Kenya is listed alongside countries such as Iran, Pakistan and Jordan as countries where the United States has been heavily spying on internet communication.
Top secret documents acquired by UK newspaper The Guardian map countries by the amount of information collected, with Kenya marked yellow, indicating it is under heavy surveillance with a large number of interceptions of internet communication places taking place.
The US is reported to have collected around 12.7 billion pieces of information a month from Jordan, a country in the same category as Kenya.
According to international relations professor Munene Macharia, Nairobi also hosts the largest US embassy in the region and a communication headquarters for East and Central Africa.
“It’s possible that all intelligence to the US from the region passes through Nairobi as this is the communication command for East and Central Africa,” Macharia told The Standard.
Apart from the consulate, the country is also home to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and a number of multinational regional headquarters which might be of particular interest to the US.
It is also suggested however the US could be spying on President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto with the aim of providing the Hague with more evidence in their case against him.
Drug cartels in Kenya could also be of interest to the US, with President Barack Obama previously naming Kenyan citizen Harun Mwau among the world’s top six drug kingpins.
