State Launches Strategy Against Violent Extremism

The Government has adopted a new comprehensive national strategy against violent extremism and terrorism.Through the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), the government is reviewing the national strategy in order to address new and emerging trends in the digital space and the changing population demographics.An official from NCTC Gatama Ndiritu, while speaking during the Kakamega County Engagement Forum (CEF) noted that terrorist groups exploit the Internet and social media not only to commit terrorist acts, but also to facilitate a wide range of terrorist activities, including incitement, radicalization, recruitment and training, planning.'From 2016, terrorists have been moving from face-to-face contact to online space and even the population demographics have changed,' he said.He said the NCTC strategy to counter violent extremism is being implemented by various government agencies through County Action Plans (CAP) and County Engagement Forums (CEF) across the 47 counties.'Successes have been recorded, with a reduced number of young people being recruited into terrorism and this has been enhanced by communities becoming hostile to radicalisation,' Ndiritu added.Ndiritu said the level of patriotism among Kenyans has markedly gone up, showing resilience by the people to tackle the vice.Source: Kenya News Agency