Mombasa youth are joining radical gangs including al Shabaab to take revenge for police brutality, a survey indicates
The survey released on Monday by the United States Institute of Peace says that insecurity has increased because co-operation between law enforcement officers and the community is weak.
For two decades, the county has been susceptible to increasing terror attacks due to al Shabaab recruitment.
The report titled 'Participatory Action Research for Advancing Youth-led Peace Building' said lack of trust in the security personnel has contributed to youth involvement in violent extremism.
The survey was carried out to establish the most pressing community issues in the region.
The survey was in Nyali, Likoni, Kisauni and Mvita subcounties.
It focused on parents, returnees who had fought for al Shabaab, youth, community leaders and police.
Beside revenger, youth join radical groups because of poor parenting, poverty and divisive politics.
Police officers who were interviewed cited poor housing, underpayment and deplorable working conditions, leading to corruption and mistreatment of youth to extort money.
The research team recommended that the security personnel, especially the police, should host dialogues with youth.
Police need to target extremists including gang members and not the average youth on the street.
Youth were also urged to dialogue with other youths, to motivate and mentor them.
Corruption in Kisumu
The team also conducted research in Kisumu, where youth unemployment and corruption were major issues.
After being shortlisted for jobs, youth are often asked for bribes to be invited to interview.
This disenfranchises poorer youth as they are skilled and qualified but have no bribe money.
Gender discrimination is also a problem for youth in Kisumu where women are less likely to get a job than men.
In Nairobi, poor services were cited as the main issue affecting the youth.
Because of poor government service delivery, members of the community opt for alternative service providers, including international non-governmental organisations.
When the government does not provide services, desperate people seek whatever options are available.
Business owners in low-income communities are encouraged to form associations to aid each other in doing business effectively inselected localities.
