Cattle rustling/raids has been a challenge to security agencies and rural Kenya, particularly North Rift, which has become synonymous to the issue. The objective of this study is to examine availability of guns both legally and illegally and insecurity in cattle prone regions of North Rift. Based on Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, the study argues that when the youth increasingly become militarized through acquisition of gun knowledge, it will entice them to acquire more knowledge leading to violent behaviour. North Rift was purposively selected owing to the fact that the government has given attention due to the scale of insecurity caused by cattle rustling. The findings reveal residents aren’t comfortable with guns in the region although National Police Reservist (NPR) has contributed to the decline in frequency of cattle raids. In conclusion, availability of guns in the regions has increased level of youth being socialized into gun culture leading to militarization of the communities.

Abstract: Kenya has been a victim and remains a vulnerable target due to its location, stand and support to international institutions and countries opposed to their illicit operations. In the past, the country has borne the dreadful pain meted by the regional perpetrators, the Al Shabab and still remains susceptible. In particular, Northeastern and Coastal Counties including Lamu County have witnessed several terrorist attacks and attempts since 2011. These attacks have notably targeted schools, pupils, teachers, host communities, the local communication and transport systems. This study sought to investigate the influence of terrorism-related insecurity on pupils’ participation in Lamu West Sub-county. The study was guided by a research question on how the terrorism related insecurity psychosocial wellbeing of pupils affect their school participation. The study adopted the mixed methodology with a concurrent triangulation approach, targeting 25,420 school stakeholders in Lamu west subcounty. With a sample of 381 and clustering the schools into regions, five headteachers were selected using simple random sampling method. The research instruments and approaches of data collection were questionnaires, focus group discussions, interview schedules and observation checklist for learners. Validation of research instruments was done through discussions with relevant experts while reliability was assessed by applying split-half method and Cronbach’s Alpha method. The study found that the extent of the pupils’ psychosocial wellbeing affected was measured using different indicators which depict varied levels of influence. The study showed that 7.3% of the variations in pupils’ participation were attributed to psychosocial wellbeing arising from terrorism related insecurity.