Close Menu
World Economist – Global Markets, Finance & Economic Insights
  • Home
  • Economist Impact
    • Economist Intelligence
    • Finance & Economics
  • Business
  • Asia
  • China
  • Europe
  • Economy
  • USA
    • Middle East & Africa
    • Highlights
  • This week
  • World Economy
    • World News
What's Hot

Finance minister urges population as key criterion in NFC Award formula – Business & Finance

July 10, 2025

Nvidia CEO Huang to meet Chinese officials amid US tech tensions

July 10, 2025

Euro extends recovery on trade deal outlook

July 10, 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Thursday, July 10
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
World Economist – Global Markets, Finance & Economic Insights
  • Home
  • Economist Impact
    • Economist Intelligence
    • Finance & Economics
  • Business
  • Asia
  • China
  • Europe
  • Economy
  • USA
    • Middle East & Africa
    • Highlights
  • This week
  • World Economy
    • World News
World Economist – Global Markets, Finance & Economic Insights
Home » Kenya’s pact of silence with its military is breaking | Protests
Middle East & Africa

Kenya’s pact of silence with its military is breaking | Protests

adminBy adminMay 1, 2025No Comments5 Mins Read
Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest Copy Link LinkedIn Tumblr Email VKontakte Telegram
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Copy Link
Post Views: 53


When the Kenyan government blocked the public screening of a BBC documentary investigating the military’s role in the killing of protesters, it was about more than censorship. It was about protecting a decades-old pact – a silent agreement between the military, the state, the media, and the public: the army stays out of overt politics, and in return, no one looks too closely at what it’s doing.

That pact is now under threat, and the backlash has been ferocious.

Government-aligned MPs have accused the BBC of inciting instability, calling for the broadcaster to be banned from operating in Kenya. Social media campaigns have been launched under hashtags like #BBCforChaos, framing journalism as sabotage. But what is really being defended is not national security, it’s the manicured silence that has kept Kenya’s military above scrutiny.

This decades-long silence has been carefully cultivated since independence. Two failed military coups, in 1971 and 1982, and the terrible records of military regimes across the continent, instilled a lasting fear of soldiers as political actors. To avoid future insurrections, successive governments kept the army well-watered and fed in their barracks and out of the headlines. In return, the public – and especially the media – looked away.

No see, no coup.

But behind the scenes, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) were growing in strength. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, they expanded their capabilities, acquired new hardware, and cultivated a myth of discipline and professionalism.

The invasion of Somalia in 2011 brought the KDF out of the shadows. Now centre stage, the military took up the banner of patriotic warriors fighting terrorism and instilling discipline into the famously corrupt civilian public service. In the following decade, the administration of President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed retired and serving military personnel, including the then-defence forces chief, to a variety of civilian governance roles. But as the military’s power and visibility expanded, there was little expanded public oversight and scrutiny.

This is despite the very public failures that came in the aftermath of the ill-advised invasion which shattered the myth of integrity and competence. The invasion itself, launched to great media fanfare, was soon bogged down. After a yearlong slog to the Somali port of Kismayo, Kenyan troops were almost immediately implicated in a smuggling racket, trafficking sugar and charcoal out in collusion with al-Shabab, the very enemy they were sent to fight. In 2016, at least 140 soldiers were killed in a single al-Shabab attack on the KDF base in El Adde – Kenya’s deadliest battlefield loss.

Back home, things weren’t going much better. The invasion inspired a wave of terrorism. The KDF’s bungled and criminal response to the 2013 attack on the Westgate mall in downtown Nairobi which killed 68 people, badly exposed it. Soldiers systematically robbed the mall while pretending to battle terrorists. Less than two years later, the military was back in the news, having again bungled the response to an attack on the Garissa University College, which left 147 people dead.

Throughout all this, the military responded with silence and spin. There was no public inquiry. No reckoning. No accountability. Similarly, there were few calls for accountability when the KDF grabbed a chunk of Lenana Road, a major Nairobi thoroughfare, to expand its headquarters, or when its top brass were implicated in attempts to influence the 2022 presidential election. None of these incidents sparked serious media investigation or political debate about the military’s role.

Kenya’s mainstream media have largely internalised the terms of the pact. Defence reporters rarely publish anything critical of the army. Many function more as conduits for military press statements than as independent journalists. The KDF, in effect, enjoys a veto over how it is portrayed.

