Authors: Isaiah Gechuki Ong’esa1 and Cliff Ooga Obwogi2
1&2National Defence University-Kenya
P.O. Box 24381-00502, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
Email: isaiahon@hotmail.com
Abstract
Kenya as a country has benefited from the multi-agency approach strategy to security operations promulgated in 2013 and formalized in 2015. This approach is anchored on a close collaboration of State and Non-State actors as a holistic approach towards the delivery of Government services. This paper delved into the approach as implemented in the pacification of Boni area in Lamu County. The approach was introduced to foster a close working relationship among Government security agencies and Community-Based Organisations through sharing of intelligence, conduct of patrols and surveillance to protect the locals from attacks and therefore secure national strategic interests. The researcher used the descriptive survey research design. This design was relevant in evaluating the successes and challenges of a multi-agency approach in combating violent extremism in Boni. This paper relies on both primary and secondary data. The target population included: the youth, religious leaders, Chiefs/sub-chiefs, KDF/Police officers and officers from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit and the National Counter terrorism Centre in Lamu County. Cochran’s formula for sample size determination was used to calculate the sample size of 115 respondents. Purposive sampling was used to identify key informants for interviews. Quantitative data was processed using SPSS while Qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The findings from this study are that 90% of the respondents expressed confidence that the multi-agency team will succeed in ridding Boni of VE. Generally, there is an observed decline in VE activities in Boni since the security agencies adopted the multi-agency approach to operations.
Keywords: Youth recruitment, De-radicalization programs, Counter-extremism strategies, Security challenges, Inter-agency collaboration, Terrorist networks, Community resilience, Extremist indoctrination
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Suggested Citation
Gechuki, I. O., & Obwogi , C.O. (2025). An Evaluation of Challenges and Successes of Multi-Agency Approach in Combating Violent Extremism in Boni, Kenya. African Research Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 12(3), 48-63.