The decision by East African countries to take a heavy-handed security-led approach to tackling violent extremism has given related issues extra importance ahead of more pressing matters like unemployment, healthcare or even education.

Yet public trust in leading security agencies, particularly the police, and the perceived corruption threaten gains made over extremist groups like Al Shabaab, according to Afrobarometer’s Round 6 surveys.

Kenya suffered the highest number of attacks in the region between August 2014 and May 2015, when the survey was conducted. The survey used face-to-face interviews with a sample of 2,400 respondents in Kenya, Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania.

Whereas 45 per cent of respondents in Kenya felt security-related issues — which include crime, political violence and instability, ethnic tensions and terrorism — were one of the most pressing problems the country is facing, nearly the same number (44 per cent) expressed dissatisfaction with their government’s efforts to combat terrorism, which tops national security threats.  

The survey shows that only 36 per cent of Kenyans trust the police, while 75 per cent perceive the police as corrupt. In Uganda and Tanzania, 56 and 61 per cent respectively trust the police; 63 and 50 per cent respectively feel the police is corrupt.

Even Kenyans’ trust in the army tails their neighbours’ at 68 per cent against 78 and 82 per cent in Uganda and Tanzania respectively.

“Public trust in security forces has a profound effects on the success of security-led initiatives to combat violent extremism. It determines whether local communities, who are an important source of information and often best situated to understand the distinct dynamics of conflict in their region, are willing to work with or against security forces. A lack of trust in the army or police, particularly in their ability to identify armed extremists among the general population, could incite civilian support for these violent organisations,” notes the survey, which was released on June 9.

Uganda, which suffered a devastating terror attack on July 11, 2010 in twin bombings at the Kyadondo Rugby grounds and Ethiopian Village Bar and Restaurant in Kabalagala killing 76 and injuring scores others, has attributed its ability to minimise repeat attacks to its target hardening approach:

Increasing the presence of security personnel and brandishing military hardware on the streets and around major installations that terrorists might want to target and fanning out as many informers in community spaces whom they say have been vital in bursting terror cells.

The country recently convicted some eight men of orchestrating and executing the twin bombings, raising fears of revenge attacks.

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