From 22 to 26 July 2019, the Mozambican delegation visited Nairobi and the Coast Region as part of the technical assistance to an IOM Member State developing a comprehensive response to the effects of violent extremism. The delegation was led by the Province of Cabo Delgado’s Provincial Permanent Secretary, Mr. António Domingos Mapure, with Mr Diamantino Mateus Momade Abudala, Advisor to the provincial governor for Social Area, Governance and Public Administration; Ms Nice Leonor Diogo Correia, Provincial Director of Economy and Finance; and, Mr Alvaro Floriano Goncalves Junior, Provincial Director of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs. The delegation also met with H.E Lidiba Constantino Lidimba, Mozambique High Commissioner to Kenya.

The government of Mozambique sought IOM’s assistance and the IOM Mozambique office arranged the visit to Kenya given the good practices from the government-led response to violent extremism and the partnership with IOM Kenya for the Programme for Human Security and Stabilization (PHSS). Mr Mapure shared that Mozambique’s experience with violent extremism has resulted in the displacement of about 50,000 individuals since the 2017 attacks. Foreign fighters from various countries have been associated with extremist attacks and some have been detained and still completing judicial processes. They want to learn from Kenya’s long experience and see how can they go beyond humanitarian assistance for their communities especially involving the youth.

IOM Kenya Acting Chief of Mission, Mr Ferdinand Paredes gave the historical evolution of the partnership with the Government of Kenya, from 2014 (starting with the in-depth profiling of 185 amnestied returnees) and the formalization of the partnership with the Office of the President through the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) in 2017. Mr Paredes cited the critical leadership and ownership of the Kenya government in making the PHSS successful as well as IOM’s holistic approaches involving reintegration for individual returnees and revitalization of affected communities matched with capacity building on county action planning, border security management, and information, counselling and referral services (ICRS) to other government and private sector partners.

The Mozambican delegation had the opportunity to engage the office of the Kenya Deputy Inspector General for the Administration Police Service of the National Police Service, represented by Mr Noor Gabow and Dr Mark Leruk. Their discussions focused on the importance of community policing, local peace and conflict management including sensitizations on human trafficking and confidence building among crossborder communities and security agencies.

The delegation’s visit to the Coast Region particularly the PHSS sites resulted in learning about Mombasa county action plan on prevention of violent extremism. They engaged the following key Mombasa government and Coast Region counterparts: Mr. John Elungata, Regional Coordinator; Mr. Charles Muendo, Assistant Director of Immigration and members of the Regional Security Committees. Mr Elungata welcomed the delegation with, “We are happy to see people from Mozambique, this time not our Makonde brothers and sisters who have become our 43rd tribe in Kenya. We share the Indian Ocean. What happens in Kenya may also happen in Mozambique. Some Kenyans have been recruited
to extremism and attacked inside Kenya using religion as a cover”.

The delegation also visited the community project on upgrading of the Bongwe Secondary School and Jitoni Resource Center and interacted with PHSS beneficiaries from Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi. They also engaged with individual beneficiaries, small business operators and youth leaders from the counties of Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi. The Mozambican officials mentioned the potential for a follow-up exchange with youth leaders and the critical role of community processes for their own programming needs

The IOM Mombasa sub-office (specifically Ms Yoko Fujimura, Mr Sam Cobrado, Mr Bova Nyambu, Ms Mary Mwangi, Ms Hurriet Kabibi and Ms Jacinta Muruanjama) provided field and logistical support to the Mozambique delegation throughout the Coast field visits.

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