The United States has begun a $70 million expansion project at a military base in Kenya, near the Somali border. The project aims to strengthen counterterrorism operations in the Horn of Africa.
The Manda Bay Air Base, under the Kenya Defence Forces in Lamu County, is a base used by US forces and has long been a strategic hub in the fight against the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militant group.
In 2024, former US President Joe Biden announced a plan to make Kenya the US’s first major non-NATO ally in sub-Saharan Africa, strengthening military and diplomatic ties, although there is no formal security agreement.
“We must show those who would attack us that we are committed to defending ourselves,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday.
The base represents “a very visible commitment to mutual defense between the United States and Kenya,” he said.
“It sends a very strong message to our potential adversaries,” Landau said during a three-day visit.
In 2020, three American citizens were killed after al-Shabaab breached the tight security of Camp Simba, part of the Manda Bay air base, destroying aircraft and military vehicles.
In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were simultaneously targeted in attacks by al-Qaeda. The attacks killed more than 200 people, including 12 Americans, and injured thousands more.
Landau also praised Kenya’s role in “international stability” in Haiti.
