Mandera declaration a milestone in terror war

It was a bold step when leaders from North Eastern counties voiced their unanimous resolve to work towards keeping terrorists at bay.

The stakeholders meeting convened by Mandera County Governor Ali Roba to address community led approaches in addressing radicalization and countering violent extremism came against a backdrop of reports of increasing cases of youth joining militant terror cells in Al Shabaab.

Of concern too, are the attacks that are targeted at non-local workers, including two teachers who were killed at Arabia Secondary School recently in Lafey Constituency, Mandera County. The youth are getting pulled into radical and violent movements through well-considered manipulation processes that facilitate emotional and psychological factors besides widespread social media influence.

The youth should be a main focus in this new drive since they are more susceptible to radicalization as they are very vulnerable, with a majority unemployed and lacking income opportunities.

For a region that has witnessed waves of violent extremism including the unforgettable attack on Garissa University College that left at least 148 people dead, the expression of political will is a welcome gesture. For the first time since the problem of violent extremism and terror threats bedevilled Kenya, leaders form the fragile North Eastern Counties took a bold public stand against the extremists in unison.

It is commendable for leaders to show undiminished vigor and long-term commitment of political goodwill towards ending violent extremism and terrorism. This should be a building block towards finding a solution and will go along way in responding to immediate challenges.

Young people

The threat from terrorism is one of the starkest that we face today. Kenya must maximize her efforts to counter violent extremism, radicalization and recruitment of young people into criminal terror cells in Frontier and coastal counties.There is need to deepen civic engagement in matters of terrorism and deradicalisation in these hard hit areas.

As it emerged from reports of the Frontier Counties Development Council, development partners in the implementation of projects particularly those funded by World Bank through the North and North Eastern Development Initiative (NEDI) have been slowed or are behind schedule because of security threats. Contractors have shied away and the cost of undertaking projects scaled up by high security costs.

The concerns point at risks that threaten fate of infrastructure projects worth Sh120billion funded by World Bank that include roads, water and sanitation as well as energy projects. Security threats continue to slow down multibillion projects that are intended to transform lives and infrastructure for the people who have suffered over five decades of marginalization.

While the Alshabab are targeting only locals in Somalia, they have changed tact to pit Kenyans against each other by targeting only non locals within the frontier counties, reinforcing their aim of making the locals economically alienated through economic sabotage and total sanctions.

Economic opportunity

The people of Mandera, Garissa and Wajir are now suffering in the hands of Alshabab through socio-economic sanctions imposed on the people by the Alshabab killing of non-local teachers, they have managed to cripple the learning institutions. They have forced teachers, health workers to flee these counties for fear of being attacked.

By targeting non-local health workers, they have managed the cripple health service provision in the fragile counties.By killing non-local quarry workers they have successfully managed to bring down the entire construction industry that is the only major economic opportunity employing, directly and indirectly, thousands of Mandera residents.

The leaders have spoken, and now institutions implementing the multi agency plans must expand countering violent extremism beyond law enforcement interventions and allow a broader operational space in the social domain with multiple actors and expertise.

The role of county governments is to solidify a collective vision and to assemble and enable a network of public sector and civil society stakeholders to lead culturally appropriate intervention services to deter violent extremism.

Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa profiled as fragile red zones for terror can make tremendous progress by implementing customized action plans that are inclusive and community driven. The leaders’ commitment and political will must keep the same momentum going forward.

The acts of the militants have made Mandera, Wajir and Garissa to be profiled as hotspots of terror. Diplomatic missions including the UN and World Bank officials are rarely cleared to travel to these areas despite supporting various projects. You can guess what their advise to corporates interested in extractives, and or industrial ventures is.

Similarly, dozens of investors have shied away from taking up opportunities to put their capital in the red alert counties for fear of risks arising from the terror groups. In short investment consequences of terrorism will continue to hurt devolved units as well as the mother economy of Kenya.

Mr Ohito is the Chief of Staff, Mandera County