Interior Principal Secretary Dr. Raymond Omollo has urged African governments to empower border communities in the fight against terrorism, warning that porous frontiers remain a major vulnerability exploited by extremist groups.
Speaking during the official opening of the Fourth Nairobi Caucus on Border Security and Counter-Terrorism, Omollo revealed that over 80% of violent extremist fatalities across Africa in 2024 occurred in border-adjacent regions. He said communities living along borders must be transformed from “passive observers” into strategic partners through livelihood support, civic education, and integration into early warning systems.
“These communities are not passive observers; we must turn them into strategic partners,” he said, stressing that trust and resilience must be built from the ground up.
Omollo called for stronger cross-border cooperation, including joint patrols, coordinated response protocols, and institutionalized task forces with neighbouring states. He emphasized that borderlands should not be treated solely as security flashpoints but as zones of prosperity that benefit from inclusive development, participatory governance, and access to essential services.
“Terrorist groups have adopted sophisticated structures, leveraging technology and transnational criminal networks to expand operations,” he noted. Weak surveillance, fragmented jurisdiction, and poor coordination, he added, make border regions attractive to extremist networks.
The PS urged security agencies to enhance intelligence sharing and build interoperable platforms that allow real-time information exchange across countries. He also underscored the need for smart border infrastructure supported by advanced surveillance technologies such as biometrics, drones, and AI-powered analytics.
“Border-related intelligence must be actionable, inclusive, and anticipatory,” Omollo stressed, adding that technological investments must be complemented by trained personnel and robust accountability frameworks.
The Nairobi Caucus, an African-owned initiative, brings together more than 15 countries to develop contextualized solutions to terrorism and violent extremism. For the first time, West African states are participating, following a tenfold surge in cross-border attacks in the region in 2024. Maritime trafficking along the Indian Ocean has also increased by 25%.
The European Union sponsored the meeting, which was also attended by National Counter Terrorism Centre Director General Kibiego Kigen. Kigen reinforced the need for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to combating extremism, underlining the importance of intelligence sharing, modernized infrastructure, and strengthened partnerships.
