CROSS BORDER PEACE INITIATIVE PROJECT
1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The pastoral communities living along Kenya – Uganda border have been engaged in inter-district and cross border conflict for a long time. This has been manifested in an increase of cattle rustling activities, highway banditry leading to loss of dear lives, loss of valuable property, and massive internal displacements. In most cases it is the women and children who have suffered immensely. The situation is made worse by the proliferation of small arms in the northern part of Uganda and northwestern part of Kenya, which have gone unchecked and unfettered for a long time now. Efforts by the governments of Kenya and Uganda to address the circulation and use of these illicit weapons have bore no fruit, as the pastoral communities have continued to acquire them ambitiously. The governments attempts to disarm communities by force has even been met by force, often leading to more violence and increasing insecurity of the security personnel. The security situation has been turned awful and the people living within the international borders of Kenya and Uganda have continued to suffer due to this armed conflict.
The pastoral communities living along the international borders are the Pokot, Sebei, Turkana and Karamojong. Although they have fought for ages due to a number of factors, however the present wave of armed conflict has taken a completely new war tactic and dimension. Certainly, the warfare among these communities has now embraced the gun as the principle instrument of war, rather than the bows and arrows or the spear and other traditional weapons that were used during pre-colonial days. Secondly, the war ethic, which spared women, children and the old, has now been abandoned in favor of the automatic gun, whose precision during raids and war is highly favored.
Although the above represent the cause and effect of the conflict, which may only be immediate, however, there are other long-term causes, which have been identified as contributing to the present deteriorating security situation along the international border. Some of these causes are the competition for natural resources like water and pasture. As most of the pastoralists depend on livestock as their major source of livelihood, they do not rest until they secure grass and water resources for their livestock, hence their occasional migration in search for these resources for their animals. Their constant encounter and scramble for these resources is the chief source of their conflict often leading to violence if the same is not resolved amicably. Another notable cause of conflict is the socio-economic marginalisation of the pastoral communities along the border. It is generally perceived by these communities that the governments, NGOs and churches have systematically marginalized them by refusing to initiate development projects likely to generate alternative livelihoods, create employment and generally improve the region. As a result, the area remains massively undeveloped as it lacks basic infrastructure necessary to attract even private investors. There is claim that the sorry state of affairs in the region is cause for conflict.
Other causes of conflict in the region that have been cited include the role of political leaders who often capitalize on their communities grievances over cattle raids and economic marginalisation for their own political gains. Most politicians are known to whip up ethnic sentiments under the guise of protecting their basic rights. Other causes of conflict in the region include the massive poverty levels afflicting the people, government’s complacency in curbing insecurity, including the poor local governance structures at the community level.
The conflict within and across the international border has persisted for so long and received studious silence from both the regional governments and churches across the divide. This conflict cannot be more urgent. There is need for the churches, NGOs and the governments to facilitate the establishment of both the short-term and long-term peace programs, involving the concerned communities in odder to build and enhance mutual understanding between and among the warring communities.
It is for this reason that NCCK, based on its experience, has already started a peace building initiative to address the concerns of these communities. This project will target the Turkana, Karimajong, Pokots and Sebei’s who are found in Kenya and Uganda. The will also consider although in a minimal way how to integrate the communities of Southern Sudan.
The project hopes to intervene into the problem and situation through various mechanisms and initiatives. These include intervention in peace building work, such as, peace and development forums, peace rallies, political leaders forums, security personnel meetings and mediation. The project will pursue a networking consortium of organizations working in the region to facilitate a better understanding of the problem and collaborate together in minimizing the conflicts and suffering arising from the conflicts. This is in recognition that the area is vast and requires the attention of various players and also that peace work is the responsibility of many.
The project will also target groups of women and youth through games, training and IGAs to target special groups of people.
As a long-term goal, the project will hope to focus on education of children in peace building. Along with this also will be the objective of supporting key individual with school fees aimed at changing the minds of the young very early in life.
It is also inevitable that during the running of the project there will be incidences of ethnic conflicts, raids and skirmishes. In anticipation of this, the project will assist the victims with relief assistance to mitigate the circumstance of the victims. Besides this, there will also be the rehabilitation of structures, institutions and amenities affected. All this is seen by the project as away to promote peace, especially when the communities begin to associate peace with development.
