Nairobi: Government agencies, reformed youth and community leaders have converged in Mtopanga, Kisauni Sub-County, for a two-day consultative forum aimed at insulating Mombasa’s youth from political manipulation and violence ahead of the 2027 General Election.
According to Kenya News Agency, the forum, organised by the National Steering Committee on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management (NSC) under the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, brought together the Department of Youth, the Department of Education, National Government administrators, non-governmental organisations and dozens of young people, among them former gang members turned peace ambassadors.
Speaking during the forum, NSC Secretary Josephine Onunga said Kisauni and neighbouring Mvita were selected because of their history of insecurity, adding that youth idleness and unemployment remain major drivers pulling young people into conflict. ‘Fortunately or unfortunately, our youth are critically at the epicentre of this campaign period. Those who are idle and have no work to do can easily be abused to disrupt peace,’ said Onunga.
She urged the youth to embrace opportunities already opened up by the national government, including Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes, affordable housing, economic stimulus initiatives and special economic zones, saying formal secondary or university qualifications are no longer a barrier to enrolling for a trade. Onunga described the youth as the country’s greatest resource and cautioned against drug abuse, violence and manipulation by rogue networks.
She called on parents to maintain open communication with their children and on all stakeholders, including government, religious leaders, teachers and the youth themselves, to jointly guide young people away from harm. ‘Kisauni belongs to all of us. The youth are our strength, the future is yours, and peace is a responsibility we all share,’ Onunga said.
Mama Shamsa, former Vice Chair of the Independent Panel of Advisors, said Kisauni’s seven wards and expansive informal settlements make it particularly susceptible to unrest, but noted that grassroots structures, including village elders, Nyumba Kumi ambassadors and community policing units, had already mapped out hotspot areas and identified troublemakers. She appealed to journalists to help popularise messages of peace in their coverage, saying the media plays a decisive role in either safeguarding or undermining social cohesion.
‘Peace cannot be achieved without partnership and collaboration. You in the media are a push-and-pull factor for peace. If you want peace to prevail, you can make it happen,’ she said.
The forum also featured testimonies from reformed youth now working as community peace mentors. Among them was Said Mukhsin, a resident of Junda in Kisauni, who said he now uses theatre and social media outreach through his community-based organisation, Manyunyu CBO, to steer fellow youth away from the vices he once embraced. ‘Back then, I was one of the people who did not understand what peace meant. I have gone back to correct not only myself, but my community, my friends and my family,’ Mukhsin said.
