A security expert has defended government's move to increase spending for the military.
Kenya plans to spend Sh121 billion in the financial year that starts on July 1, according to budget estimates before Parliament.
The figures show Sh23.7 billion is proposed to go into purchasing of new military hardware for the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
Kenya has been increasing its arsenal spending in the last five years where Sh109 billion was allocated to the soldiers in the current financial year.
According to Dr Mustafa Ali, President Uhuru Kenyatta has been upgrading country's military capabilities due to the danger posed by Somalia-based Al-Shabaab terrorists who have repeatedly staged attacks on Kenyans and other visitors.
In an exclusive interview on NTV on Wednesday, he said part of the money will go into buying of military choppers and other weapons that will boost war on the militants.
"The treats that Kenya has been facing in recent years demand that Kenya increases her defence budget," said the holder of PhD from University of Portsmouth in United Kingdom.
Ali said the heavy military spending was not out of fear of Uganda and Tanzania which have been increasing budgets for their soldiers in the recent years.
"I don’t think Kenya is responding to other countries in the region in terms of military expenditure," said the former Africa Representative for Religions for Peace Africa.
Expressing similar sentiments, Director of HORN International Institute for Strategic Studies Dr Hassan Khannenje said it was fair for Kenya to increase budget for KDF in its push for “defence modernisation”.
"1 billion dollars isn’t a lot of money when we are talking about defending our country, and compared to international budgets," Khannenje said.