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One moment, Lela Chepkoech, a resident of Majengo informal settlement proudly watched her son grow into a vibrant teenager. The next moment, she was fighting to pull him out of the pits of radicalization.
"This was my worst nightmare," she said.
The businesswoman explains, that radicalization happens at the speed of lighting, no parent sees it coming. Lela's 14-year-old Form-Two brilliant son had rapidly become a pale version of himself, displaying open rebellion toward teachers in school, refusing to sit exams, and alienating his friends.
To families vulnerable to Violent Extremism, a drastic or unusual change of behaviour is a big red flag. Radicalization happens in four quick phases, according to Jytte Klausen, the author of Behavioral Study Radicalization Trajectories. During the pre-radicalization phase, victims exhibit crises in response to personal events, such as a family crisis, drug addiction, or being arrested. They may also express disillusionment with world affairs or with religious or political authorities.
In the detachment phase, they simply disconnect from a previous life, and make changes to their lifestyle. Children drop out of school, and adults quit work to spend inordinate amounts of time online.
In the next phase, candidates of radicalization leave home to become closer to a peer group of like-minded individuals. At this stage, they may want to travel abroad to join an organization or a network that promotes extreme ideology. This is called the peer Immersion and Training phase. Then there's the planning and execution phase, where the already radicalized individuals either attempt or enact violent action.
Lela's son was fast advancing into the final phase of radicalization. He became disinterested in school and school activities, including scouting, and First Aid Club, where he excelled. Meanwhile, things were not any different at home.
"He had changed overnight and started wearing ragged jeans, fashionable shoes and brought home expensive phones," she said, adding that her son also developed a strong desire to watch Islamic channels only.
As if that was not enough, "He would have very strange conversations about rescuing their family."
But the last nail in the coffin was the day, Lela realized that all the photos of her first-born and only son including numerous childhood memories, were missing from their family album.
"It hit me hard like a thunderbolt, that my son was not okay and I would lose him to bad people any moment," said the businesswoman, adding that the lack of a proper coping mechanism drove her into drug abuse.
Troubled upbringing
Lela Chepkoech attributes the quick turn of events to her troubled childhood. Adopted and raised by a Good Samaritan, she grew up in abject poverty, was abused, and lived under very difficult circumstances. Unfortunately, breaking the cycle of poverty amidst raising three children as the head of a single household was not a walk in the park. Life was tough. Therefore, her son's primary schooling was supported by a Good Samaritan.
To terror group recruiters, poverty, joblessness, and a history of family instability is the perfect recipe for their candidates. Poverty often exposes families such as Leila as soft targets to recruiters who consider slum areas, fertile grounds with willing recruits.
Hassan Mohamed, a resident of Pumwani says recruiters prey on the most vulnerable people in society. Because most of the youths in informal settlements such as Pumwani and Majengo are still living in abject poverty.
"They entice young men with sweet deals of earning roughly Sh50, 000 upon joining their groups and a weekly retainer of Sh10,000. To a person who has never used a flushable toilet their whole life, this a deal of a lifetime and they will not resist," he says.
The resident urges his counterparts to build strong family foundations that even well-oiled terror groups cannot break.
Majengo one of the oldest slums in Kenya, is an informal settlement in Pumwani, situated in Kamkunji Constituency in Nairobi. It is approximately 3km from Nairobi's central business district, neighbouring Gikomba Market. The majority of 17,645 residents as per the 2019 Population Census, live below the poverty line. This makes the area an easy target for extremist groups.
I was told he died in Mogadishu
In a past interview Hidaya Wanjiru, a resident of Majengo Slums and a mother who lost her teenage son in the Mogadishu suicide bombing, believes her late son, was radicalized aged 13 years old, due to their tough economic situation.
"I was widowed young, and a single mother fighting to make ends meet," she said.
Like Lela's son, she had noticed drastic lifestyle changes in her child, and, "Before I could catch a breath, he had taken off. I lost him in 2011, the same year he was to sit the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams."
