President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked African leaders to provide financial, administrative, and military backing for continuous progress in the war against terrorism.
He said the contributions will be channelled to the African Union’s Peace and Security Council so that it can carry its mandate effectively.
The Peace and Security Council is an organ of the AU for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflicts.
“The Kenya government continues to appeal to our brothers and sisters on the continent to also collectively address the root cause and development of violent extremism,” Uhuru said.
He was addressing leaders who attended the council meeting at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Saturday.
The president hailed Kenya’s progress in the war on al Shabaab, both at the national and regional level, but warned that more needs to be done to deal with the extremist groups.
He said Kenya alongside Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Burundi have contributed to peace, security, and stabilisation in Somalia through the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM).
Uhuru also told the leaders that Kenya, by establishing a National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), has seen more territories once occupied by al Shabaab recovered.
“Other measures include rehabilitation programmes and initiatives that enhance de-radicalisation processes,” he said.
He said this has been successful through “granting amnesty for all returnees from Somalia who wish to abandon criminal affiliations to rejoin the society.”
“We have also facilitated humanitarian relief by securing the main supply routes to enable safe delivery of rations to most of the affected populations,” the president said.
He underscored the importance of stronger ties with both regional and international partners for training on emerging counter-violent extremism concepts and practices.