How US withdrawal of support may hurt anti-terror efforts
National
By
Fred Kagonye
| Jan 09, 2026
Police officers evacuate some of the workers at Dusit hotel following a terror attack on January 15, 2019. [File, Standard]
Kenya’s fight against terrorism may take a hit after President Donald Trump announced that the United States had withdrawn its support to Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF).
Kenya, which was admitted to the forum in 2023, is currently co-chairing it with Kuwait.
Trump on Wednesday withdrew US support for global bodies and UN entity programs focusing on climate, migration, labour and social policy.
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“That Executive Order directed the Secretary of State, in consultation with the United States Representative to the United Nations, to conduct a review of all international intergovernmental organizations of which the United States is a member and provides any type of funding or other support, and all conventions and treaties to which the United States is a party, to determine which organizations, conventions, and treaties are contrary to the interests of the United States.”
We reached out to the Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen for a comment on the move by Trump but his aides said he was not in a position to comment on the matter.
The US has been keen to support any counter terrorism initiatives all over the world including in Kenya where it has been working closely with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU).
Its withdrawal could lead to information gaps in real time information and intelligence sharing which may hinder the detection and response to terror threats and global collaboration on counterterrorism.
This may also increase terror threats against Kenya from the Somalia-based Al Shabaab terror group.
The US also helps conduct trainings for officers attached to ATPU, the General Service Unit’s Recce Squad alongside the UK and Israel.
The Special Operations Group and Border Patrol Unit both under the Administration Police, have also been beneficiaries of the US support in the war against terrorism.