In a study by Anneli Botha, and Mahdi Abdile on Radicalisation and Al-Shabaab recruitment in Somalia, 39 percent of interviewees said they joined Al-Shabaab due to tough economic situations. Others were inspired to retaliate against the persecution of Muslims in places of worship, the presence of 'infidels' in Somalia, and the protection of Islam (20 percent). About 11 percent joined terror groups out of fear.
With proper interventions, some terror group candidates are rescued. Fortunately, Lela's son is on the recovery path, following intense and collaborative interventions from the local community administration and school.
She calls it, "An act of God."
Lela believes it is possible to save thousands of children from joining violent extremist groups.
One in every five households
There is insufficient data on the rate of radicalization in Kenya, however, about 20 percent of the 500 foreign Al Shabaab fighters hail from Kenya, according to a report by Al Jazeera. Since 2011 when the government sent troops into Somalia, Kenya has been a prime recruiting territory for the Al Shabaab militia.
The community volunteer, political mobilizer, Counter Violent Extremism, and Nyumba Kumi Champion alleges that one in every five households in Majengo's informal settlement is affected directly or indirectly by radicalization.
"We have lost too many children," she said, adding that in Majengo slums alone teenagers aged between 14-15 years are the latest victims targeted by terror groups.
Up in arms
In 2020 after her son's successful intervention, Lela mobilized a few women from the Majengo slums and together they established Dusk Till Dawn Community-Based Organization. The CBO unites women in seeking information and creating awareness of violent extremism in the Majengo Community and their neighbourhood. The name Dusk Till Dawn signifies their newfound awareness of being woke and their determination to end radicalization for good.
"Unlike the past, today, we are more empowered and can differentiate between mental health issues, family problems, and radical views," she says.
With a membership of 36 women, made up of family representatives cut across different areas of the slum, Dusk Till Dawn meets every Tuesday to engage in peer-to-peer mentorship, economic empowerment, and information sharing. From numerous training and resources, they have the know-how to differentiate between extremist and legitimate Islamic ideologies.
Among other activities, they link parents with Counter Violent Extremism organizations for education support, awareness creation, and psychosocial support for affected families. They also engage in economic empowerment for their members following the emerging trend of terror groups exploiting gender stereotypes and cultural cliches to their advantage.
Dusk Till Dawn CBO joins a growing number of women fighting against Violent Extremism including, Women Against Terrorism launched by the anti-radicalization group Epuka Ugaidi with the collaboration of the Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Kenya. Sisters Without Borders was formed in 2014, to bridge the mistrust between Kenyan security agencies and families of terrorism suspects.
"Women's roles as mothers, nurturers, and primary agents of socialization in society are an asset in fighting violent extremism," said the CEO of Epuka Ugaidi, Ikenye Kahugu. "They have influence over their children, spouses, and family members. Hence, more influential in intervening and creating alternative narratives acceptable to their families; they are quick to identify early warning signs and other behavioral changes during the process of radicalization."
Way forward
Kenyan authorities say at least 350 young people who joined the Somali Islamist militant group Al-Shabab surrendered in 2021 and were reintegrated into society. According to Lela Chepkoech, this is good news. But there seems to be a lapse between government policies and laws and the implementation process.
She argues that most interventions for terror group returnees are inherently linked to economic empowerment.
"But not every returnee has business acumen," she argues. "Government needs to engage in a proper and accurate case-by-case assessment to identify the various strengths of returnees."
What's more, she is asking for more positive stories.
"We tend to give more prominence to terror acts as opposed to highlighting success stories of returnees," she says, adding that focusing on positive testimonials of returnees is a strategy that is underutilized yet it bears maximum Counter VE impact, especially among the young people.
More interventions to fight community and family stigma, stereotypes, and suspicion, against returnees and CBOs fighting radicalization are also needed.
