Research Note: Deception, Drugs, & Death: Interviews with Survivors of al-Shabaab’s Youth Recruitment Traps in Kenya

Abstract

The following paper consists of interviews with former members of Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (al-Shabaab), recruited in Kenya between 2008 and 2017. Their stories shed light on al-Shabaab’s compartmentalized network of recruiters in Kenya. These individuals are tasked with recruiting disadvantaged youth from Kenya, in order to supply al-Shabaab’s camps in Somalia with a steady stream of expendable soldiers. The similarities between interviews emphasizes al-Shabaab’s role as human traffickers, highlights the under researched connection between al-Shabaab and the illicit drug trade, and reiterates the fact that government corruption is a significant hinderance to future counter-terrorism efforts.