Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has justified the financial share from the 2025 Finance Bill allocated to the country’s security sector, terming it as key to economic growth.

Speaking on Friday, May 16, 2025, Mbadi dispelled the notion that the sector had been allocated huge sums, emphasising the critical role played by the sector in shielding Kenyans from internal and external threats.

 He noted that economic growth can be achieved when the country is in a stable and peaceful state.

“I hear many people ask, why do you put so much money in security? Are we at war? The economy can only grow, and tourists and numbers can only increase, in a peaceful environment,” he said.

The CS also spoke on the need to have Kenyan security forces on the front foot amidst the existential threat posed by the neigbouring terrorist groups such as Al Shabab, among others.

“If we don’t fight Al Shabab in Somalia, we will fight them on our soil and that will destroy our economy in a day,” he added.

Mbadi’s remarks come days after the National Intelligence Service (NIS), one of the country’s security organs, listed the armed terrorist group among the leading external threats facing the country.

Speaking while appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Defence, Foreign Relations, and Intelligence on Monday, May 12, 2025, NIS boss Noordin Haji revealed that the country still faces major risk from the group as he sounded the need for additional monetary resources to adequately deal with the challenge of national security and keeping Kenyans safe.

“People in Kenya do not seem to understand that apart from Al Shabaab, we have more than five other countries that have been destabilised and those threats are not going to go anywhere else other than in Kenya,” Haji explained.

“The age of disinformation and misinformation continues to pose serious risks to national stability. It’s imperative that the government invest sufficiently in our security infrastructure,” he added.

During the meeting, Noordin informed the Nelson Koech-led committee that NIS had been allocated Ksh51 billion in the 2024/2025 financial year, Ksh14 billion less than the Ksh65 billion it requested.

“But if you look at the kind of equipment that we have as a security sector, it is really wanting. I think as a country, we need to decide whether we are serious and whether we want to ensure that we are giving the security that Kenyans deserve,” Haji reiterated.

“Our national security organs must be fully funded to effectively execute their constitutional mandate. Intelligence alone is not enough — frontline agencies also need capacity to act swiftly.” He told the committee chaired by Belgut Member of Parliament Nelson Koech

Besides Al Shabaab, the NIS boss detailed that the Oromo Liberation Army, an armed opposition group active in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, was setting foot in Kenya.