On 1-4 October 2019, IOM Kenya in collaboration with the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), and the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government (MOI-CNG) provided technical and logistical support for the training of the members of the County Security Committees (CSICs) drawn from 23 Counties across the country.

The 73 participants (65 male and 8 female) were trained on community policing and prevention of violent extremism (P/CVE). All county security committee members in all the 47 Counties have now undergone this training and prepared them to develop and implement their respective County Action Plans (CAPs) on P/CVE. The training was conducted with support from the Japan-funded project on Comprehensive Community Stabilization in the Kenya Coast and Key Border Points.

Topics covered include Community Policing, national security and interest, community policing, radicalization and violent extremism, responses to violent extremism, the National Strategy to Counter Violent Extremism and the County Action Plans. Community policing in Kenya particularly the Kenya Nyumba Kumi model was discussed extensively and the critical role it plays in relation to prevention of violent extremism.

“If Nyumba Kumi is fully embraced and implemented, a greater proportion of the challenges witnessed today could be resolved at the community level,” said Dr. Leleruk, Commissioner of Police in charge of Community Policing and Peace Programmes in the Administration Police Service.

In addition, the participants gained extensive understanding of P/CVE and skills necessary to develop and implement County Action Plans (CAPs) on P/CVE, how to use various tools, and review of plans and their progress. CAPs are part of the operationalization of the National Strategy to Counter Violent Extremism (NSCVE) at the Counties in order to address issues specific to the County and customizes the National Strategy CVE to the local situation.

Various stakeholders present emphasized the importance of working collaboratively and the critical role of cooperation among relevant stakeholders and partnership building with non-state actors including civil society organizations, faith-based organizations, bilateral and International Organizations as well as the communities who are the principal stakeholders.

The critical role and need for partnerships were underscored. “No agency has the capacity to deal with this issue alone and hence the need for multi-agency approach as well as embracing other actors external to the mainstream security agencies including civil society, churches private sector and the communities who are the principal beneficiaries,” cited Mr. Njenga Miiri, NCTC Head of Prevention and Resilience.

Mr. John Njoroge, IOM Kenya National External Relations Officer, gave an in-depth presentation on IOM including its mandate, partnerships with the Government of Kenya through various Ministries, Departments and Agencies such as the NCTC, UN Agencies and NGOs. He also highlighted IOM’s lead role on the Global Compact on Migration (GCM), border management, community policing and counter-trafficking. “IOM looks forward to working closely with all Government and non-state actors to address migration related challenges,” he added.

This collaborative undertaking is IOM’s direct contribution to the Kenya UNDAF 2018-2022 Political Pillar I outcome on peace and security which is aligned with UN SDGs and Medium Term Plan III 2018-2022 in achieving the Big Four and Kenya Vision 2030.

For further information, please contact the IOM Kenya Public Information team: iomkenyaPI@iom.int. ©IOM 2019. All rights reserved.