Poverty blamed for parents pushing children into crime

Mama Shamsa Abubakar in Likoni, Mombasa/BRIAN OTIENO

Shamsa Abubakar, popularly known as Mama Shamsa, has been taking into her wings juvenile misfits who are in danger of being killed either by mob or police. On Wednesday, she said parents have failed in their parenting role, giving their children too much freedom.

“In most cases, there is poor relationship between the children and the parents, which leads to the children developing poor relationships between themselves and the community at large,” Shamsa said.

The award-winning peace mediator and community mobiliser said some parents unwittingly encourage their wayward children to commit crime, saying they have to fend for the family.

She won the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity 2023

“Normally, when you ask a wayward child what ails them, they will not tell you. But when you devise ways like asking them to come up with skits, you will learn a lot,” Shamsa said.

“A parent tells their child, ‘Son, I have not eaten for a long time. How come?’ The child gets the message and feels they have the blessings of their parent, so they go out and harm others just to bring home food.”

The peace crusader said police would then come for the wayward child and leave the parent.

She said employment opportunities are also distributed in a skewed manner, leaving some young people frustrated.

“In the same skits, we have learned that some of the youth snatch phones because they have lost hope and have no role models,” she said.

Early pregnancies and high rates of divorce also contribute to this sense of hopelessness that lead youth into crime. She said when a man divorces the wife, he tends to also ‘divorce’ his children and in most cases, wants nothing to do with them.

“These children feel abandoned by not only the father but also the entire world and develops bitterness towards anyone who looks like they are succeeding,” Shamsa said.

Some parents, who feel defeated in their parenting roles, leave their children in the care of others who might not take good care of them.

“We have programmes to bring back good parenting skills to parents in Likoni,” she said.

The National Steering Committee on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management, in which Shamsa is a member, has mapped out all high insecurity areas in the country and has a programme that will see them visit all of them to preach peace.

Areas like Kwale county and Likoni subcounty, especially in Ngomeni at the border of Kwale and Mombasa counties, have crime spillage because of proximity and similarity in challenges.

They have started with Likoni subcounty, where the committee has visited Mtongwe, Shika Adabu, Timbwani, Bofu and Likoni wards.

Steering committee secretary Mohamed Barre said they have developed the soft approach to fighting crime by speaking to the youth.

“It is much cheaper and more peaceful. If you talk to these delinquents, they feel a sense of love and belonging and are more receptive than when you use force on them,” he said.

Through this soft approach, several juvenile gang members have reformed and are now preaching peace to their former colleagues, Barre said.

He asked for a second chance from society for those who have reformed, saying it is the love shown to them that will help them stay focused and straight.

Barre said although lack of employment is one of the factors leading to crime, it should not always be the case.

“If you lack employment, why don’t you carry a Quran or a Bible and start preaching in churches and mosques instead of carrying a panga?” he posed.

“The solution is not to carry a panga, hack someone, or harm anyone. The solution is seeking help through dialogue.” Barre said

Kenya Commercial Bank has offered to take the reformed former gang members for vocational training in a move aimed at helping reduce crime in Likoni, Mombasa and the Coast at large. Already, 40 reformed former gang members are in line to benefit from the KCB deal.

SA, one of the reformed youth, said he got a second chance at life, and he decided to grab it with both hands. He said he had tried looking for any kind of job, including at construction sites but even there, he claims, opportunities are given based on who knows you.

“I hope to be an example to some of my former colleagues and show them that we need to be close to the government and not run away from it,” SA said.

He said ever since he made the conscious decision to quit his former life of crime, life has been more peaceful.