Somalia's Al Shabaab targeting Mwingi residents in recruitment drive

MWINGI, KENYA: Mwingi security chiefs have put the local residents on high alert following intelligence reports that the Al Shabaab group is recruiting local youths to join their camp.

Mwingi Deputy OCPD Leonard Baini and Mwingi Central AP commander Ali Hussein on Saturday said that the Al Shabaab group had infiltrated Mwingi region and its environs with the sole aim of recruiting young people to join the militant group.

Speaking on Saturday during Madaraka day Celebrations, the security bosses warned that the militant group was targeting towns in close proximity with the northern frontier to recruit new members.

They said Mwingi, which is a two hours drive from Garissa Town was a key target for Al Shabaab recruitment drive, adding that it faced the threat of terror attacks. They called on the residents to be vigilant and report any suspected members of the group.

Mr Baini warned parents to be concerned when their children adopt other names and change their lifestyles, saying those were tell-tale signs of joining the terrorist group which is targeting jobless youths.

“The Al Shabaan threat is real in Mwingi town and its environs. You should be concerned when local youths adopt Muslims names and change their lifestyles because they might be candidates for Al Shabaab recruitment. They could be living amongst you but you need to expose them,” Baini said.

After the defeat of the terrorist group in Somalia by the Kenya Defence Forces, its members are said to be now desperate for new members to strengthen their forces, the security chiefs warned.

“They are desperate to continue with their heinous acts of terrorism and they will stop at nothing to achieve their goal. These include recruiting locals,” the AP commander said. He called on the locals to be vigilant and work closely with the police to eliminate any suspected members of the group.

Mr Baini and Hussein said police would intensify searches on the buses traveling from the Northern frontier to Nairobi which they noted carry aliens who might end up bringing illegal weapons in the country.

Mwingi police have in the recent past netted illegal aliens in Nairobi bound buses from the Northern Kenyan through Garisa - Mwingi - Nairobi highway, majority of whom have been ordered be taken to Daadab refugee camp by local courts.

Meanwhile MP Mutambu called on the Kamba community to support the Jubilee Government of President Uhuru Kenyatta saying the community cannot afford to alienate itself from the government of the day by opposing it.