• The National Strategy to Counter Violent Extremism 2016 states that learners are easy targets for radicalisation into violent extremism and identifies education as a pillar in countering violent extremism.
• The kit - Child Safety and Security Against Violent Extremism (CSASEV), has been designed in a manner that teachers are capable of knowing when a child is showing signs of radicalisation.
Image: NCTC
With violent extremism being significantly on the rise, its members are now targeting children of government officials.
Acting National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) director Joseph Opondo says that this is a new trend by the group.
"Right now they dont spare anyone. They will look for police officers' children and wealthy children with good background. This is to ensure that they get intelligent people to work for them," he says.
Opondo says that they recruit them to make use of their knowledge.
"These people even seduce prison wardens. They have not left any stone untouched," he says.
Speaking to the Star, Opondo says that wealthy businessmen should help the government to reduce the menace saying its not a poor people's problem anymore.
"We need support from every quarter. The only time that we can defeat this menace is if we stay true to ourselves and true to the course of bringing harmony to Kenyans," he said.
He further noted that extremists have now changed tact on how they are carrying out their attacks.
"We had a number of attempts from extremists. Right now they are going for lone rangers. This is where a person goes to a mall and takes a knife and starts stabbing people," he said.
Head of disengagement Jack Ombaka says that during the pandemic, young boys in Form 3 and 4 were the most targetted.
"These young boys were lured by extremists and crossed over to Somalia. We have had a significant increase in the number of young people being converted," he says.
Speaking to the Star, Ombaka said the young boys were arrested by KDF and ATPU officers as they tried to go to Somalia.
"Most of them leave here to go and look for money as they are promised. With the pandemic, everyone is looking for employment to help their families," he said.
Ombaka said that all that is needed is to appeal to the software of the extremists rather than the hardware.
"Get to know why someone is doing what they are doing. What is the root cause? Don't go for arrests. Just get the ideology behind it," he said.
Forensic psychologist Oscar Githua says that there are people who are motivated beyond money.
"You don't have to carry a gun to kill. Some of the lone rangers have excellent skills. A man could just go to a hospital with IT skills and go to the ICU section and remove a cable that will switch off the life support of the patients. That's terrorism," he says.
Githua said that people should look at people behind the acts not what they are doing.
"These people get rid of their own identity and take a group identity. For you to identify with other people you have to be like them and act like them. They have sacred value and are willing to make costly sacrifices," he says.
Extremism in Schools
In as much as young boys are trying to join the extremists, schools as a whole have not been spared.
Incidents like school fires, students stabbing colleagues or hacking teachers to death have taken place between 2020 to early 2021.
This year has not been an easy one for students after nearly finishing a whole year out of school due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This has put a strain on the academic calendar with Kenya trying to bridge the gap for the children.
Holding almost half the population, the children and the youth remained dormant during this period.
Some children were forced to travel back to their hometowns outside of Nairobi, unable to access the internet and online teaching, while others remained in Nairobi with decreasing economic opportunities and income.
This in turn might have caused the existence drivers of violent extremism in schools.
According to census 2019, 10 million students were attending primary school; 3.4 million were attending secondary school; 3.3 million were attending pre-primary school; about 500,000 attending middle-level college, while 471,000 are attending university education.
According to the National Crime Research Centre Report 2016, Kenya witnessed heightened unrest among learners leading to arson attacks in about 100 schools.
While this may not be because of violent extremism it provides fertile ground for engagement with extremist groups.
African Committee of Experts on Rights and Welfare of the Child 2016 showed that20 per cent of 394 children interviewed were aware of the recruitment of children into terrorist activities.
The Constitution of Kenya 2010 Article 53 recognises the need for all children to be protected from abuse, neglect, harmful cultural practises and all forms of violence.
The National Strategy to Counter Violent Extremism 2016 states that learners are easy targets for radicalisation into violent extremism and identifies education as a pillar in countering violent extremism.
National Counter Terrorism Centre senior Liaison Officer Edwin Wameyo told the Star that they have come up with a generic tool kit to help fight radicalisation in schools.
Image: NCTC
The kit - Child Safety and Security Against Violent Extremism (CSASEV), has been designed in a manner that teachers are capable of knowing when a child is showing signs of radicalisation.
“This kit is to help teachers to detect radicalisation in schools with the increasing cases of arson and students beating up teachers. It is these behaviours that can attract people who are looking for who to radicalise,” he said.
Speaking in his office in Karen, Wameyo said that the tool was developed in coordination with the Ministry of Education.
It is possible for those behind radicalism to take advantage of unrest in schools. They will offer our children a leeway, and that is what most of the youth would like.National Counter Terrorism Centre senior Liaison Officer Edwin Wameyo
The psychologist says that children also underwent trauma during the pandemic.
"They were traumatised. Some of these children live in homes where they are tortured, homes where they know no peace," he said.
"Homes where there is aloofness. It's like a pressure cooker where every food tries to escape but can't."
The kit which is yet to be launched officially is already in place and will be administered in schools.
The guide offers practical interventions to help an at-risk learner already affected by these vices.
Al-Shabaab attacks since 2013 in Kenya have left many being recruited.
Students are taught, convinced and recruited to be a jihadist from schools, mosques, and in slums.
In 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta said that Kenya will extend its campaign against terrorism recruitment to schools as part of efforts to prevent violent extremism.
He said the 'Student Safety and SecurityMechanism' which was developed by the Education ministry would be rolled out to complement joint efforts with the 47 counties to curb the radicalisation of youths.
The anti-terror plan for schools appears modelled on the national school safety and security programme that the US resorted to in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York.
Wameyo says that the NCTC has been able to sensitize the young population on radicalisation.
“We are even trying to address their grievances to ensure that they don't fall prey to people hungry to radicalise them,” he said.
He says that they have an online-based portal that is purely for the youth.
These websites include; Huduma centre - where youths can get access to apps, Young and Daring, Citizen support mechanism - all that educate the youth on radicalisation.
With a keen eye on schools, Wameyo says that the centre has also engaged universities.
“Anytime freshers report to a school, the dean will get in touch with the centre. It is at this point that we offer our engagement by trying to offer talks on radicalisation,” he said.