A Coastal regional conference on preventing and countering violent extremism has called for coordinated and speedy implementation of the already developed County Specific Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Plans of Action in order to win the fight against radicalization and violent extremism in Kenya.
The conference themed “Beyond Bold and Inclusive Conversations: Building Shared Solutions for Preventing Violent Extremism” comes against a backdrop of grave threats of incidences of violent extremism and terror attacks in Counties bordering the Somalia border.
Over the years, Mombasa and other Coastal Counties such as Kwale, Kilifi and Lamu have borne the brunt of the vicious wave of radicalization that often degenerates into violent extremist attacks that have greatly affected the once gem of tourism in Kenya. Local economies have also been shuttered and livelihoods lost.
The two-day conference organized by Human Rights Agenda through the Strengthening Community Resilience against Extremism (SCORE), a USAID funded activity, seeks to establish appropriate mechanisms through which the National and County Governments can work closely with various actors including the Civil Society and communities to effectively respond to the threats posed by radicalization and or violent extremism.
Addressing participants during the official opening of the conference, H.E Hassan Joho, Governor, Mombasa County, noted that time was ripe for all and sundry to rise above the sectarian and ideological divide to effectively diffuse the growing challenge of terrorism in the country.
“The war against terrorism and violent extremism cannot be won by the National or County Governments alone. We need shared responsibility and strategies to effectively reboot this menace (violent extremism) once and for all”, said Joho.
Speaking during the conference, Anne Nyabera, the Executive Director, Act! called for unity of purpose among CVE actors and governments to develop and implement innovative approaches that will effectively help deal with threats posed by violent extremism and other underlying conflicts. She lauded the conference organizers for infusing a special theme on women in preventing and countering violent extremism who in the past fora had been sidelined. She also noted that women should not just be seen as victims of violent extremism but also active participants in extremism.
Acknowledging the efforts expended towards addressing the threats of violent extremism, Amb. Martin Kimani, the Director of National Counter Terrorism Center and Special envoy on CVE, noted the sporadic terror attacks and the changing landscape of violent extremism as the most pressing security problem of our time. He added that the government was in the process of retooling its approach in countering violent extremism by making it more measurable, subject to independent evaluation and County focused in order to inform strategies and policies that will adequately respond to violent extremism ideologies.
Participants called on the National and County governments to sustain a robust conversation with the various actors by ensuring sufficient funds are committed in the implementation of the National CVE Strategy and County CVE Action Plans.
Act! in its role as a capacity development organization, is committed to strengthening the capacity of both the national and county governments, civil society and other stakeholders in a joint effort to mitigate conflicts and violent extremism.
The conference was made possible with support from the USAID and UN Women in Kenya and attended by stakeholders in the CVE sectors including government officials, academicians, security experts, civil society and development partners.
