Biden’s Decision to Halt Intel Sharing with Ruto & Museveni: Expert Analysis
In recent months, Kenya and Uganda have experienced an increase in terrorist attacks, and reports indicate that the United States has altered its security policies to deny the two nations’ intelligence.
The unconfirmed reports further stated that Washington was reducing regional efforts to cultivate strong military-to-military partnerships, thereby throwing Kenya and Uganda into the deep end.
On Sunday, June 18, ten members of the General Service Unit (GSU) were injured in Lamu, close to the Somalia border, allegedly as a result of the resurgence of suspected extremists.
Similarly, on Friday, May 16, suspected Islamic State (IS) militants slaughtered nearly 40 students at the Lhubiriha secondary school in Mpondwe, Uganda. Six students were abducted to transport food stolen from the school’s stores.
Al Shabaab extremists were also responsible for the deaths of 54 Ugandan soldiers in a separate attack two weeks prior.
George Musamali, a security expert, spoke with GossipA2Z and shed more light on allegations that the United States had abandoned Kenya and Uganda to terrorists by withholding vital intelligence.
Musamali initially opined that the two nations were to blame for their excessive reliance on the United States in military training, surveillance, and coordination of peacekeeping missions.
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“Why do we expect intelligence from the United States when we have operatives on the ground?”
“The United States has provided us with resources by training our intelligence officers, but it is not their responsibility to gather actionable intelligence on behalf of Kenya and Uganda,” he said.
Musamali, a former police officer, added that it was necessary to develop indigenous counterterrorism strategies. He disagreed, however, with the notion that Washington withheld intelligence reports to punish the two nations.
“I do not believe that to be true. Terrorism is a global phenomenon that does not only affect Kenya.
“There is a global intelligence-sharing agreement regarding terrorism,” he said, explaining why Kenya receives briefings from international security agencies.
Musamali added that security intelligence is highly ephemeral, so Kenya should be proactive in gathering its intelligence.
“Whatever intel you get today, it is deemed irrelevant tomorrow. As a result of the obsolescence of previously implemented countermeasures, we cannot blame the intelligence community for failing to help us combat the Lamu attacks,” he added.
Moreover, he asserted that recent attacks in East Africa may have caught the United States off guard.
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In March 2023, the United States expressed concern over Uganda’s law criminalizing same-sex conduct, arguing that it was one of the most extreme violations of human rights in the world.
Security experts declined to comment on whether Museveni’s enactment of a new law was in response to rumors that the United States withheld intelligence.
At the time of publication, the United States had yet to respond to the allegations.
As Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and Chairman of the National Security Council, President William Ruto receives daily intelligence briefings.
According to an insider, the Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) team compiles the reports using intelligence gathered from domestic and foreign sources.
The team consists of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and Military personnel.
Ruto appointed Noordin Haji as the head of the National Intelligence Service, Amin Mohamed as the director general of the Defense Intelligence Service, and General Francis Ogola as the chief of the defense forces after assuming power.
Biden’s Decision to Halt Intel Sharing with Ruto & Museveni: Expert Analysis
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