Youth in conflict in the Horn of Africa: A comparative analysis of mungiki in Kenya and Al-shabaab in Somalia

Abstract

Youth constitute the largest percentage of the total world population and are considered core to the development of society. However, even with the large numbers, researches on youth in Africa tend to be skewed on employment and labour distribution, education and human development. Outside these formalized sectors, youth are studied as the most controversial group based on their behavior and seemingly misplaced roles. The place of youth in conflict in Africa is thus unexplored as available research focuses more on child soldiers in relation to recruitment, effects of conflicts, disarmament and reintegration. Beyond this, youth in conflict are studied in relation to violence and delinquency particularly in the United States of America and Europe and hardly in Africa. This is despite the growing involvement of youths in conflict as militias, rebels, vigilante groups as well as victims. This article explores the place of youths in conflict of post-colonial Africa where their role has increasingly grown. As a comparative analysis, it uses the case study of Al-shabaab in Somalia and Mungiki in Kenya Key words: Youth, Mungiki, Al-Shabaab, Kenya, Somalia.