International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |Volume VI, Issue X, October 2022|ISSN 2454-6186
The Impact of Terrorism in Kenya
Shadrack Kipkoech Sitienei1, Sally Kiprota2
1Lecturer-Department of History, Philosophy and Religion- Egerton University and a PhD Candidate-Political Science and Public Administration (Moi University), Kenya
2Lecturer-Department of History, Philosophy and Religion-Egerton University-Kenya and a PhD Candidate-International Relations and Diplomacy- University of Nairobi, Kenya
Abstract: Interstate partnership is a new form of cooperation and problem solving technique for both small and larger powers alike for mutual benefit. This paper delves to investigate the impacts of terrorism attacks on Kenyan. To effectively answer the objective of the study, the research was guided by the following objectives; to find out if terrorism is a threat to security in kenya, and to examine the impact of terrorism on Kenya’ economy. This paper made a critical analysis of the existing literature to arrive at a rational conclusion. The research found out that terrorism is a security threat in Kenya, terrorism has a negative impact on the following economic variables; tourism, security budget, foreign direct investment, religious profiling and youth employment. The paper recommends terrorism is a global security threat and all states should cooperate to thwart the menace.
Key words: terrorism, impact, Kenya, Security, Threat
I. INTRODUCTION
Global terrorism could be said to be one of the events which have threatens state interests in the contemporary era necessitating closer ties among states to safeguard vital interests for mutual benefit. Africa with a view to concluding it is more vulnerable to the threats from terrorism than any other continent. Its combination of; relatively weak states, ethnic and religious diversity, sometimes discrimination, its poverty, and in many places its “ungoverned space” all lend Africa a significant susceptibility to the growth of radical and sometimes internationally connected movements that employ terrorism. Some of these gaps as observed in this citation are aimed specifically at African governments, for example, the radical Islamic Maitatsine and “Taliban” in Nigeria, or the pseudo-Christian Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda; clearly have a more international agenda, for example, the al-Qaeda cells along the east coast of Africa and presumably the North Africans and Sudanese who have returned to their home countries from training and participating in the insurgency in Iraq (International Crisis Group, 2006).
The most devastating terrorist attacks witnessed by Kenya occurred on August 7, 1998, when terrorists attacked the American Embassy in Nairobi with a truck-bomb. The attack killed some 220 people and injured roughly 5,000 Embassy staff, passers-by and people in neighboring buildings (Oded, 2000). Al-Qa’ida simultaneously attacked the U.S. Embassy in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, killing 11 and injuring another 70. An attempt to destroy the American Embassy in Kampala, Uganda, was reportedly foiled on this same date. All three