• Northeastern regional commissioner Birik said the tournament was aimed at fostering cooperation between residents and security forces.
• Its other goal is to win the hearts of youths who constitute a significant segment of the local population.
A football tournament organised by the Northeastern authorities aims to combat violent extremism among youths and preach tolerance and peaceful co-existence.
North Eastern regional commissioner Mohamed Birik launched the inaugural RC Peace Tournament in Boystown Primary School grounds on Thursday.
Twenty-four local football clubs including a team from the police and another from the KDF will play to win Sh100,000 in prize money.
Birik said the tournament was aimed at fostering cooperation between residents and security forces.
Its other goal is to win the hearts of youths who constitute a significant segment of the local population.
“Most importantly, the tournament seeks to make vulnerable youths in the communities unavailable for al Shabab radicalisation and recruitment,” Birik said.
He urged the youths to remain patriotic and loyal to the country and use their energies to build the county.
The competition's other sponsors are Garissa's department of Youth and Sport, the department of Cohesion and CVE and the Garissa Football Kenya Federation office.
County Secretary Abdi Sheikh said the programme would incorporate a capacity building initiative aimed at sensitising all clubs on dangers of radicalisation.
The participants will also be trained on how to protect local communities from violent extremism.
"With the help of family networks, religious leaders, social workers and all other stakeholders we shall use sport to fight extremist ideologies, radicalisation and drug abuse among our valuable youth," Sheikh added.
Garissa, especially in the refugee camps where al Shabab sympathisers are believed to operate, is home to hundreds of vulnerable youths.
Jihadis exploit their ignorance of the basic teachings of Islam.
This vulnerability is worsened by poverty and unemployment, which are abetted by socio-cultural factors such as poor upbringing.
These factors combine to produce angry and disgruntled youths ready to be recruited at the slightest exploitation.
High-handedness and egregious human rights abuses attributed to security forces operating in the region have affected relations between the residents and security personnel.
(edited by O. Owino)