Kenya’s anti-terrorism police have arrested a university student who was travelling to Libya to join terror group ISIS through Sudan.
The student according to police, had used part of his school fees to buy his ticket.
He had just completed his first year studying biochemistry at the University of Nairobi.
He was under police watch and was arrested as he left for the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Investigations have revealed that the student was lured into joining the terror group by an online recruiter who promised him a high paying job.
His plans date back to 2015, when he started engaging his recruiters, who are believed to be collaborating with locals.
Police have intensified investigations in a bid to unearth the syndicate believed to be luring Kenyan students into joining terror groups on the promise of a “good life.”
There has been an upsurge of university students dropping out to join extremist groups in Libya and the Middle East.
Two students from the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University disappeared from their homes in the South C Estate, Nairobi early last year.
The students later called their relatives, “asking them not to worry since they are in Syria.”
Also on the list of students is a former University of Nairobi Law student and a banker who led Al-Shabaab militants in killing 148 people at Garissa University College last year.
Mohammed Abdirahim Abdullahi was among four terrorists who were killed by the police during the attack.
The government has embarked on a major de-radicalisation programme and urged dozens of youths who had joined the terror group to surrender.
An amnesty on youths who have joined terror groups is also in place.
Kenya has seen increased efforts towards fighting terror following a series of attacks that claimed hundreds of lives, the recent one being the attack on the Kenya Defence Forces in Somalia.
The government in collaboration with other stakeholders has developed a National Counter Violent Extremism policy, to be used with other laws in the war against terror.
Parents have also been asked to take keen interest of their children more so on their online activities.
Tens of Kenyans students are believed to have joined various terror groups in the continent and various parts of the world.
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Source: Capitalnews