US builds Manda Bay runway to target Al-Shabaab militants

After years of bloodshed and warnings, concrete and asphalt are getting thrown down in coastal Kenya to harden a frontline air hub meant to squeeze militants across the Horn.

Runway construction at Manda Bay

• The United States kicked off a 70 million runway expansion at Manda Bay.
• Sits in Lamu County near Somalia’s border.
• Supports counterterror pushes across the Horn of Africa.
• Uses a Kenya Defence Forces base shared with US troops.

Strategic partnership signaling

• Joe Biden flagged Kenya as a top non-NATO ally in 2024.
• Framed as deeper military and diplomatic ties.
• Lacked a formal security pact.
• Messaging aimed at deterring hostile actors.

Security scares driving urgency

• Al-Shabaab fighters smashed into Camp Simba in 2020.
• Killed three Americans and wrecked an aircraft.
• Earlier embassy attacks struck Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
• The death toll topped two hundred, with thousands hurt.

Diplomacy talk at the base

• Christopher Landau pitched resolve during the groundbreaking.
• Called the outpost proof of shared defense.
• Framed it as a warning to adversaries.

Kenya’s role beyond East Africa

• Christopher Landau praised Kenya’s Haiti security work.
• Leads a United Nations-backed mission there.
• Backs police against gangs holding territory.
• Helped sketch plans for a new suppression force.