(2.0) HISTRORY OF THE PROJECT
2.1 BACKGROUND
The NCCK, dating back to 1908, is an umbrella organization of Christian churches in Kenya, which has had a long and consistent record of working to promote the country’s development, spiritually, economically and politically. It has persistently championed the interests of the voiceless while pleading for a more open and democratic society. This enormous task has been done through a number of schemes and programs. Through the Advocacy department, NCCK has actively involved itself in advocacy and lobbying over issues of pubic concern such as gender, youth and children. Recently, the council actively participated in the constitutional dispensation, by organizing the mainly-faith led stakeholders in what was then called the UFUNGAMANO initiative. However, since 1991, the council began to address the ethnic conflict and violence that rocked the western part of Kenya, leading to killings and maiming of Kenyans, massive displacements and suffering of innocent Kenyans.
To address this problem, the council established the Peace and Reconciliation project with the primary objective to provide relief assistance to the victims of ethnic violence, but later on the project began a displaces support program which sought to help displacees to resettle in their farms. This was done through organizing peace and reconciliation activities. The receiving communities were mainly targeted through Good Neighborliness’ seminars to accept the returnees, at the same time as the returnees were being pursued to leave their refugee camps to resettle in their farms.
This development was initiated during the phase 11 of the project, which began in 1994 to 1996. This is the time when the efforts of integrating relief and rehabilitation to reconciliation programs began. However, a more concerted reconciliation programe started in earnest in 1996, when more elaborate and extensive programs were initiated which aimed at assisting the victims of ethnic clashes to be re-integrated in society. During this period, commonly referred to as the PEACE AND RECONCILIATION PROJECT PHASE 111, the project established a number of local peace structures then called AREA PEACE AND REHABILIATION COMMITTEE (APRC’s), which were vested with the task of organizing Good Neighborliness’ seminars open to elders, politicians, community workers and other peace stakeholders. These seminars provided the stakeholders with the opportunity to discus the causes and effects of these conflicts and devise strategies to combat them. To make these forums successful, the project organized specially targeted seminars exclusively for women, youth, and other socially excluded groups who would otherwise not freely discuss with men, due to cultural impediments. These forums were particularly important as they were used to explain the role and mandate of the various stakeholders in promoting and sustaining peace in their own areas.
The present Phase IV COMMUNITY PEACEBUILDING & DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, which began in 2000, has continued to use the community peace structures, in which all peace actors at the community level are facilitated to address conflicts at their respective areas through a number of strategies, methodologies and approaches they deem appropriate. A major setback of the community initiative, however, has been the deficiency of addressing some underlying causes of conflict, which may be embedded in policy, structural or governance frameworks. Cognizant of this problem, NCCK initiated the NATIONAL AGENDA for PEACE with the specific mandate to advocate and lobby for the specific address of certain issues with mainly government organs and entities.
The integrated approach to peace work as vigorously pursued by the COMMUNITY PEACEBUILDING & DEVELOPMENT PROJECT through the community peace structures has paid dividends especially in the highland areas, where, the returning communities have been successfully resettled with the full support and encouragement of those receiving them back. As a result of this, the project has phased out of KAPTAGAT, BURNT FOREST, TINDIRET/MUHORONI, KOPSIRO, CHEPTAIS and KESEGON, which once were very volatile areas. This development has enabled the project to focus and reschedule its efforts towards the pastoral areas, which are considered to be more volatile and prone to constant violence and counter-violence, as motivated by the incessant cattle rustling menace, the massive proliferating of guns, leading to immense suffering of the mainly pastoralist communities. This project faces immense challenges of addressing these problems, which require a complete set of strategies and methodologies to combat the apparent lack of alternative livelihoods and continued marginalisation of the pastoarlists in the region.
2.2 CURRENT SITUATION
One of the major causes of insecurity in this region is the proliferation of small arms and light Weapons, currently considered a regional as well as an international problem. The international border points of Kenya and Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda have witnessed the highest misuse of this instrument of war. All the tribes now living along this border who include the Turkana, Toposa, Merile, Dongiro, Jie, Karamojong and the Sebei, have over the years armed themselves with the more sophisticated arms, which have been used for cattle raids and thuggery in these areas. The militarilisation of the communities has become a major concern, not only to the governments of the region, but to NGOs and Churches operating in the area.
