Kenya Shuts Radical Islamic Schools, 30 Students Arrested

Kenya has begun a clampdown on Islamic schools teaching teaching radical ideologies to its students, as part of efforts to combat terrorism.

The Director of the Criminal Investigations Department, Ndegwa Muhoro, told AFP that the agency is closing the schools, called madrassa, because they teach Jihadism and radicalism, reports.

"We are targeting religious schools that teach Jihadism, and those that have been recruiting youth for radicalisation," Muhoro said.

Already, one madrassa has been closed down in in Machakos, a town 60 kilometres southeast of Nairobi.

"We have already ordered a madrassa in Machakos to be closed, and we are monitoring others around the country."

Kenya's Interior Ministry spokesperson, Mwenda Njoka said the clampdown is not targeting Muslims but madrassa which are allegedly being used to radicalize youths for Islamic terrorist groups.

"We are not targeting the Muslim community as this has been an ongoing operation," Njoka said.

"We keep track of those religious schools and we have information that they are teaching radical doctrines to the youth. We are not closing down mosques."

At the madrassa in Machakos, 30 youth were arrested on suspicion of being recruited to join Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked al Shabab rebels.

It will be recalled that 67 people were killed in last year's attack by al Shabab militants on Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall.