Kenya Outlines Robust Multi-Agency Security Plan Ahead of CHAN
- The Ministry of Interior has outlined the elaborate security plan as Kenya co-hosts the CHAN tournament starting next week
- Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo has been heading strategic meetings with the security seniors in Nairobi ahead of the sporting event
- This adds to the infrastructural preparations the national government has been undertaking, including the renovation of the playing venues like Nyayo and Kasarani
Nairobi - With barely weeks to kick off for the delayed 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN)—now slated for August 2025—Kenya has shifted decisively from planning to execution on security.
Source: Twitter
Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo has chaired a series of multi‑agency briefings, including a closed-door session with senior police commanders in Nairobi on July 22, to validate operational readiness ahead of the tournament.
He has said that a tightly coordinated security architecture is central to projecting Kenya’s organisational capacity to the continent and the world.
Is Kenya ready for CHAN 2024?
The security framework is anchored in a formal multi-agency mechanism that brings together policing, intelligence, immigration, transport, health and sports authorities.
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Omollo has referenced the CHAN–AFCON Multi‑Agency Team (MAT) and a Project Oversight Council that tracks delivery across workstreams ranging from safety to logistics — a structure reiterated during a July 3 progress review.
This approach mirrors the government’s broader “whole-of-government” doctrine for major events and is intended to compress decision-making timelines as the tournament nears.
External validation has helped.
CAF’s General Secretary Véron Mosengo-Omba, after a Kenya visit on July 21, gave preparations a thumbs up, noting that recommendations arising from recent inspections had been implemented.
Earlier, CAF and the Football Kenya Federation hosted a Senior Supervisors/Commanders’ Workshop in Nairobi (May 29–30) to harmonise stadium safety standards with continental best practice — an unusually specific capacity-building step that indicates CAF and the host’s shared focus on command-and-control readiness inside and around venues.
Operationally, authorities say the plan spans “airports to stadiums”, layered screening, accreditation controls, traffic and crowd-flow management, medical response, and counter‑terrorism postures calibrated to Kenya’s risk environment.
Source: Twitter
Nairobi Command and the National Police Service have already briefed Omollo on the evolving threat picture and deployment matrices for match days and fan zones.
How CHAN will test Kenya ahead of AFCON 2027
The emphasis on end‑to‑end journey security — from entry points to last‑mile shuttle corridors — is designed to reduce soft spots that typically emerge outside the immediate stadium perimeter.
Two issues will define the final stretch.
First, stress-testing: CAF’s inspections and workshops are necessary but not sufficient without full-scale simulations of evacuation, mass-casualty response, cyber incidents affecting ticketing or accreditation, and real-time intelligence fusion across agencies.
Authorities have indicated that “comprehensive security protocols” are in place, but the value will lie in how rigorously they are drilled under match-day conditions with thousands of spectators in motion.
Second, interoperability: Kenya is co‑hosting with Uganda and Tanzania, demanding synchronised border processes, joint threat assessments, and contingency plans for cross-border team or fan movements.
For Nairobi, success is measured beyond a safe tournament.
Kenyan officials have repeatedly framed CHAN as a reputational stress test that will signal the country’s ability to stage even larger competitions, including the 2027 AFCON it will co-host.
What William Ruto said over Kenya's readiness for CHAN
In the meantime, President William Ruto expressed satisfaction with the refurbishment of the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani.
The president spoke when he inspected the newly renovated Kasarani Stadium in readiness to host CHAN Group A fixtures, pitting Harambee Stars as well as the final on 30th August.
The stadium has undergone major upgrades to ensure full compliance with Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) standards ahead of the CHAN 2024 and the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027.
He was excited:
"We can proudly say that we are going to host CHAN on August 3."
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
