in the defence sector. In the past, scholars have called for Parliament to enact laws to…
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There is no framework for lobbying activity in the defence sector. As such, this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’.
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There is no framework for lobbying activity in the defence sector. As such, this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’.
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There is no framework for lobbying activity in the defence sector. As such, this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’.
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