70 per cent of Kenyans feel that Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) troops should be withdrawn from Somalia.
53 per cent of them want the troops deployed to Kenyan borders, a further 9 per cent want them to return home if other African countries send troops to replace them, while 8 per cent think the troops should be brought home regardless of whether they are replaced.
A report released by Twaweza East Africa titled: The roots of radicalization: Citizens’ views on the causes and solutions for insecurity in Kenya, revealed only 1 out of 50 citizens (2 per cent) think that withdrawing KDF troops from Somalia will reduce radicalization among marginalized groups.
The survey also indicates that two out of three Kenyans think KDF is very ready to repulse any terrorist attack, as 8 out of 10 citizens think Al-Shabaab is still a threat to the country’s security.
Speaking during the release of the survey poll, Twaweza Programess Officer Victor Rateng' said the fear may be driven by high levels of awareness of past attacks, given that 71 per cent of Kenyans have heard of at least one attack as per the report.
"The most infamous attack was that on Garissa University (55%), followed by the Mandera attacks (36%) and the Westgate Mall attack (32%),'' he said, Thursday.
According to the report, 80 per cent of Kenyans are in favor of the closure of Dadaab refugee camp in Garissa County.
The findings are based on data collected from 1,801 respondents across the Country in August and September 2016.