News
Nairobi joins Uganda in arms shopping spree
Kenya’s use in Somalia of attack helicopters from China, fighter jets from Jordan and armoured vehicles from Israel is evidence the country has been upgrading its military capabilities in response to new threats
Posted Sunday, January 15 2012 at 13:24
Ukraine ranks as the second-leading supplier of major weapons to black African countries, accounting for a 20 per cent share of that market, Sipri reports. China, with a 25 per cent share, ranks first.
Sipri cautions against viewing China’s weapons deals as invariably a part of its effort to secure access to African resources. “China’s delivery of arms and military assistance to Tanzania, from which it imports few natural resources, shows that access to resources cannot be China’s only motive for supplying arms to Africa,” the report says. It also refers to Chinese military sales to Kenya and Uganda.
The United States conducts a much smaller arms trade with black Africa than does China, with the US share of the market amounting to only 3 per cent.
“The supply of arms does not appear to have played a prominent role for France, the UK and the USA in their security-related policies on sub-Saharan Africa, even though they are important external actors in security issues in sub-Saharan Africa,” Sipri points out.
Among importers, Nigeria ranks first in black Africa with a 20 per cent share of the market during the 2006-2010 period, while Sudan is placed second with a 16 per cent share.
Kenya is listed eighth on the table, with a 5 per cent share.
Uganda and Tanzania do not appear among the top 10 importers, but that is likely to change due to Uganda’s sizable arms procurements over the past two years.
Black Africa is heavy reliant on imports for arming its countries’ military forces because, with the exception of South Africa, it lacks significant production capacity of its own, the report adds.
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda all do have some capacity, however.
Sipri points to the Kenya Ordnance Factories Corporation and Mzinga Corporation in Tanzania, both of which manufacture rounds of ammunition.
Luwero Industries in Uganda refurbishes Kalashnikov-type rifles and uses South African equipment and cartridge cases, propellant, primer caps and bullets imported from China to produce ammunition, the report adds.
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In the end -- the Somali problem will be resolved by civilians armed with school books and jembes.
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"Kenya’s use in Somalia of attack helicopters from China, fighter jets from Jordan and armoured vehicles from Israel is evidence that the country has been upgrading its military capabilities" I only read the first sentence. In 1974 under Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya acquired new F-5 fighter jets from their maker, the USA. In 2009, Kenya acquired used F-5 fighter jets from Jordan. The used jets could not even fly into Kenya, let alone out of Kenya.
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