A newly released dossier related to the 1963 assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy has unveiled the long-standing presence of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Kenya. The documents, declassified under former President Donald Trump’s administration, reveal that Kenya was among six African nations hosting CIA bases as part of the agency’s Africa Division (AF Division) operations.
During the early 1960s, the Secret Service established security networks worldwide to safeguard President Kennedy’s travels abroad. The declassified documents highlight that Nairobi was strategically selected as a CIA operational hub alongside Johannesburg and Pretoria in South Africa, Lagos (Nigeria), Rabat (Morocco), and Salisbury (now Harare, Zimbabwe). This move was largely influenced by the tense Cold War atmosphere following the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, which nearly escalated into a nuclear conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
Much of the dossier focuses on the CIA’s investigations into assassin Lee Harvey Oswald’s movements in the Soviet Union prior to Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963. However, it also sheds light on the U.S. intelligence agency’s extensive operations in Africa.
Kenya has continued to be a key player in U.S. security strategy. In 2004, the CIA facilitated the formation of the Rapid Response Team (RRT), a covert paramilitary unit embedded within Kenya’s General Service Unit’s Recce Company. This elite team was trained, equipped, and guided by the CIA and operates under the oversight of a paramilitary liaison officer based at the U.S. embassy in Nairobi. The RRT has reportedly been involved in high-profile counter-terrorism operations, including renditions and targeted killings.
The team was instrumental in repelling the DusitD2 hotel terror attack in 2019, demonstrating its critical role in Kenya’s counter-terror operations. The U.S. has maintained close security ties with Kenya, evidenced by high-profile visits, including that of FBI Director Christopher Wray in 2024 and previous visits by CIA Director William Burns and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
These revelations underscore Kenya’s pivotal role in U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism efforts, a partnership that has spanned decades and remains central to regional security.
