Cleric leads initiative to change wayward youth in Mombasa

Island assistant county commissioner Robinson Gakuru, Sheikh Mohammed Obo, Mohammed Said, Chief Kadhi Abduhalim Athman and Al-Hajaar TV station manager Mohamed Hateeb at Afraha hall in Mombasa on Thursday / BRIAN OTIENO

As Kenyans celebrated Labour Day on Thursday, 200 youth in Mombasa were gathered at Afraha Hall in Serani to air their frustrations and possibly find solutions to their problems.

The youth, male and female, were from all the six subcounties in Mombasa. The county is said to have the most number of criminal gangs at 73, according to a 2025 survey by the National Crime Research Centre.

“We are sensitising them on peace. Youth have become the peacebreakers. Youth are causing chaos. We want to know from them what the problem is so we can know how we can help them,” Sheikh Mohammed Obo, chairman of the Association of Imams and Madrassa Teachers in Mombasa county, said.

Sheikh Obo, who is also the executive director of Al-Yateem Project, said they have gone round many of the youth bases where they idle around to listen to the their frustrations and challenges, to find ways to empower them and have them get out of crime.

Through the Kijana Badilika Na Sheikh Obo programme, under the Al-Yateem Project, the cleric has been coming up with different projects for the idle youth to take part in and own, for self-empowerment.

The Al-Yateem Project has partnered with Al-Hajaar TV, an Islamic media house, to help get youth out of drugs and crime and into meaningful jobs and peace.

Mohamed Said, a youth from Nyali subcounty, said many young people have lost rapport with society because of their ill deeds.

Said pointed that lack of jobs is the major hurdle that many youth have been unable to overcome, leading to frustrations and eventual drug abuse and crime.

“Each one has their own view of life. But if we, as youth, are given some opportunities without any bias, then I believe many of us will be responsible people in society,” he said.

Said noted that some opportunities meant for youth are given to other people, frustrating young people.

“If my base see me given an opportunity somewhere, even if it is only me out of the 20 people, the rest will have hope that even they can get such opportunities," he said.

“But the problem comes when we don’t see any hope. We are told there are opportunities in the county and we don’t see any of us get those opportunties, we will only feel they are meant for certain people and not us, which leads to frustrations.” 

Al-Haajar TV station manager Mohamed Hateeb said the lack of employment opportunities is the major hurdle the youth face.

However, he said, with such initiatives as the Al Yateem projects, youth will be trained on business skills and be helped access loans for business start-ups and growth.

“After this discussion, some youth will be identified and helped to form groups, which will be trained and given business start-up grants,” Hateeb said.

He said the youth have been asked to come up with business proposals, some of which will be sponsored.

Hateeb said already, some groups that had been sponsored are being monitored and some have started doing great things with themselves.

Chief Kadhi Abdulhalim Athman said it is the duty of religious leaders to educate and lead youth out of misdeeds.

“Our religion gives importance to youth, who have been given a huge role not only in leadership but also in the development of society,” the chief kadhi said.

But sadly, he said, this is not known to many and many youth go astray and get into drug abuse, irresponsibility in looking for jobs, crime and other vices.

“That is why we are here to sensitise each other. Being in the Quran is one thing, implementing what is in the Quran is another,” Athman said.

He said what Sheikh Obo has done, taking that extra step, is recommended and is what should happen with all religious leaders.

The chief kadhi urged the national and county governments to work with organisations such as Al-Yateem Project to help youth live straight lives and be productive.

Island assistant county commissioner Robinson Gakuru, who represented Mombasa county commissioner Mohamed Noor, said the government has many opportunities for youth to empower themselves.

He said fighting juvenile crime and other vices require concerted efforts from all stakeholders and not the government alone.

Gakuru said the Kijana Badilika na Sheikh Obo programme is a noble cause that if well supported, will change Mombasa for good.

“If we work together, we will ensure this generation that we have now will be responsible and become better citizens tomorrow,” Gakuru said.

He said there are many government programmes that target youth, including digital skills training, migrant jobs, loans and grants for business ventures and startups, among others.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

The National Crime Research Centre has launched a 2025 survey that showed out of the 309 active criminal gangs in Kenya, 73 are in Mombasa, the smallest county in the country, leads in criminal gangs, most of whose members are juveniles.

This is a headache for security apparatus, leaders and parents.

It is for this reason that there are several interventions that are now being planned to help reduce the effect of the criminal gangs and to help reduce or do away with them.