The topic of violent extremism has been treated as a taboo in Mombasa for a long time. This is due to fears of those being vocal being victimized. Communities even shunned from engaging each other thus these created a lot of stereotypes that threatened to break the fabric of society. When the topic of violent extremism was introduced even by the government, the community felt that they were being accused.  

Due to this kind of behavior, CICC Trust through the ESCAPE project decided to extend discussions from the clerics to the communities. The Gumzo Mtaani Forums (grassroots dialogues) were rolled out in Nyali, Mvita and Likoni with the focus being to ensure that communities understand the challenge of violent extremism and why it is important to be involved to prevent its spread. CICC Trust thus began by having grassroots dialogue in which communities were sensitized on PVE but first the discussions began by inquiring from participants some of the challenges Mombasa has faced. It is at this juncture that Violent Extremism was cited thus giving the facilitators a good entry point to explore the topic.

Community members spoke plainly about the problem including some of the drivers. The discussions were very open. It was good to note how communities even cited recent examples of individuals being radicalized. This was a clear indication that communities have learned that speaking about challenges is the way of solving. And also

Gumzo Mtaani became the platform to not only advance honest discussions but also put community leaders to task. Communities demanded for action on some issues raised for example attacks on school going children which they felt will increase school dropouts. They felt this will in return create available recruits for extremists. The community noted that it is paramount to cover every loophole that extremists might use, and this has to begin from the family level. The honest discussions made it much easier for the CEF to introduce the Mombasa County Action Plan and how the community members can play a key role in its implementation. 

CICC Trust is grateful to ACT! for supporting the Gumzo Mtaani; These became platforms for discussions and action; platforms that were also used to enable communities to critically look at their issues and envision how they wish their communities to be.