In Elwak, Football Builds Bridges Between Soldiers and The Youth They Protect

ELWAK, Kenya – For much of the year, the relationship between security forces and young people in Elwak is shaped by checkpoints, patrols and the threat of militant attacks.

For one afternoon, it was shaped by a football.

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) troops stationed at Elwak Base organised a friendly tournament that brought soldiers, police officers and local youth together on the same pitch, turning a community security challenge into an exercise in trust-building.

Six teams took part: Elwak Airstrip Base, Elwak Old Camp, Elwak Chinese Camp, the Elwak National Police Service (NPS), Elwak North Youth Football Team and Elwak South Youth Football Team.

According to Kenya’s Ministry of Defence, the matches were competitive but carried an emphasis on teamwork, discipline and sporting spirit. Residents gathered around the pitch, cheering the teams and creating an atmosphere far removed from the tension that often defines life along the border.

‘The well of God’ on the frontline

Elwak, whose name translates as “the well of God”, lies directly on Kenya’s border with Somalia in Mandera County.

The town had a population of about 60,700 in the 2019 census and is known for dozens of deep wells, some connected by underground passages.

Just nine kilometres across the border is the Somali town of El Wak, in the Gedo region.

The geography makes Elwak a frontline community in Kenya’s long-running struggle against Al-Shabaab, with the militant group able to exploit the porous border to stage attacks in Kenya’s north-eastern counties.

The threat has remained deadly this year.

In March, six police officers from Elwak Police Station were injured when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb on the Elwak-Wargadud road while they were travelling on relief duties.

In July, four members of the elite Special Operations Group and a police reservist were killed in an ambush near Kutulo, close to the border. Their bodies were later brought back to Elwak.

The wider threat along the frontier has also attracted renewed attention from security analysts.

In April, conflict-monitoring organisation ACLED published a special report warning of a rising Al-Shabaab threat along the Kenya-Somalia border following the drawdown of the African Union mission in Somalia.

More than a game

Against that backdrop, the football tournament was designed to do more than produce a winner.

The Ministry of Defence said bringing security personnel and young people together in an informal setting was intended to strengthen friendships, mutual trust and cooperation.

Young people were assured that security agencies would continue supporting their communities and were encouraged to work with police and soldiers to maintain peace.

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They were also urged to share information about suspected Al-Shabaab activity so that security forces could respond quickly.

That relationship can be critical in communities where militants can exploit local networks and where early information can help prevent attacks.

The ministry said the event reassured residents about the security situation while demonstrating how sport could create space for dialogue, unity and confidence-building.

A town reclaiming its streets

For residents, the tournament is part of a broader story about a town attempting to reclaim its public spaces.

Last year, Elwak was described as turning a corner after years marked by insecurity and neglect. Residents attributed the improvement to intensified patrols, community dialogue and intelligence-sharing among multi-agency security teams.

Isadin Said, a 38-year-old who was born and raised in Elwak, remembers a time when the town’s streets emptied early.

In 2017, he said, people would rarely remain outside after 6pm.

Today, he said, the atmosphere is different.

“You can now walk or ride your motorcycle even at 2 a.m.,” he said.

That change is fragile, however, and depends partly on the relationship between residents and the security personnel responsible for protecting them.

A football pitch provides a different kind of contact.

When young people share a game, a joke and a handshake with soldiers and police officers, the distance between the uniform and the community can begin to narrow.

That can matter when residents need to report suspicious activity or seek help.

Building trust beyond the pitch

The Ministry of Defence described the tournament as “a symbol of partnership, resilience, and the shared commitment to building safer, thriving communities in Elwak”.

For the KDF, the challenge now is to ensure that the goodwill created on the football field extends beyond the final whistle.

In a town where security threats can return without warning, trust between communities and those protecting them is not simply a public-relations exercise.

It can be part of the security response itself.