Crack down on terror recruiting agents
These are terrible times, especially for youth, as devious groups exploit their desperation and vulnerability due to the rampant unemployment and helplessness. It is a serious national problem, but it is worse in the remote marginalised regions where international criminal syndicates have been recruiting and radicalising young people for terrorist groups. In some instances, traffickers promise jobs or safe passage to Europe and the Middle East but instead subject the recruits to exploitation and abuse. Somalia has over the years been a common destination for young people lured to join Al-Shabaab terrorists.
Recent reports indicate that shady recruitment agencies have been luring and ferrying Kenyan youth to as far as Libya. They actively operate in the northeastern and northwestern regions of Kenya. Recently, the people of Modogashe in Garissa County received a distress call about two young men, who had reportedly been kidnapped in Libya.
Video clips of the two allegedly being tortured sent shock waves through the region, forcing local leaders into action. There was a Sh5 million ransom demand and money was actually raised locally and sent to Libya. The two men are said to have been released but never returned home, which raises eyebrows.
Libya has in recent years been in the news over illegal immigrants being kidnapped and flogged as they sought to cross the sea and reach southern Europe. But for Kenyans who find themselves there, it is mostly about recruitment into terrorism.
Ironically, according to the International Organisation for Migration, Kenya is not listed among countries being monitored for the more than 700,000 immigrants in Libya. Niger, Egypt, Sudan, Chad and Nigeria feature prominently.
Security agencies should strictly monitor the clandestine recruitment agencies or agents behind this deadly racket tricking youth into believing they are being taken to Europe, only to be kidnapped in Libya. Garissa, Wajir and Mandera have reported cases of youth being held in Libya for ransom.
This transnational human trafficking violates the rights of the young people. There is a need for thorough investigations. The traffickers and their enablers must be stopped.
