Youth-Inclusive Mechanisms for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism in the Igad Region a Case Study of Kenya
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
YOUTH-INCLUSIVE MECHANISMS FOR PREVENTING AND COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM IN THE IGAD REGION A CASE STUDY OF KENYA YOUTH-INCLUSIVE MECHANISMS FOR PREVENTING AND COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM IN THE IGAD REGION A CASE STUDY OF KENYA EDITED BY TRUPHENA E. MUKUNA (PHD) © 2019 Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA) OSSREA acknowledges the support of International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Printed in Ethiopia All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-99944-75-01-8 Copy-edited and Layout by: Alemu Tesfaye Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa P.O. Box 31971, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Fax: 251-11-1223921 Tel: 251-11-1239484 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ossrea.net Table of Contents About IDRC ........................................................................................................ 1 Executive Summary ............................................................................................ 4 Table 1: Theory of Change for the Youth-Inclusive Mechanisms in P/CVE ...... 7 Abbreviations and acronyms ............................................................................... 8 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. 9 About the Author ................................................................................................. 10 1.Introduction .................................................................................................... 11 1.1 Statement of the Problem .......................................................................... 16 1.2. Purpose of this study ................................................................................ 19 1.3. Specific Objectives ................................................................................... 19 1.4. Research Questions .................................................................................. 19 1.5. Study Area ................................................................................................ 20 1.6. Why Kenya? .............................................................................................. 23 1.7. Roles and Responsibilities of Partner Institutions ................................... 24 1.8. Risks and Ethical Considerations/Measures to Mitigate Risks ................ 26 1.9. Definition of Key Terms ........................................................................... 27 1.10. Research Methodology ........................................................................... 30 1.11. Theoretical Foundations ........................................................................ 35 1.12. Ethical Considerations ........................................................................... 38 2. Historical development of Terrorism in Kenya-The Rise of Alshabab .... 41 2.1 Terror Attacks till Today ........................................................................... 42 2.2. New Trends: Home-grown Radicalization. .............................................. 56 3. Drivers of VE in Kenya: Factors that Predispose Youth, Male and Female to Engage in Violent Extremism in Kenya ...................................................... 60 3.1 Emerging Issues from the Drivers of Violent Extremism .................... 102 4. Global, Regional and National Progress towards P/CVE .......................... 118 4.1. IGAD and P/CVE Action ..................................................................... 123 4.2. Kenya and P/CVE: .............................................................................. 131 5. Interventions by State and Non-State Actors to Engage and Empower Youth in P/CVE in Kenya: ............................................................................... 144 5.1. State actors/the government of Kenya ...................................................... 144 5.2. Non-State Interventions ............................................................................ 156 6. What has worked, not worked and why? .................................................... 160 6.1. What has worked? ............................................................................... 160 6.2. What has not worked and why? ........................................................... 162 7. Conclusions .................................................................................................... 168 8. Recommendations: Youth-Inclusive Mechanisms in P/CVE .................... 170 8.1. Ensure the Use of a Multi-level Engagement ........................................... 170 8.2 View and Engage Youth and Youth-led Organizations as Critical Trustworthy Beneficiaries, Partners and Leaders in a more Systematic Way 171 8.3. Prioritize, Fund and Invest in Formal and Informal Youth-led Multi- stakeholder Partnerships ................................................................................. 173 8.4. Recognize and Address the Implementation of the Human-Rights Approach to P/CVE .......................................................................................................... 175 8.5. Drive Forward and Ensure the Use a multi-stakeholder, multi-pronged and multi-layered approach in P/CVE for Drivers of Radicalization and violent extremism ........................................................................................................ 176 8.6. Adopting and Integrate a Soft-Power Approach to P/CVE ...................... 177 8.7. Gender equality and empowering women. ............................................... 183 8.8. Measuring the Youth-Inclusive Mechanisms in P/CVE ............................ 183 8.9. Building Community Resilience to Youth Radicalization and VE ............ 184 About the IDRC The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) supports research in developing countries to advance knowledge and solve practical development problems. IDRC supports knowledge, innovation, and solutions that help build more prosperous, just and resilient societies, promote economic growth, strong governance, foster sound public policies and drive large-scale positive change. IDRC’s work is aligned with global and continental frameworks including the attainment of sustainable development Goals, the 2030 Agenda, and achievement of the African Union Agenda 2063. IDRC‘S Governance and Justice Programme The Governance and Justice program is part of IDRC’s Inclusive Economies program area which supports knowledge, innovation, and solutions that help build more prosperous, just and resilient societies, by focusing on economic growth, sound governance and public policies, and quality and accountability. The Governance and Justice Programme supports research and processes that address stronger and more inclusive mechanisms of governance and justice, contributing to the development of safer spaces, free from violent conflict and insecurity. Such research support enables the creation of conditions where vulnerable groups, particularly women and girls, can empower themselves to prevent and overcome gender violence. A core and cross-cutting theme in the Governance and Justice Programme is focused on improving access to effective and responsive justice for populations facing vulnerability. The GJ Programme recognizes that more broadly, in many parts of the world, public institutions often fail to reach the poor and vulnerable or have distorting effects, which undermine government decision-making, human rights, the rule of law and fuel inequality, impunity, crime, and conflict. The GJ programme also recognizes that violent conflict has emerged as a central obstacle to development, whether in terms of building social, cultural or economic prosperity of societies. For the 1.5 billion people currently living in communities affected by repeated cycles of violence and conflict the impact of insecurity for poor and vulnerable populations is far ranging: from sexual violence against women, to outbreaks of political and inter-community violence, and fear and violence that often permeates the slums of rapidly growing cities. This insecurity is particularly devastating for women, youth and other vulnerable groups who tend to have less access to the resources needed to protect themselves, including political influence, economic opportunities and access to justice. GJ Programme’s Africa Youth Cohort It is against this background that IDRC’S Governance and Justice Programme has, over the years, built a portfolio of research focused on youth. IDRC’s Governance 2 Youth-Inclusive Mechanisms for PCVE in the IGAD Region: A Case Study of Kenya and Justice Programme has been targeting young people for the past 5 years through some projects that focus on the following themes: i) Violence prevention; ii) Urban security; iii) Gender based violence; iv) Promoting citizen engagement; and v) Leadership Development and Capacity Strengthening. However, a more dedicated focus on youth issues emerged in 2016 with the development of a Research Support Project (RSP) titled, “Engaging Youth to Build Resilient Societies,” in addition to the development of specific projects within the thematic area of youth issues in Africa, Latin America and Asia. For example, in Africa, the project, “Understanding and addressing Youth exposition to violence, exclusion and injustice in Africa;” was developed and it has benefitted 15 research teams from East, West, Southern and North Africa (with a remaining research project idea to be finalised in Q4 of 2019 at the time of writing). In other regions, namely