US President Donald Trump has unsettled allies across Africa after declaring that America will no longer serve as the “policeman” of countries such as Kenya and Somalia, a shift that could upend years of security cooperation.
Speaking to hundreds of generals at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Trump argued that Washington must redirect military resources inward to combat what he called an “enemy from within.”
“Only in recent decades did politicians somehow come to believe that our job is to police the far reaches of Kenya and Somalia, while America is under invasion from within,” he said.
The comments raise immediate questions for Kenya, which only last year was designated a major non-NATO ally, a status that deepened its counterterrorism ties with Washington.
Kenya hosts a vital US base at Manda Bay in Lamu County and has relied on American training, funding and intelligence to counter al-Shabaab militants along its border with Somalia.
Trump’s remarks also come as the UN moves to replace the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti with a new Gang Suppression Force of 5,550 troops.
While the US backed the resolution, it is unclear how much financial or logistical support Washington will provide.
Analysts warn that without sustained US aid, Nairobi will be forced to reallocate scarce domestic resources or turn to alternative partners, including the African Union, Gulf states or even China and Russia, which have been expanding their security influence on the continent.
