Beyond the Badge: How Dialogue Is Rebuilding Trust in Kenya’s Terrorism-Hit Counties.
For years, many residents of Kenya’s Coast and North Eastern regions lived between two fears.
On one side were the constant threats posed by violent extremist groups seeking to exploit poverty, marginalisation and religious divisions. On the other was growing mistrust of the very security agencies mandated to protect them, with communities often accusing state officers of heavy-handed operations, religious profiling and human rights violations.
In many villages, reporting suspicious activity to the police was almost unthinkable. Young Muslims feared being stereotyped. Women hesitated to seek help from security officers. Religious leaders struggled to bridge widening divisions as extremist groups manipulated faith to recruit vulnerable youth.
Today, that narrative is beginning to change.
Speaking during a national stakeholders’ forum held in Nairobi on Thursday, Kenya Community Support Centre (KECOSCE) Executive Director *Phyllis Muema said sustained dialogue between communities and state institutions is gradually restoring confidence in regions that have experienced years of insecurity and mistrust.
“My name is Phyllis Muema. I am the Executive Director of the Kenya Community Support Centre (KECOSCE),” she told participants as she reflected on the impact of a two-year programme implemented by a consortium comprising Search for Common Ground, Muhuri, Kesho Alliance and KECOSCE.
The initiative focused on protecting freedom of religion or belief while promoting human rights-based approaches to countering violent extremism.
“We work with communities to build their resilience to violence, but we also work very closely with state security agencies whose mandate is to protect citizens and ensure they receive dignified services,” Muema said.
For decades, counter-terrorism operations in parts of Coast and North Eastern Kenya have often left communities feeling isolated rather than protected. Muslims, in particular, have complained of being unfairly associated with terrorism simply because of their faith.
According to Muema, such perceptions created fertile ground for extremist groups like Al-Shabaab, which exploit feelings of exclusion and injustice to recruit young people.
“Many times terrorists manipulate religion by telling young people that their faith is under attack. That has become one of their biggest recruitment tools,” she said.
The programme therefore sought not only to strengthen security responses but also to change the conversation around terrorism itself.
One of its most significant achievements, Muema said, has been helping communities and security agencies reach a common understanding that terrorism has no religion.
“No religion supports terrorism,” she said. “Terrorists attack innocent citizens and seek to undermine the democracy that Kenya enjoys.”
The project also invested heavily in rebuilding relationships between religious leaders and government institutions.
In counties such as Lamu, Garissa and Tana River—where religion plays a central role in everyday life—community leaders and security officers participated in regular dialogue forums to better understand cultural and religious practices.
Rather than viewing religion as a security threat, officers were encouraged to recognise it as an important pillar of community cohesion and development.
The National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) was among the agencies involved, working closely with religious leaders to counter extremist interpretations of religious teachings and promote peaceful messaging.
Beyond terrorism, the programme tackled another longstanding source of frustration—human-wildlife conflict.
In Tana River County, where elephants and crocodiles have repeatedly destroyed livelihoods and claimed lives, affected families had waited nearly eight years for compensation.
Muema said the programme facilitated engagement with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), resulting in Sh179 million being allocated to compensate approximately **180 families* affected by human-wildlife conflict.
For residents who had almost given up hope, the compensation represented more than financial relief. It demonstrated that dialogue between citizens and public institutions can produce tangible results.
The initiative also partnered with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and the National Steering Committee on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management to strengthen accountability within policing.
While Muema acknowledged that public trust in the police remains low nationally, she said encouraging progress has been recorded at the local level.
Communities that once viewed police officers with suspicion are increasingly engaging them through dialogue forums, while women and young people have become more willing to report crime and security concerns.
“Policing is a service just like health and education,” she said. “Citizens pay for that service, and therefore accountability must always be maintained.”
She cautioned, however, that sustaining these gains will require continued commitment from both government and communities.
Security, she argued, cannot rely solely on force. It must also be built on trust, respect for constitutional freedoms and meaningful partnerships between citizens and the institutions established to protect them.
As the two-year programme comes to an end, its greatest legacy may not lie in policy documents or workshops, but in changing perceptions on both sides.
In communities that once saw uniforms as symbols of fear, there are signs that dialogue is replacing suspicion. And in a country still confronting the threat of violent extremism, that may prove to be one of the most powerful security tools of all.
