Trailblazers in uniform: Kenya's female troops leading fight against al-Shabaab in Somalia

For more than 11 years, a spirited female contingent of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and the National Police Service, has positioned itself in the heart of Somalia to fight the evil machinations of the outlawed terror group-Al-Shabaab.

They are ready to depart the world with honour and with their heads held high for the sake of peace and tranquillity for the Somali people.

Currently under the banner of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis), whose time in the Horn of Africa nation is coming to a close in December 2024, they are working to ensure that by the time they depart, the locals and security forces can maintain law and order on their own.

Their operations are stealthy and executed with high levels of accuracy, both on land and air.

At Dhobley, the Atmis Sector 2 Forward Operating Base (FOB) currently occupied by the KDF, Major Daina Naker, a combat helicopter pilot, has her role clearly cut out.

Light aircraft

Often, she conducts surveillance above the vast Dhobley and Afmadow regions in Somalia and brings back the intelligence gathered, which will help in the plans of the troops in conducting their operations.

She does her work flying the MD 500, a special helicopter with an assorted weapon system, which can easily spot and neutralise the enemy from kilometres away. It is a light aircraft, ready to take off and land at challenging terrains with relative ease.

Born in Kenya’s volatile Turkana County, Major Naker understands what peace and stability means for the development of any place. She witnessed many incidents of insecurity and the resultant poverty while growing up.

As a teenager, she vowed that at some point in life, she will be an ambassador of peace because “peace is something that is very important to everyone”.

Almost two decades later, she now lives her dream in the KDF, and in some faraway land, playing her role in enhancing Somalia’s stability.

“My main work is to support our ground troops through aerial reconnaissance and also conducting casualty evacuation. Due to my training and the place we are operating, it is expected that we fly at any time, look out for the enemy, support our troops as well as the local community,” she says.

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On the ground, Sergeant Faith Mwai, currently deployed at the Intelligence Wing of the KDF in Dhobley, plays two roles. She is a communication officer collecting and collating data and making sense out of them, while also executing her role as an accomplished soldier always wielding her weapons, a camera, and a rifle.

The immediate demands on the ground will determine which of the two will be shot by her.

Often, the military’s plans and executions are shrouded by secrecy to catch the enemy off-guard and in many cases, forget to keep a record of their own activities.

Now, Sergeant Mwai helps in documenting these honourable memories in digital formats that will even outlast the test of time when the very soldiers shot in the photos, are long gone.

“On my right hand, I shoot to protect myself and fellow soldiers and Somalia at large, and on the other, I shoot what I see. When soldiers are out there, conducting our civil military operations, my main role is to enhance the visibility of these operations,” she says.

To access the scattered villages spread in the outskirts of Dhobley, the KDF soldiers have to endure hours on roads often battered by the elements of weather and are almost impassable whenever heavy rainfall occurs.

As such, heavy construction machines stationed at the engineering squadron of the FOB are used to flatten out the roads and remove any impediment blocking the troops’ marches to the local communities.

Assigned this heavy duty of construction and clearance by the Sector Commander, is plant operator Corporal Maureen Njoki. Her outward demeanour of a simple, average sized woman does well in hiding the eight years she has served in the army, where she has executed her roles under tough situations just to ensure the soldiers get to their destinations as soon as possible.

“My main work here in Somalia is to support the troops by smoothening their path, literally. I do this by clearing bushes, flattening uneven roads. I am grateful to my supervisors who have encouraged me to learn how to use these big machines,” Njoki says.

Corporal Njoki swiftly goes back to her bulldozer and continues with her duties of flattening some mound of dirt that had settled at some corner of the FOB.

Some 400 metres from the engineering station, Lieutenant Stella Waigwa is issuing orders to troops on how to go about a scenario in the event their base is attacked by a suicide vehicle borne improvised explosive device.

Her role is to coordinate the retaliation by the troops stationed at Dhobley for any external attacks aimed at destroying the FOB.

This duty ensures she is in constant communication with the officers commanding the observation points and posts that are placed at strategic points of the FOB, which make the troops at the posts scout the huge swathe of land around their base from a vantage point.

“Today, we have a demonstration on how to counter a VBIED and show the soldiers how they will react to counter the same. I support troops in the FOB by ensuring that obstacles put in place are effective, countering any mobility and ensuring our own mobility,” she says.

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In their efforts to ensure long lasting peace and solutions to the root causes of strife in Somalia, the KDF is keen to improve the economic welfare of the locals.

Of particular interest to them are Somali women, who, being under the yoke of longstanding patriarchal societies, have been reduced to housekeepers and the rearing of children.

Captain Valary Shikuku has been tasked to equip members of the Dhobley Women Association with skills that will help them fight an even more menacing enemy; poverty.

With funds allocated by the ATMIS Sector 2 Commander, Brigadier Salim Rashid, the determined captain, who is a fully trained psychologist, acquired some raw materials to help the women in sewing table mats as well as buy some items that they retail at a small profit.

“We engage them with technical activities and help them have a sense of independence and fend for themselves. Empowering a woman is empowering a society. Having a stable economy is very important in promoting peace,” Captain Shikuku says.

The fact that she is a female soldier is a motivating factor for the women, who have for a long time, not even thought about the possibility of a woman serving in the disciplined forces.

“When they see women like me in the military, they get inspired because they get to understand that even women have a role in fostering peace and security,” she says.

Neema Mohamed, a gender officer in Dhobley and a founding member of the association says their women group was the first of its kind in the region.

Her primary role in the business is to secure markets for their products not only in Somalia, but also in Kenya then use part of their proceeds to restock their raw materials.

“We really appreciate Atmis for assisting us to get the mats and even giving us funding for the initial capital that we required,” she says.

Some 615 kilometres away in Somalia’s capital city, Mogadishu, a Kenyan police officer Dorcas Andabwa, engages in serious patrol work.

She is the only female officer driving an armoured personnel carrier (APC) that is used by police officers from the troop contributing countries to patrol the fluid streets of Mogadishu where anything that threatens security can happen at any time.

Andabwa revealed that she was initially intimidated by the huge vehicles but this fear was dealt with after she underwent a thorough two-week training on handling the road behemoths.

“From the training, I gained confidence. Driving these big armoured vehicles ensures we are safe, in case of a landmine or anything, this car cannot go down,” she says.

The officer explains that manoeuvring the large vehicles through Mogadishu's narrow roads demands skill and precision. She emphasises her satisfaction in ensuring the safety of police officers during their patrols.

For all the women in the security forces, their goal in the country highly destabilised by wars, ravaged by civil unrest and its life almost completely sucked out by the vagaries of terrorism, is simple; to foster peace, security and leave Somalia knowing the solutions they offered, will last forever.

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