The United States has opened a funding opportunity worth up to $1.6 million (about Ksh207 million) to support specialised training for Kenyan security officers in crowd control and less-than-lethal riot response, as the country prepares for the 2027 General Election.
The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, through the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), announced the Notice of Funding Opportunity on Tuesday, inviting qualified organisations to apply for grants to implement the training programme.
According to the notice, titled “Kenya: Crowd Control and Less-Than-Lethal Riot Response Training,” awards will range from $500,000 (about Ksh65 million) to $1.6 million, with applications closing on September 10, 2026. The programme is designed to “strengthen Kenyan police command and control during critical incidents,” according to the funding notice. Successful applicants will deliver specialist training on crowd management, public order policing and less-than-lethal response techniques under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. government.
Eligible applicants include U.S. and foreign non-governmental organisations, educational institutions and for-profit organisations with the capacity to deliver the programme, which falls under the State Department’s Transnational Crime Programme. Interested organisations have been directed to the MyGrants platform or the Embassy’s INL bureau for the full application package.
Although the notice makes no direct mention of the 2027 election, it lands against a backdrop of sustained unrest in Kenya. Since 2024, the country has witnessed nationwide demonstrations over the high cost of living, tax measures and governance concerns, with some protests turning violent.
A joint report by Amnesty International Kenya and Odipodev identified Nairobi as the country’s leading protest hotspot, recording 289 protests between 2020 and 2025, and documented 138 protest-related deaths nationwide over the same period. Other frequently affected counties included Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Kiambu, Uasin Gishu, Kisii and Machakos.
Security analysts have also flagged growing concern over the use of organised groups, often called “goons,” during political activities, with fears the trend could escalate as the 2027 election nears. Those concerns resurfaced following the recent Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, where allegations emerged of organised groups being mobilised during campaigns.
The riot-response training forms part of broader U.S.-Kenya security cooperation. Earlier in 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Counterterrorism announced a separate $5.9 million programme to bolster security along the Kenya-Somalia border, covering tactical training and explosive ordnance disposal. Unlike that programme, the new INL initiative focuses specifically on professional training for police handling public demonstrations rather than operational deployment, with proposals to be evaluated after the September deadline.
