National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has blamed radicalisation of youth in Kenya on impunity and corruption in government.
The Speaker said time had come to “ask the hard questions about the root causes of radicalisation”. In a 2,500-word paper he presented to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference in London, which The Standard on Sunday has seen, the Speaker explained why the State will continue facing radical youth with a bias towards terrorism.
Muturi said extrajudicial killings, unemployment, poverty, and State-sanctioned discrimination of regions had become worrying trends.
“What happens before the bomb goes off? So far, we have an inclination that there is a strong link between governance, democracy and development, the stability the youth feel in their environments and how this environment can be exploited,” he posed. The Speaker is the third-in-command in the country according to the Constitution, and when he accuses the State of rights abuses, it becomes a matter that should affect government policy.
“Violent extremist ideologies tend to thrive in an environment characterised by poor governance, democracy deficits, corruption and a culture of impunity for unlawful behaviour engaged in by the State or its agents,” said Muturi in his paper, quoting scholars on radicalisation. For the Speaker, “historical marginalisation of communities in North Eastern and Coast has made young people in these regions an easy prey for radicalisation”.
READ MORE
HRW accuses Sudan paramilitaries of widespread sexual violence
The world must seek justice for Palestinians suffering genocide
Judge directs Treasury to make public foreign debts, sovereign bonds
Ruto is to blame for ills afflicting Kenyans, say civil society groups
Option of violence
He noted: “Perceived or real political or economic disadvantages may cause a community to be persuaded to turn to violent extremism as a way of airing grievances.”
These regions have often provided a battleground for the Somalia-based Al Shaabab militants.
The Speaker has presided over the lawmaking in the National Assembly for some of the laws that had to be struck out by the courts for being unconstitutional. For example, he chaired the chaotic session when the National Assembly approved the controversial Security Laws (amendment) Act, 2014.
In the paper, he argued there were already enough laws to deal with radical youth and terrorism, the only problem being the current laws do not provide amnesty or some kind of “protection” for “those abandoning extremism and returning home, for their rehabilitation and integration to society”.
The Speaker has also mentioned the establishment of the National Counter-terrorism Centre under the Office of the President. According to budget documents, this unit has been allocated Sh500 million in a confidential vote for undisclosed counter-terrorism operations.
But he dumped the ball on his doorstep because he urged MPs to back spending plans that are likely to deal with job creation for millions of unemployed youths in Kenya, and ratchet up the watchdog role to tame State impunity.
“Parliament should ensure youth empowerment programmes, such as, youth cooperative societies, vocational training, economic empowerment through training on small scale business, creation of youth entrepreneurship funds are prioritised,” he said.
He added: “Parliament’s oversight role must ensure that state agencies protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.”