The ever-worsening security situation at the border areas, has led NCCK, to launch the crossboder peace initiative, working in partnership with mainly the church based organizations in jointly addressing this menace while trying to link up communities through various schemes and approaches that are going to contribute to peace in the region. The three East Africa governments have tried to address this problem, by forming a regional security organ, composed of security chiefs from the region, which convenes periodically to address security matters. NCCK work has been augmented by upcoming organisations like POKATUSA of the World Vison. This development is proof of the reawakening of efforts by governments and other peace stakeholders, which consider a cross border peace initiative as necessary and long overdue. While this is commendable, it is worthy noting that such an initiative can only succeed where the regional governments have a firm and mutual commitment to vigorously address this menace. In this case, the governments of Kenya and Uganda have shown some level of commitment, which is not noticable between Kenya and Sudan and Sudan and Uganda. However, the absence of critical commitment from the latter governments does not prevent NGOs and especially the churches from performing it’s calling of seeking peace whatever the price. As a church organization, NCCK is committed to peaceful initiatives across the borders no matter what it takes, for peace is both a moral obligation and a cardinal calling of the church of Christ.
2.3. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM.
The pastoral communities living along the borders of Kenya in the Northwest, namely the Turkana, Pokot both from Kenya and Uganda, and the Karamojong, and Sebei ethnic groups from Uganda nowadays live in an atmosphere of great fear and insecurity. The sound of gunfire is a daily experience for most of them. Their main enemy is still their neighbor who strikes by force using the most sophisticated gun acquired illegally. In most instances, such attacks are mounted during cattle rustling activities. Since the fall of Idi Amin, the president of Uganda between 1972-79, guns have taken over from traditional weaponry, which included the bows, arrows and spears. After his fall, government arsenals in Mworoto district of Uganda were raided by the Karimojong, who afterwards launched a concerted wave of attacks, took all the arms and ammunition away and counter attacked their neighbors using the acquired guns. Since that day to date, the gun had become a major weapon of protection and assault. Pastoral communities began to acquire these illicit arms and in the process, the militarisation turned into a competition of who has what and how sophisticated the weapons were.
Both the governments of Kenya and Uganda have tried to disarm their people at different intervals using different means, but none of these measures have bore fruit. Instead, the communities have engaged themselves in an unceasing competition to acquire these arms. They have used them to cause havoc and visit mayhem on innocent persons in the region. The region has become insecure with highway robberies and constant cattle thefts being reported. Many lives have been lost in the process, leading t massive displacements. The theft of cows has lead to serious poverty levels. The cross-border conflict is now a time bomb, which if it goes unchecked, will explode and will lead to serious levels of insecurity unprecedented. The pastoralists themselves have described six factors fuelling the conflict.
2.3.1CATTLE RUSTLING.
To the pastoralists, cattle raiding is an acceptable way of life. It is a practice that was associated with rites of passage into adulthood for the men. Cattle were also raided to pay dowry. Cattle too, were raided for restocking purposes, after a drought or after another raid on ones livestock. But the present practice where people’s lives are disrupted and their livelihoods affected is a present day phenomenon, which has been complicated by the proliferation of guns. Secondly, the cattle raids have been commercialized. The traditional sooth sayers have also played a key role in the intensity of cattle raids.
2.3.2 COOMERCIALISATION OF CATTLE RAIDS.
Cattle have been severely transformed into a profitable business. Cattle merchants have become increasingly notorious and associated with the escalating cattle raids. They constantly engage idle youth to raid cattle from within their own countries or across countries on a mission to raid cows for sale. These cattle are sold to slaughterhouses and markets in Kenya and Uganda, where they fetch a lot of money. In most cases, the cattle are offered in exchange of money or for a gun. Whatever the means, the fact is that this new dimension of commercialization has fueled the violence in the region hitherto unheard of. Some families in the process have been impoverished overnight while others become overnight millionaires.
This aspect of commercialization has completely altered the practice of cattle raids as a way of life. Nowadays, it is common to hear that a whole community or family has been killed, including women, children, the sick and the old. Whereas killings used to take place in the past, however, the defenseless herders, children and women were spared. This present day cattle raiding phenomenon has also rendered the institution of elders futile and unworkable; for in the past, the elders had the cardinal role to negotiate and mediate over community conflicts and violence, cattle raids included. In certain circumstances, they led the way in signing of inter-ethnic treaties. The futility of the role of elders is now evident in the present escalating wave of cattle raids across the international borders.