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Youth radicalization by Al Shabaab ought to be treated with extra caution



If the recent revelations by police investigations on recruitment of university students in Kenya to terror group Al Shabaab are true, then the government should move with speed to stop radicalization.
Reports by police indicate that the University of Nairobi (UoN), Kenyatta University (KU), Moi University and Mount Kenya University have become Al Shabaab feeder institutions and some students are on the terror group’s payroll.  11 UoN students are believed to be Al Shabaab ‘employees’, something that is a time tickling bomb and must be treated with extra caution. The police must act fast on The National Intelligence Service (NIS) tip offs and arrest the suspected recruits before they execute an attack on innocent Kenyans.

 Radicalization of the youth by Al Shabaab has become a more complex phenomena and many Kenyans continue to wonder why the militia group is reported to be recruiting bright students with promising careers from universities and secondary schools. A few months ago, a former UoN Law student Abdirahim Mohamed Abdulahi was part of the group that orchestrated one of the worst terrorist attacks Kenya has ever witnessed- at the Garissa University College (GUC) where at least 148 students lost their lives.
Elgon B hostel at Garissa University College that housed most of the victims of  the
terror attack early this year. At least 148 students lost their lives

 Last month, police arrested a form three student at Mukumu Boys High School in Kakamega County after he confessed to be a member of Al Shabaab. The student, Francis Mulumba, revealed that there are three other students in the school who are members of the militia group and that they threatened to kill him if he reports them to the authorities. 
The student further revealed that he was recruited by Al Shabaab while he was a student at Jamuhuri High School in Nairobi before he joined Mukumu Boys.

 It is crystal clear that the terror group is targeting intelligent youth who they train to execute terrorist attacks against innocent people. It is believed that Al Qaeda, a world terrorist group recruits youth who have good knowledge of Physics and Chemistry- which aids them in assembling ammunitions and chemical components of explosives used during attacks.

 So, why students? Methinks terror groups target the youth who are desperate to make money quickly, in a country where youth unemployment is an issue that has not been addressed by the government for decades. Students in college will definitely find salaries or wages from the terror group more lucrative than the little hustles they engage in to make lesser amounts of money- or loans from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) which they have always complained about- delays of funds disbursement to their accounts and the loans being meagre - looking at the current high cost of living, especially in the towns and cities where the tertiary institutions of learning are based. Addressing youth unemployment will be a big step towards curbing youth radicalization by terror groups- actually it should be the first step the government should take.

 Even though security starts with individuals in a county by informing authorities of any terrorist attack plans, recruitment of citizens by Al Shabaab or any other militia group, the NIS and police should also up their game as far as collecting and acting on intelligence respectively is concerned. Laxity on the part of these two security agencies can lead to great disasters in the future if not well addressed by the government.

It is also important for students in universities and other learning institutions to inform the police of any mischievous plans by fellow students to launch attacks anywhere within the country. If we all remain vigilant and report radicalization incidences to the police we will win the war on terror. 

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