Uhuru launches County level counter-terror strategies to reduce threats

President Uhuru Kenyatta with H.E Antonio Gutterres after the opening session of the African Regional High-Level Conference on Counter-Terrorism and Prevention of Violent Extremism Conducive to Terrorism at the United Nations Complex, Gigiri, Nairobi.

Kenya has developed a counter-terrorism plan that involves counties stepping up vigilance against terrorists.

President Uhuru Kenyatta said fight against terrorism has been devolved through the development of county action plans to counter and prevent violent extremism.

The county action plans, tailored to the security needs of each of the 47 counties, are meant to bring together security sector actors covering enforcement agencies, administrators, civil society and citizens to prioritise collective counter-terrorism actions that are measurable and time-bound.

Speaking when he opened a counter-terrorism conference at the United Nations headquarters in Gigiri, Nairobi yesterday, President Kenyatta said measures to combat violent extremism will be complemented by a student safety and security mechanism developed by the Ministry of Education.

He said the mechanism will be rolled out in the next few months.

“It is our goal is to protect our children from multiple threats to their wellbeing that may make them vulnerable to radicalisation,” Uhuru said.

The African Regional High-Level Conference on Counter-Terrorism and Prevention of Violent Extremism Conducive to Terrorism was also addressed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and African Union (AU) chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.

The President said Kenya has built a robust prevention response underscored by the development of county action plans to counter and prevent violent extremism.

“This intervention is in addition to my administration’s broad-based enhancements with regard to quality and access to education as well as to employment and self-enterprise opportunities after education. In tandem, the two go a long way towards denying extremism a fertile ground within which it can take root,” Uhuru said.

He called on every country in Africa needs to develop and deploy strong disengagement, rehabilitation and reintegration capabilities.

“Over the last three years, Kenya has prioritised this area by implementing legal and policy tools in addition to working closely with local groups and civil society.  Already, we have seen positive results from our endeavours,” Uhuru said.

Some of the results, he revealed, include hundreds of individuals, many of them returning terrorist fighters, turning away from terrorism and leading the fight to rescue others trapped in throes of extremism.