| dc.description.abstract | Although Kenya is considered to be peaceful unlike her neighbors, a closer scrutiny reveals an unprecedented wave of internal and cross-border conflicts. These conflicts, mainly manifesting themselves as political, economic, environmental, land and inter-ethnic conflicts are sending bad signals to those living outside the country. Pastoralists in Kenya have borne much of the brunt of internal conflicts and these communities have put in place interventions aimed at addressing conflicts using local communal strategies for conflict resolution and peace building.
This study sought to examine the strategies used by pastoral communities in Kenya to resolve conflicts and to foster peace. Drawing on a case study of Olmoran division of Laikipia West district, the study sought to:
(i) explore community-led strategies used by communities in the study area to resolve conflicts and to promote peace,
(ii) assess the level of recognition and acceptance of community-led strategies,
(iii) evaluate the impact of those strategies on conflict resolution and peace building, and
(iv) to examine challenges that face community-led strategies for conflict resolution and peace building in Olmoran division and find out how these strategies can be incorporated into formal
government conflict resolution and peace building strategies.
The research relied on data collected from a total of sixty (60) respondents targeted in the field research. A structured questionnaire was used for personal interviews, a focus group discussion guideline was used for focus group discussions, listed discussion topics guide was used for in-depth interviews with key informants and a check list wasused for observation. The primary data collected was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) while additional data was gathered from books, articles, journals and reports.
Findings from the study shows that communities in the study area used peace committees, community meetings or barazas, peace caravans and membership in peace groups to promote peace while the preferred method for solving conflict was arbitration by community elders. The study reveals that communities in the study area supported strategies used for conflict resolution and peace building and that majority of the people in the area felt that peace and security in the region had improved with the use of community-led strategies. Communities in the study area stated that conflicts in the area had reduced and that there has been improvements in inter-ethnic tolerance among members of different ethnic communities.
Findings of the study also shows that community-led strategies for conflict resolution and peace building in the study area faced numerous challenges that include proliferation of small arms and weapons, past unresolved conflicts and mistrust among members of ethnic communities in the area. The survey also noted that majority of the respondents indicated that empowermg communities for long term conflict mitigation and peace building and strengthening of existing community-led strategies would solve these challenges. Overall, this study finds that a long-term solution to prevention and management of pastoralists as well as other conflicts lies squarely in recognition of community-driven initiatives for conflict resolution and peace building. | en_US |
