A co-director of a think-tank based in Washington DC, United States, was on Tuesday, July 11, charged with trying to sell Chinese strike drones, aerial bombs, and rockets to several countries across the world including Kenya.
Gal Luft, a 57-year-old American national and the co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, was first arrested in February 2023 over his links to China among other crimes.
Reuters and other international news outlets have reported that Luft was charged for acting as an unregistered agent of China.
Court disclosures filed by US prosecutors allege that Luft brokered weapons sales to countries including Kenya, China, Libya and UAE.
The US-Isreali dual citizen reportedly tried to sell bombs, strike drones and rockets to Kenya in 2016. It was not immediately clear the top Kenyan officials that the think-tank director engaged in Kenya while brokering the deal.
Prosecutors believe that Luft worked to serve Chinese interests while selling arms manufactured in the East Asian nation.
Court documents claim that the suspect who was arrested on February 17 fled after he was released on bail.
The Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, which is based in Washington DC, prides itself as a think-tank focused on energy and US security.
Strike Drones
Strike drones, which the suspect tried to sell to Kenya, are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) with military capabilities to conduct airstrikes and drop bombs in enemy territories.
The drones can also crash into enemy targets.
Countries that have extensively used UAV include the US, the UK, Israel, China, South Korea, Italy, and India among other military powers.
Kenya's Drone Use
The Kenyan military and other law enforcement agencies like the police have drones but use them mostly for surveillance.
The Interior Ministry recently used drone cameras to locate bandit hideouts during an operation launched in Elgeyo Marakwet County in December 2022.
"The thieves are alive to the fact that the land is vast and with little infrastructure and often use this to escape law enforcement after staging the attacks," Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wisley Rotich remarked at the launch of the operation.
"With drone technology, the officers will be assisted in locating the criminals and tracking them down even if they escape into the wilderness."
