The Kenyan state is currently under pressure from two sides:
First, numerous non-state armed groups have taken over the provision of
security in areas where the state is practically absent. Second, drug-trafficking
organizations are gaining ground as the country is increasingly
being used as a major transit hub for narcotics. This article investigates
the relationship between drug trafficking and informal security provision
in Kenya and draws analogies from comparable experiences in Latin
America and West Africa. Field research in Kenya has demonstrated that
profit-oriented, informal security actors in Mombasa work for drug lords,
while their counterparts in Nairobi are more likely to be hired by politicians.
Moreover, faith-based vigilante groups in both cities appear to be
less susceptible to external manipulation by drug traffickers. The article
concludes by considering the potential consequences of an expansion of
the drug trade in Kenya. / © 2014 GIGA. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Africa Spectrum is an Open Access publication.
It may be read, copied and distributed free of charge according to the conditions of the
Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/9913 |
| Date | 09 1900 |
| Creators | Schuberth, Moritz |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article, published version paper |
| Relation | http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/afsp/article/view/782 |
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