Kenya to build 'special' prison for jihadists

Kenya will set up a new special prison for violent extremist offenders, President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Tuesday.

The facility would prevent jihadists from spreading their extremist ideology to the rest of society, he said.

It is not clear when and where the new prison will be set up.

Kenya is battling home-grown militants linked to Islamist group al-Shabab, which is part of al-Qaeda.

Al-Shabab has staged numerous attacks in Kenya including the carnage at Garissa University, near the border with Somalia, on 2 April 2015 and which left 148 people dead.

Kenyan troops entered neighbouring Somalia in 2011 in an effort to stop the jihadists from carrying cross border attacks and kidnapping people.

The East African nation contributes more than 4,000 troops to the 22,000-strong African Union force that is in Somalia helping the UN-backed government battle al-Shabab.