NAIROBI — Yosuke Nagai, a Japanese national, leads the only foreign-funded deradicalization initiative still active in Somalia, focusing on the reintegration of Islamist militants amid a challenging security landscape. Nagai’s program, Accept International, began in 2011 with efforts to engage Somali students and address factors fueling the insurgency carried out by Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda-linked group.

By 2013, Nagai had expanded the program to include rehabilitation for Somali gang members, eventually partnering with Somalia’s government in 2016 to reintegrate former Al-Shabaab fighters. Despite warnings about the risks involved, Nagai pursued the initiative, emphasizing the need to provide alternative paths for those engaged in violent extremism.

Funded primarily through donations from Japan, Accept International operates with teams based in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, and at a rehabilitation center in Dhusamareb, the capital of Galmudug state. The organization employs around 32 staff members working directly with imprisoned militants and defectors. Their efforts include counseling, Islamic education, and vocational training focused on skills like carpentry and basic literacy, targeting the vulnerabilities that contribute to radicalization.

Nagai describes the process as one of “empowerment” rather than deradicalization, lasting approximately one year. Many participants are illiterate or poorly educated, which makes them susceptible to extremist indoctrination. The organization has worked with roughly 1,700 incarcerated members of Al-Shabaab and 250 defectors. Success stories include former insurgents who have become tailors, traffic police officers, or soldiers in the Somali national army.

One notable example is Nur Ali, 32, who joined Al-Shabaab at 17 after the killing of his brother by government forces. Captured and sentenced to 15 years in prison, Ali later met Nagai and a religious leader who encouraged forgiveness and personal change. Today, Ali leads the NGO’s prison programs, serving as a role model for young ex-combatants aiming to abandon militant life.

The ongoing presence of Al-Shabaab in central Somalia and its deep societal links pose persistent challenges. Nagai recounted the case of a 21-year-old who left the group on the verge of carrying out a suicide bombing. Although the young man responded well to the program, he ultimately returned to Al-Shabaab due to family pressure from a father supportive of the insurgency. This illustrates the complex social and familial influences that complicate disengagement efforts.

With reduced aid flows from Washington and other donors in recent years, Accept International remains a rare foreign actor conducting deradicalization work in Somalia. Despite the difficulties, Nagai remains convinced that rehabilitation can transform former militants into “agents of peace” contributing to Somalia’s fragile stability.