Embrace reformed youth to discourage criminality
Lamu West Deputy County Commissioner, Charles Kitheka addressing residents of Bobo in Hindi, Lamu West on January 4, 2021, after a suspected al Shabaab attack. There is a need for long-term solutions to push-and-pull factors like poverty that predispose youth to violent extremism and terrorism.
What you need to know:
- There is a need to address the mistrust and embrace reformed youth with open arms to encourage their former partners in crime to disengage.
- The community should not further subject reformed youth to stigmatisation and anguish when they have run away from similar mistreatment from crime empires.
- There is also a need for long-term solutions to push-and-pull factors like poverty that predispose youth to violent extremism and terrorism.
Sometimes giving someone a second chance can be construed to mean granting them an extra bullet to hit you in another attempt.
This is the dilemma of reformed youth face, hindering their reintegration into society after denouncing terrorist groups and other criminal gangs.
There is a need to address the mistrust and embrace reformed youth with open arms to encourage their former partners in crime to disengage.
Testimonies from youth hitherto involved in crime paint a horrendous picture, hence their decision to quit.
The launch of the government’s amnesty programme in 2015 led to a near-stampede of young Kenyans leaving the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab terrorist group to take advantage of the nascent peace-building initiative.
This was a clear indication that some terrorists and criminals are willing to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.
They are tired of terrorising innocent people and seek pardon.
One of the reasons for abandoning Al-Shabaab is the mistreatment of foreign fighters by their Somali colleagues, who see themselves as the ‘owners’ of the group.
Through the rank and file, the foreigners do not hold any significant position or yield influence to make decisions for the group.
They are assigned demeaning duties or tasked with dangerous suicide missions. Many have faced trumped-up charges in kangaroo courts, leading to their execution.
The former terrorists suffered enough in Al-Shabaab; hence, society ought to empathise with them.
Human approach
This explains why Kenya’s disengagement, rehabilitation and reintegration programme is anchored on a human approach devoid of bias, judgement, predisposition and perception.
The community should not further subject them to stigmatisation and anguish when they have run away from similar mistreatment from crime empires.
Initial teething problems of the Africa-topping initiative included state and non-state actors struggling to implement it but that has since been ironed out.
The National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), guided by National Strategy to Counter Violent Extremism, coordinates implementation.
The reformed youth resume normal lives following vocational training to start income-generating activities.
The government should fund county action plans to facilitate, with financial support from donors, the prevention and countering of violent extremism while ensuring genuine ex-terrorists join the programme to avoid relapse or infiltration by bad elements.
It should sensitise Kenyans on rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-criminals and -terrorists for a buy-in.
By so doing, inherent trust deficits that may affect the successful implementation of the programme will be addressed.
There is also a need for long-term solutions to push-and-pull factors like poverty that predispose youth to violent extremism and terrorism.
Probably, the Kenya Kwanza-promised ‘Hustler Fund’ will provide affordable credit to youth to start businesses.
Empowering communities reduce their vulnerability to crime and other social ills.
Mr Mugwang’a, a communications consultant, is a member of the Crime Journalist Association of Kenya (CJAK). [email protected].
