The Effectiveness of Counter Terrorism Strategy at Kenya’s Ports of Entry: A Case of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi County

Abstract

The emergence of new and deadly terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaida, Islamic States of Iraq and Syria and Boko Haram increased terrorist attacks globally. Kenya has been victim of numerous attacks directed to soft targets such as; The USA Embassy in Nairobi and attack on Garissa University among others. The effects were; loss of lives and property and bad reputation to the country prompting issuance of travel advisories by western countries. Despite of the in-creased terrorist attacks in Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport remained secure and the researchers sought to find out why? The objective of the study was to establish counter terrorism strategies adopted by JKIA to counter terrorism activities, how effective were the strategies and challenges encountered in the implementation of the strategies. The study was carried out at JKIA targeting a population of 1361, the sample size was 136 respondents drawn from security and intelligence agencies. The study utilised a descriptive research approach and the data collection tools were questionnaires and interviews. Data was analysed by use of SPSS version 22.0 and data presented by use of charts and graphs. The study revealed that JKIA had implemented an effective intelligence and investigation services that detected terrorism activities before they occurred. Fur-ther the study revealed that JKIA faced several challenges in the implementation of counter terror-ism strategies such as; insider threats, lack of resources and poor training. This study concluded that intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination were key components of an effective coun-ter terrorism strategy at JKIA. The study recommended for the adoption of technology as a counter terrorism strategy to safeguard JKIA.