Youths from the Boni community are set to get technical and vocational training in a Sh347 million complex under construction in Bargoni.
A boys' high school will also be constructed in the same area as part of the project. The two facilities in Lamu West will be ready in two years.
National Police Service Commission chairperson Eliud Kinuthia officiated the groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday.
Kinuthia said the institutions were being set up to enhance the fight against radicalisation and recruitment of youth into violent extremism.
“This is just among the many alternative strategies the government is using to eradicate terrorism and radicalisation through education. We want the Boni areas to be known for prosperity in education and not terrorism,” Kinuthia said.
He acknowledged that hundreds of civilians and security officers had died in the hands of al Shabaab militants in the area.
But a security operation in the Boni Forest has restored security in Lamu and other counties bordering Somalia, he said.
The NPSC boss said the new educational institutions in the area would spur development and progress in Boni Forest and its environs.
“This is an area that has witnessed challenges of terrorism for years. Today, we are enjoying peace all thanks to the Linda Boni security operation. I am urging the Boni people to embrace education and see their area prosper,” he said.
“We project that this will be part of the president’s legacy and we want it to be ready before he leaves office. We have given the contractor 90 days to complete phase one. The government has also released SH10 million for the same.”
The Boni community has been asking the government to set up learning centres in the area.
Schools in Boni areas re-opened for the first time this year after more than seven years of closure due to insecurity.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