That’s what makes the BBC documentary so dangerous – not because it poses a real threat to stability, but because it disrupts the performance of silence. It challenges the idea that the military is untouchable, and that truth about its conduct must be suppressed for the greater good.

But a viable democracy cannot be built on fear. Kenya cannot thrive while shielding one of its most powerful institutions from public accountability. If journalists are vilified for telling the truth, and if media houses censor themselves to stay in favour with generals, then the line between civilian rule and military impunity is already dangerously thin.

The real threat to national security is not the BBC. It is the refusal to confront the army’s failures and abuses – and the willingness of so many to stay silent in the face of them.

Kenya must break the pact. The military must be accountable not just to its commanders, but to the people. And journalism must be free to expose the truth, even when it makes the people with guns uncomfortable.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.



Source link

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email Telegram Copy Link
admin
  • Website

Related Posts

Middle East & Africa

Rescue bid launched for hundreds trapped in South African gold mine | Mining News

May 23, 2025
Middle East & Africa

DRC’s conflict demands a new peace model rooted in inclusion and reform | Conflict

May 23, 2025
Middle East & Africa

DR Congo strips ex-President Kabila of immunity | Armed Groups News

May 23, 2025
Middle East & Africa

Will the United States deport people to Rwanda? | Refugees News

May 23, 2025
Middle East & Africa

‘Tortured’ Ugandan activist dumped at border following arrest in Tanzania | Politics News

May 23, 2025
Middle East & Africa

Trump’s Ramaphosa ‘ambush’: Key takeaways from heated White House meeting | Donald Trump News

May 22, 2025
Add A Comment
Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Editors Picks

Finance minister urges population as key criterion in NFC Award formula – Business & Finance

July 10, 2025

OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome – Technology

July 10, 2025

Intra-day update: rupee sees slight gain against US dollar – Markets

July 10, 2025

Bulls return to bourse, KSE-100 gains over 1,000 points – Markets

July 10, 2025
Latest Posts

PSX hits all-time high as proposed ‘neutral-to-positive’ budget well-received by investors – Business

June 11, 2025

Sindh govt to allocate funds for EV taxis, scooters in provincial budget: minister – Pakistan

June 11, 2025

US, China reach deal to ease export curbs, keep tariff truce alive – World

June 11, 2025

Subscribe to News

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news

Subscribe my Newsletter for New Posts & tips Let's stay updated!

Recent Posts

  • Finance minister urges population as key criterion in NFC Award formula – Business & Finance
  • Nvidia CEO Huang to meet Chinese officials amid US tech tensions
  • Euro extends recovery on trade deal outlook
  • South Korean restaurant’s ants-topped dishes bug food safety officials
  • Hong Kong start-up IntelliGen AI aims to challenge Google DeepMind in drug discovery

Recent Comments

No comments to show.

Welcome to World-Economist.com, your trusted source for in-depth analysis, expert insights, and the latest news on global finance and economics. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate, data-driven reports that shape the understanding of economic trends worldwide.

Latest Posts

Finance minister urges population as key criterion in NFC Award formula – Business & Finance

July 10, 2025

Nvidia CEO Huang to meet Chinese officials amid US tech tensions

July 10, 2025

Euro extends recovery on trade deal outlook

July 10, 2025

Subscribe to Updates

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news

Subscribe my Newsletter for New Posts & tips Let's stay updated!

Archives

  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • June 2024
  • October 2022
  • March 2022
  • July 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2019
  • April 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2007
  • July 2007

Categories

  • AI & Tech
  • Asia
  • Banking
  • Business
  • Business
  • China
  • Climate
  • Computing
  • Economist Impact
  • Economist Intelligence
  • Economy
  • Editor's Choice
  • Europe
  • Europe
  • Featured
  • Featured Business
  • Featured Climate
  • Featured Health
  • Featured Science & Tech
  • Featured Travel
  • Finance & Economics
  • Health
  • Highlights
  • Markets
  • Middle East
  • Middle East & Africa
  • Middle East News
  • Most Viewed News
  • News Highlights
  • Other News
  • Politics
  • Russia
  • Science
  • Science & Tech
  • Social
  • Space Science
  • Sports
  • Sports Roundup
  • Tech
  • This week
  • Top Featured
  • Travel
  • Trending Posts
  • Ukraine Conflict
  • Uncategorized
  • US Politics
  • USA
  • World
  • World & Politics
  • World Economy
  • World News
© 2025 world-economist. Designed by world-economist.
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • DMCA
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.