This archive report was first published on 14 December 2019.
On December 14, 2019, the government successfully disrupted a youth radicalisation network in Siaya County, rescuing five teenagers who were being smuggled into Somalia to join the Al-Shabaab terror group.
According to County Commissioner Michael ole Tialal, the recruitment cell was formed one year ago and had been attempting to smuggle the five youths, all from Nyadorera, into Somalia. However, they were intercepted at Oyugis market in Homa Bay County.
‘We used our intelligence information to scuttle their plans through government machinery and blocked them from leaving the country,’ Tialal said.
The five rescued teenagers are now under police surveillance and are among the youths set to benefit from a Sh19 million youth and women empowerment programme for Kisumu and Siaya counties, funded by the European Union through the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) and Lake Basin Development Authority.
Two other individuals, including a self-styled Muslim preacher, are being closely monitored by the government's security agencies for their alleged involvement in the radicalisation network. One of the suspects is based in Busia town, while the other operates from Nyadorera market on the border of Siaya and Busia counties.
