By Mary Wambui âą December 7, 2024
Interior Permanent Secretary Raymond Omollo speaks on December 4, 2024, during a press briefing on security preparedness ahead of the festive season. (Photo: MINA)
Over 5,000 respondents to a state study on underlying factors contributing to crime incidents in Kenya listed unemployment as the leading vulnerability, leading many Kenyans to crime.
Focused group discussions held in 11 counties pointed out unemployment as one of the leading causes of crime in Nyeri, Makueni, Garissa, Uasin Gishu, Embu, Kakamega, Nakuru, Kisumu, Nyamira, Mombasa, and Nairobi, according to the report by the National Crime Research Centre (NCRC) released in December last year.
It recommended strengthening economic empowerment programmes targeting the vulnerable members of society, a recommendation that has been implemented this year with the widely criticised Labour Mobility Initiative, which is connecting unemployed Kenyans with jobs abroad.
The initiative further seeks to mitigate against youth being vulnerable to negative social pursuits such as being lured into organised criminal gangs and other violent extremist groups.
This will add to the already growing number of Kenyans working overseas, currently standing at four million and distributed across the United States, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Seychelles.
While the initiative will help bridge the unemployment gap, the National Security Report tabled before parliament by President William Ruto during the State of the Nation address shows more still needs to be done.
Youth uprising
With the ongoing wave of youth uprising in the region including in Kenya as witnessed during the Gen Z protests in June, multiple reports have warned that unemployment is a ticking time bomb that if not addressed will lead to further revolt.
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