Kibiego Kigen, new director for National Counter Terrorism Centre! The National Counter Terrorism Centre got a new director in changes announced. This follows the expiry of the term of Dr Rasalind Nyawira who has been the Director at NCTC.
A senior counter-terrorism at the National Intelligence Service Kibiego Kigen was named as the new changes made in September 2024.
Kigen is a counter-terrorism expert and many hope he will continue to champion the agenda of the NCTC.
Nyawira who was a former head of the Joint Counter-Terrorism Analysis Centre, Kenya had taken over in December 2020 from Dr Martin Kimani who was then named the permanent representative of Kenya’s mission to the United Nations (UN).
NCTC is marking 20 years since its inception and has lined up several activities to celebrate the two decades of existence.
NCTC is a national multi-agency body mandated by law to coordinate CT efforts in all of Government and lead de-radicalization efforts.
The NCTC is also the coordination centre for all bilateral and multilateral efforts aimed at countering and preventing violent extremism.
NCTC was established by the Prevention of Terrorism Act to coordinate national counter-terrorism measures that prevent, detect, deter and disrupt terrorist acts.
The among others blocks pathways to radicalization and recruitment into violent extremism by implementing activities in accordance with the National Strategy to Countering Violent Extremism and County Action Plans, training and other operations to prevent Kenyans from becoming terrorists.
NCTC coordinates the multi-agency policies, training and standards that are deployed to contain terrorism.
Further, the agency undertakes the review of targets vulnerable to terrorist attacks to upgrade their security.
It also undertakes outreach and training in incident response to mitigate the damage of a terrorist attack.
In his new role, Kigen will guide policy and legal framework on preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE), undertake research to identify vulnerable populations and create resilience amongst them, liaise with international players in identifying knowledge gaps and providing tailor-made solutions, exchange with foreign partners on good CVE practices and represent Kenya in international CT fora.
Insiders say he has wide experience formulating the National Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the National Strategy for Countering Violent Extremism.
The changes come at a time when the NCTC is in the process of reviewing its National Strategy to Counter Violent Extremism to address new emerging trends.
He told participants on reviewing the strategy young people from across the country have demonstrated and demanded a place at the decision-making table.
“They have demonstrated a unique ability to be able to positively influence the political and economic development of our country. Today, you have the rare privilege and opportunity to inform and frame how Kenya deals with the complex and dynamic threat of violent extremism,” he said.
The day-long validation exercise marked the final stage of the rigorous process that is part of daily continuous efforts aimed at keeping Kenyans safe.
“So far so good, ours is to focus on soft approaches, the security agencies are also doing their bit. The government has also done its bit. In the online domain, we are also pushing it (radicalization) back, and as we transition to the new strategy we have seen successes that we want to build on so that more successes can be sustained,” he said.
The 2016 strategy was premised on achieving two broad objectives; rallying all sectors of Kenya and driving the pool of radicalisation.
The objectives were actualized through pillars such as education, psychosocial, media and online, legal and policy, faith-based and ideological, security, political, training and capacity building, and arts and culture.
The center now says the threat landscape has shifted since the launch of the 2016 strategy and to stay ahead of the enemy, it is prudent that the strategy is reviewed to respond effectively to these dynamics.
“The new approach is premised on inclusivity and ensuring a secure, cohesive, resilient Kenya that rejects violent extremism,” NCTC said.
Its rallying points now are inclusivity and precision focus on women and youth.
