BY MICHAEL ADIADO
The Kenyan Cabinet held its last meeting in 2024 on December 17. Among the issues discussed was the approval of Defense Cooperation Agreement between Kenya and three other countries: Ghana, France and Türkiye.
Kenya – Türkiye relations have blossomed in the recent past, and here are key timelines that have led to the two countries considering having a defense cooperation agreement
In February 2009, President Abdullah Gul made an official visit to Nairobi, making him the first Türkiye leader to visit Kenya. During the visit, President Gul attended the opening of Işık Lisesi (Light High School) run by Hizmet Movement (Related to Gulen Movement).
In the same year, Turkish Airlines launched direct flights between Nairobi and Instanbul.
Five years later in 2014, President Uhuru Kenyatta visited Türkiye, where he held bilateral talks with President Abdullah Gui and Prime Minister Recep Erdogan.
During the talks, President Kenyatta hailed Türkiye investment in Kenya’s education sector, a matter that forms the cornerstone of this article.
In 2016, President Erdogan visited Nairobi as part of Türkiye charm offensive towards the East African States. After this meeting, Türkiye diplomatic post in Nairobi started pressuring the Kenyatta administration to close down schools believed to be affiliated to Gulen Omeriye Foundation but Nairobi resisted this request.
The four schools that Türkiye has been seeking to be closed operate under Light Academy Brand and are currently operational in Nairobi, Malindi and Mombasa.
In 2016-2017, Erdogan Regime designated Hizmet Movement as a terrorist Organizaton. This is due to the belief that the movement led by cleric Fethullah Gulen who was once Erdogan staunch ally was behind the failed 15th July 2016 coup.Gulen died in October 2024 aged 83.
Before the attempted coup, Gulen was a cherished ally of Erdogan and his AKP party. He used his vast networks in media and businesses to promote Erdogan presidency. His organization, the Hizmet Movement, was also once a symbol of expanding Turkish commercial and cultural influence around Africa, Central Asia, the US and Europe.
Relations, however, turned sour in 2013, when prosecutors affiliated to Gulen movement attempted to question the head of security services over secret truce talks with Turkey’s Kurdish militants. The prosecutors are also believed to be behind investigation of Erdogan and his families business dealings.
Why is this relevant to you as a Kenyan?
The Light Academy and Light International Schools usually provide subsidised fees to parents who aspire for their kids to attain high education standards either in the national curriculum or the British curriculum. Top Performing students are usually granted scholarships to study in Türkiye top universities. However, with increasing purge of Gulenist business operations and allies, funds for such scholarships may soon run dry
In 2024, there were significant events that signified increasingly Kenya collaboration towards Türkiye desire to get rid of allies associated with Gulen movement. On October 18, 2024 Amnesty International reported the abduction of seven foreign nationals in Nairobi. Three were later released but the remaining four were repatriated back to Türkiye. The four were believed to be affiliated to the Light International Academy.
Earlier in May 2021, Selahaddin Gulen, nephew of Fethullah Gulen, was snatched in Kenya and sent back to Turkey. He was accused of belonging to his uncle’s organization.
SECURITY COOPERATION
It has also been widely reported that Kenya’s National Intelligence Service acquired drones from Türkiye drone maker Baykar. Part of acquisition of the state-of-the-art drones from Baykar also saw Kenya security/intelligence officials graduating from their Bayraktar UCAV training at the Baykar Flight Training centre in Türkiye in August 2024. Kenya now joins Ethiopia, Morocco, Libya as African countries that have acquired the Bayraktar TB2 drones.
The Maarif Foundation, a school operated by Türkiye is currently operational in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. It has been fronted by Erdogan to replace or to takeover schools affiliated to FETO (Fethullah Gulen Movement).
Turkey has used the défense cooperation agreement to pursue Erdogan desire to influence Türkiye local politics. Its widely reported that Turkey deputy foreign minister alluded that it’s easier to use Défense cooperation agreements to leverage Türkiye geopolitical or political objectives. It’s through Défense agreements that Türkiye has accomplished closure of private schools affiliated to Gulen group in Mauritania and Gambia.
They have also used this leverage to facilitate removal of certain Armenian artifacts from the genocide museum in Rwanda. Türkiye has also used its increasing influence to convince other countries to arrest allies associated with Gulen movement as demonstrated by Kenya in October last year.
It will then be interesting to see if Kenya will turn out to be a playing field for Erdogan and Türkiye to reshape their local politics through closure of Gulen-affiliated schools that are currently operational in Kenya.
Michael Adiado is a researcher on Kenyan politics and geopolitics
