Kenya received Sh958 million in reimbursements for its troops in Somalia during the financial year ending June 2025, marking a sharp rebound after last year’s record low inflows, though still far below the highs of previous years.
Treasury records show the reimbursements were more than 11 times the Sh86 million collected in 2023/24, which was the lowest in recent history.
However, the figure remains a fraction of the billions earned when African Union (AU) funding was more consistent — Sh6.98 billion in 2022/23, Sh3.6 billion in 2021/22, and a peak of Sh8.9 billion in 2020/21.
The funds are disbursed by the AU and its international partners, including the European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN), to cover the costs of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) operations in Somalia.
Kenya first deployed its troops under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which was later restructured into the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) in April 2022. On June 30, 2025, ATMIS officially transitioned into the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), marking a new phase of AU involvement that began in 2007.
“AUSSOM officially began operations and its mandate on July 1, 2025, and is scheduled to conclude in December 2029, to support the Federal Government of Somalia to degrade Al-Shabaab and affiliates, support stabilisation in Somalia and enable state-building priorities and ultimately facilitate the orderly transfer of security responsibilities to Somali forces,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on July 13.
Despite the operational shift, the future of funding remains uncertain. The UN Security Council in May 2025 declined to authorise Resolution 2719 of 2023, which would have allowed it to finance up to 75 per cent of AU-led peacekeeping costs.
The EU — the largest donor, having provided nearly €2.7 billion (about Sh408.9 billion) since 2007 — has also signalled it may scale back its support, raising concerns about the long-term stability of AUSSOM and the sustainability of Kenya’s deployment.
