The United States Embassy on Friday, February 14, flagged as fake a press release on an alleged meeting between President William Ruto and the Al Shabaab leadership.
This comes after unconfirmed reports claimed that Ruto had engaged in a meeting with Al Shabaab leaders during one of his recent tours. This was seen as a bizarre move considering the immense damage and loss of life the terrorist group has brought to the country.
Since its inception in the late 2000s, Al Shabaab has been responsible for a number of terrorist attacks in Kenya and the East African region often with deadly outcomes.
In Kenya, Al Shabaab has carried out four notable attacks resulting in over 250 deaths and many more injured and scarred for life. Most notably was the 2013 Westgate Mall attack which claimed 67 lives and rocked the nation to its core. During the attack, the terrorist militias had the mall under siege for close to three days.
Other attacks included the Dusit D2 Hotel attack in 2019, which led to 14 deaths, the Lamu/Mpeketoni attacks in 2014, which claimed 48 lives, and the 2015 Garissa University attack, which resulted in the loss of 148 lives. This was in addition to the deadly 1998 US Embassy bombing in Nairobi by Al-Qaeda, which claimed numerous lives.
In the now-flagged letter, the US Embassy had expressed its awareness of the alleged meeting with Al-Shabaab, which has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, terming it a “blatant disregard for the shared values of peace, security, and the rule of law.”
“The United States Government has learned with grave concern and profound disappointment of reports that President William Ruto of Kenya has secretly engaged in discussions with the leadership of Al-Shabaab, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization responsible for the deaths of countless innocent civilians, including American citizens,” the now-flagged statement read.
In the release, the US condemned any engagement with the terrorist organisation, stating that it posed a threat to global peace and security and undermined international efforts in the fight against terrorism.
The US has been a key player in the fight against Al Shabaab, providing a vast amount of resources to combat the terrorist group. It has provided funding up to the region of billions of dollars to train and equip regional peacekeeping forces as well as Somali security forces.
It has also carried out regular air strikes on bases believed to be Al-Shabaab camps in efforts to wipe out the group. In 2017, US President Donald Trump authorized the first deployment of regular U.S. troops to the country since 1994, but they were later ordered out of the country.
In light of all this, the now-flagged release had raised concerns about Kenya’s commitment to regional security and its adherence to international counterterrorism principles, noting its previous support to Kenya to combat terrorism.
The release had warned of dire consequences in the event of any prolonged engagement with the terrorist group. This was more significant considering Trump’s tough stance towards African countries after ascending to power for the second time.
The flagged statement added: “Any cooperation with Al-Shabaab, directly or indirectly, is unacceptable and will have severe consequences for the bilateral relationship between our two nations."
