Status of Kenya’s Counter-Terrorism Measures in Lamu County, Kenya

Abstract

This study explored the status of Kenya’s counter-terrorism in Lamu by looking at the effectiveness of security operations implemented by the Kenyan government in countering terrorism and the effectiveness of community engagement in countering terrorism in Lamu County. A descriptive research design was used. The target population was the residents of Lamu who had information regarding the topic under discourse as well as the various security agencies heads such as the Military and the Police. Their population was 87429 from which a total of 156 respondents who participated was drawn. The sample was selected through purposive sampling. The questionnaire used was researcher-administered. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information from the residents while interview schedule guides were used to obtain information from Intelligence the heads of security agencies in the area of study. The questionnaire was administered to 156 residents. Hypotheses were tested using Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient (r)at α =0.05 level of significance. The results obtained from Lamu County determined that there was a statistically significant effect of security operations and community engagement on countering terrorism. The findings also demonstrated the reasons for the negligible community engagement effect on countering terrorism.