Chief of Defence Forces General Samson Mwathethe said the Somali-based Islamist group has lost its appeal to the youths and is now using force to recruit them.
He, however, said that the country is still facing threats and urged parents and communities to remain vigilant. “Terror groups like Al Shaabab have changed their tactics of recruiting and training people. Apart from the normal process of radicalising the youth, the groups have now shifted to actually forcing the youths to join them,” said
Mwathethe when he visited his rural home in Jila Ganze, Kwale County. In May, an Islamist militant who surrendered to the government in Kwale after he renounced Al Shabaab in February this year was shot dead in Shamu village.
Police said Subira Sudi Mwangole, who surrendered to Kenyan authorities at Matuga School of Government, was executed by Al Shabaab agents, apparently for ditching the group last year.