Panel 54 Podcast - Col (Rtd) Seth Shava

EPISODE 2: The War Is Ours, But the Blueprint Isn’t

Africa is a frontline in global security—but not always a voice in its planning. In this episode, we explore what it means to be a host to military might, but not its mission.

Is Africa building capacity or just playing a supporting role in someone else’s war room?

Join hosts Waweru Njoroge and Ndu Okoh as they go beyond drills and defence deals to ask: what does true security look like for Africans?

Former Kenya Air Force Commander and Top Gun graduate, Shava has lived through dogfights, diplomacy, and development failures. His perspective is rooted not just in combat strategy—but in what happens when governance, poverty, and politics become the real battlefield.

We unpack the paradox: the continent is flooded with flags, drills, and surveillance ops—yet Africans rarely write the rules. From Djibouti to the Sahel, whose interests are really being served?

Colonel Shava talks intelligence, radicalisation, and why terrorism isn’t always a military problem—it’s a governance one. We explore the link between disenfranchisement and security breakdowns, and what “real capacity building” should look like.

In a lighter (but true!) moment, Shava shares the unbelievable story of ejecting from a fighter jet and crash-landing in a rural village—only to be mistaken for the second coming of Jesus. We’re not flying—we’re flowing. This is Panel 54 — rethink the world, one African perspective at a time.

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Recorded at Amp Studios Nairobi

Produced by Commex Africa and E & C Talent