Kenya’s National Assembly has ratified a bilateral defence agreement with France, underlining Paris’s strategic shift away from its traditional West African sphere of influence towards anglophone Africa.
Signed in October 2025, the accord establishes a five-year framework – renewable once automatically.
The agreement will “enhance Kenya’s defence capacity through access to French training, technology, and expertise” in areas including maritime security, intelligence sharing, peacekeeping and disaster relief, according to a memorandum presented to the country’s National Assembly on Thursday.
Its approval by lawmakers paves the way for the executive to complete the formal process.
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On 15 March, around 800 French soldiers arrived in the port of Mombasa for joint training and security cooperation exercises under the agreement.
Shifting influence
For France, the deal represents part of a broader diplomatic shift towards anglophone Africa – driven in part by the country’s diminishing influence across its traditional sphere of interest in West Africa.
Kenya is regarded as a strategically significant partner, sitting at the gateway to the Horn of Africa and bordered by the Indian Ocean.
International relations specialist Stephen Mogaka said Kenya is seeking to strengthen its capabilities, particularly in maritime security, and the pact with France fits squarely with that objective.
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MPs’ reservations
Thursday’s parliamentary session saw Kenyan lawmakers ratify defence agreements with four other countries – the Czech Republic, China, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe.
MPs’ approval of the defence pact, however, came with caveats. Legislators raised concerns over certain provisions, pressing in particular for guarantees on the question of jurisdiction over foreign troops stationed on Kenyan soil.
The case of BATUK – the British Army Training Unit Kenya – was also raised during Thursday’s debate. A parliamentary inquiry in December last year accused BATUK of sexual misconduct and environmental harm that led the forces from the former colonial power to be seen as an “occupying presence”.
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The defence agreement comes ahead of the Africa-Forward summit, which France will host in Nairobi on 11 and 12 May.
The first such gathering to be held in anglophone Africa, the two-day event will bring together business leaders from France and the African continent, followed by African heads of state and government, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.