| dc.description.abstract | Terrorism remains a major danger to the world and safety at domestic, regional and
international level. It undermines the basic principles of law, justice, human rights and
freedom and proves to be an affront to the United Nations (UN) Global Covenant and the
values and principles expressed in the African Union (AU) Constitutive Act of Africa. It
also poses a serious and clear threat to states ' territorial sovereignty, security and stability.
Effective counter-terrorism approaches in this regard remain critical instruments to mitigate
risks and deleterious effects of terrorism. In Kenya, the National Police Service (NPS) is one
of the key agencies involved in counterterrorism operations. Given emerging trends of
terrorist groups and continued attack in Kenya by terrorist elements, it is imperative that the
NPS improves the overall direction of its counter terrorism strategy and adopt robust
counterterrorism mechanisms in the fight against terrorism. The problem that necessitated
this study was the continued attack by suspected Al-Shabaab terrorists in Lamu County
despite the NPS adopting numerous counterterrorism strategies in its operations. The general
objective of this study was to investigate counterterrorism strategies employed by the NPS,
their performance and the challenges they face in managing terrorism in Lamu County,
Kenya. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: evaluate counterterrorism
strategies employed by the NPS in Lamu County; assess efficacy of policing approaches
utilised in counterterrorism by the NPS in Lamu County; and examine challenges in
implementing counterterrorism strategies by the NPS in Lamu County, Kenya. The study
adopted a conceptual framework and was informed by Expectancy Theory, Control Theory
and Justice Theory of Performance. The study employed survey research design which
entailed the use of ex post facto research design employing mixed method approach. The
target population were members of the NPS, religious leaders, council of elders and
administrators (chiefs and county commissioner) in Lamu County. The study used both
probability and non-probability sampling methods. Members of the NPS comprising NCOs
and members of the inspectorate were first stratified then randomly sampled to generate 189
respondents. Purposive sampling was used to select 12 gazetted officers of the NPS as well
as 23 chiefs, 1 county commissioner, 35 council of elders, and 54 religious leaders for the
study. Data collection was both interactive (interviews and FGDs) and non-interactive
(questionnaires, document analysis, photography and observation). A pilot study was carried
out in Lamu County. The reliability of the instruments was determined through the
calculation of a correlation coefficient between the first and second administration. The
instruments were tested for validity through consultation and discussion with supervisors.
Data were analysed by use of descriptive statistics, through qualitative and quantitative
techniques. The study found out that counterterrorism strategies employed by the NPS in
Lamu County were ineffective and counterterrorism operation poorly handled. The fight
against terrorism must involve all stakeholders and the strategies must take into account and
address prevailing circumstances and conditions for operation to succeed. Policing
approaches utilised by the police were found to be generally effective, acceptable and
positively influence the performance of NPS to a great extent. The study also revealed that
the challenges in implementing counterterrorism strategies are numerous and varied.
Therefore, the key to effective counterterrorism lies in addressing these challenges that have
remained key impediments in implementing the strategies. Overally, the study concluded
that as terrorism evolves so must counterterrorism strategies, taking into account the
prevailing circumstances and dynamics on the ground such as socio-economic and political
factors, technology, human resource and governance. The study recommended that all
stakeholders be involved in counterterrorism, policing approaches be married with
counterterrorism strategies, and underlying issues and challenges be addressed for effective
and efficient counterterrorism campaign. | en_US |
