By Staff Reporter
Women Rights Advocacy Initiatives (WORAI) has brought together security officials, women and community leaders in Wajir East to strengthen collaboration in preventing and countering violent extremism.
The structured dialogue focused on improving trust between state and non-state actors, strengthening early-warning reporting and increasing women’s participation in local security and community decision-making.
Held under the theme “Strengthening Trust & Collaboration Pathways,” the forum brought together security and county officials, female chiefs, police officers, religious leaders, Community Engagement Forum representatives, women, youth and minority groups.
The discussions culminated in a roadmap for stronger collaboration between security agencies and communities.
Deputy County Commissioner for Wajir East, George Onyango, said the government’s approach to security required the involvement of the whole society.
“Our approach as government is an all-society approach when it comes to security issues. Let us embrace teamwork to address security and related concerns.”
Onyango said the relationship between security agencies and the community remained important in addressing security concerns.
“We have very cordial relationship with the community and let’s continue with that spirit,” he said.
Wajir East Sub-County Police Commander Aliyow Ali said the county’s security situation had benefited from cooperation between law enforcement agencies and residents.
“Wajir is a safe place because of the good relationship between the security agencies and the community,” Aliyow said.
He thanked residents for supporting efforts to maintain security, while calling for stronger cooperation to address human trafficking.
“On the issue of human trafficking, police alone cannot fight it,” he said.
Aliyow said police had taken measures to intercept traffickers and illegal immigrants, but warned that enforcement efforts would remain limited without community support.
“Unless the community say enough is enough and cooperate fully with the security agencies, we will have a long way to stop the problem,” he said.
WORAI Project Officer Halan Mohamed said the forum was designed to clarify collaboration pathways between communities, security actors and Community Engagement Forum representatives.
“We have conducted a structured dialogue community forum with security actors and CEF,” Mohamed said.
She said the engagement brought together participants from Wajir East to strengthen trust and improve communication between communities and security agencies.
The forum was conducted under the Kenya Community Engagement and Resilience Programme (KCERP), funded by the European Union through the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) and implemented by ACT Change Transform (ACT!).
Mohamed said the expected outcomes included improved communication, joint problem-solving and stronger early-response coordination.
The forum comes amid continued efforts to strengthen community-based approaches to preventing violent extremism in Northeastern Kenya, where cooperation between residents and security agencies remains central to early intervention.
