Concept of Intelligence - National Security Law

By Beverly Sitawa, LLB  (Hons)

Concept of Intelligence - National Security Law


· The main purpose of intelligence is to provide information to policy makers to enable them tackle threats that a country may be facing. The role of, and the assumption has always been that intelligence which is accurate, comprehensive and timely will lead to more effective choices made by Government officials.


· The information is communicated by intelligence officers to policy makers in form of policy briefing, memorandum and formal reports.


· For instance, the policy maker may want to know the location of terrorists affiliated with Al Shabaab or the number and whereabouts of Chinese nuclear submarines as the identity of their nationality, or the weaponry to be used.

Types of Intelligence

The National Intelligence Service Act provides for two divisions that can regarded as the types of Intelligence; that is;

1. Internal intelligence regarding political, social, Economic and security issues within the State

2. External Intelligence regarding the collection of foreign intelligence in relation to political, social, Economic and security issues.

Intelligence may also be divided into

1. Cyber Intelligence- this information collected from traditional intelligence sources intended to inform decision makers on issues pertaining to operations at all levels in the cyber domain.

2. Human Intelligence- this is information derived from persons

- For example, Refugees, Prisoners of war,

Example: In case of a military threat, military commanders will want to know:-

Ø The weapon used

Ø The location of fighters

· Such information could be valuable in making a political, economic, climatic or military decision in countering the threat.

Intelligence Cycle

· The process of collecting information along with its analysis and dissemination to policy makers is called Intelligence Cycle.

· The I.C. Captures the mission of:-

Ø gathering

Ø analyzing

Ø disseminating

· The cycle is also significant in counter intelligence

· Counter intelligence is the responsibility of secret agents to thwart/resist hostile operation directed to them and their nations by foreign intelligence services

· The cycle helps in covert action, whereby a notion seeks to intervene secretly into the affairs of other nations, in the hope of advertising its own security interests

The Kenyan concept of Intelligence

· The British colonialists recruited African mercenaries as partners and guards who provided information to them thereby enabling the colonialists to know the secrets of the colonialists.

· Most of these porters and guards later became community chief and were seen as traitors by the communities.

· The colonial system didn’t destroy existing networks, but used to build a new intelligence system.

· Before 1895 the colonialists would be gather information from missionaries and traders later on from commissioners.

· The British East African Police was established in 1892 and for 18 years carried out the work of an intelligence agency.

· During WW1, the focus of intelligence gathering changed from African affairs into an enemy activity in neighboring countries.

Challenges to the concept of intelligence

· Lack of Infrastructure

· Too much content- The increasing difficulty of processing and deriving value from vast amounts of data collected. When numerous possible events are detailed with no indication of which might be more likely, the reaction will be haphazard at best.

· No focused response plan- where there is intelligence but no structure as to how to deal with it, it becomes useless

· Corruption- such that intelligence agencies can be swayed to discard of certain information.

· Lack of cooperation amongst intelligence agencies- leads to failure in the gathering of information

· Political influences- These can lead to failure to

· Impact of the information technology revolution-where Intelligence agencies are not at to speed in the current technological trends, key information may be missed

· Human Resource-may be inadequate, for lack of skills or expertise required decipher intelligence

· Public distrust of authorities- such that the public is not willing to share intelligence on the ground with authorities.

NOTA BENE

The body responsible for collection of intelligence in Kenya is the National Intelligence Service