Saturday March 25, 2017
Forty per cent of Kenyans believe KDF soldiers in Somalia under Amisom will defeat al Shabaab.
However, 39 per cent say the soldiers’s presence in Somalia has not helped the situation.
In the poll conducted between January 9 and 26, 43 per cent of the respondents believe the presence of Kenyan soldiers in Somalia has increased terrorist attacks in the country.
Forty-six per cent feel despite Amisom troops being in Somalia, there is no guarantee the country will be united and stable under the new government, while only 40 per cent of respondents are optimistic.
The poll indicates 57 per cent of Kenyans believe the six years that KDF forces have been in Somalia have helped improve security in that country.
Some 27 per cent of the respondents feel Kenyan troops should be withdrawn from Somalia, while 24 per cent say more soldiers should be deployed to wipe out the militant group.
Twice as many NASA supporters ( 40 per cent against 20 per cent) want KDF pulled out of Somalia, while twice as many of their Jubilee counterparts ( 31 per cent against 16 per cent) want the number of troops increased.
Some 62 per cent think Kenya is likely to be attacked by terror groups with the Western region being a hotspot at 80 per cent, followed by Coast ( 62 ), Nyanza, Rift Valley and Eastern at 61 per cent. Nairobi and Northeastern are at 55 per cent, and the least likely region to be attacked is Central at 53 per cent.
Sixty three per cent of Kenyans are aware of the plans by the Kenyan government to close refugee camps at the border and of this, 74 per cent agree the camps should be shut.
On crime, 47 per cent say robbery where victims are present is the most common type of crime, followed by burglaries and break-ins at 18 per cent. Illegal brewing and sale of illicit beer comes third at eight per cent.
In Nairobi, robbery takes the lead at 61 per cent, while burglaries are most common in Nyanza at 25 per cent. Crime in Rift Valley and Eastern is at 10 per cent, with the sale and brew of second-generation alcoholic drinks taking the lead.
Northeastern has the highest cases of gender abuse, mistreatment of children and domestic violence, while Coast leads in drug trafficking at nine per cent.
A population of 2,057 Kenyans aged 18 and above in rural and urban areas was sampled across 41 counties.
The poll had a sample error of +/-2.16 per cent with a 95 per cent confidence level.