dc.description.abstract | The Constitution of Kenya 2010 bestows upon the government the mandate to guarantee the
rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Kenya under the Bill of Rights. The Bill of
Rights is an integral part of Kenya’s democratic state and is the framework for social, economic
and cultural policies. The purpose of recognizing and protecting human rights and fundamental
freedoms is to preserve the dignity of individuals and communities and to promote social justice
and the realization of the potential of all human beings.
Marsabit County has suffered its share of conflicts with most being the constant struggle over
scarce resources of pasture and water especially during the dry-spell that leads to drought in most
cases. The communities have also had their interpersonal and social trust undermined by
conflicts that have afflicted them destroying their social norms, values, and institutions that
mitigated and resolved them for the common good of the community.
The conflicts have resulted in numerous casualties, due to the neighboring unstable countries like
Somalia and Sudan, the proliferation of small arms and ammunitions that have made cattle raids
complex and sophisticated and commercialization of livestock rusting. It has led the state to fail
to guarantee the right to security of the people of Marsabit County.
Due to the County’s marginalization, most public institutions are not adequately equipped,
staffed or facilitated to handle their service delivery to the people. The State Agencies are unable
to prevent or adequately respond to these conflicts. The judicial institutions lack the capacity to
try perpetrators making them have a less deterrent effect. The work of both the judicial and
enforcement agencies is undermined as the legal processes have been unable to stem conflicts.
This study examined how the right to security of the pastoralist communities in Marsabit County
has been violated by successive governments both pre and post-independence. The study
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explored how such violation has led to the recurrence of conflicts that have escalated and
intensified over the years leading to loss of lives, massive destruction of property, internally
displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees.
The study established how the communities in Marsabit used the traditional justice system to
restore peace after conflict situations through reconciliation by bringing harmony to the warring
communities. The study interrogated the relevance and potential utilization of the traditional
judicial system to manage and resolve current conflicts in the region, which have in most cases
contributed to a violation of their right to security. The study utilized the case study of the
Borana justice system to illustrate the potential use of the traditional justice system with
government as its custodian to guarantee the right to security of the people of Marsabit County.
The study recognized the central role and importance the government plays in the provision of
human security, hence its position to act as the custodian of the right to protection of the nomads.
The causes of violent conflict in Marsabit County, the dynamics of conflict and their impact are
well researched by both Peace and security experts and academicians. Most of these researchers
have focused on strategies and mechanisms used to prevent, mitigate and transform violent
conflict in Marsabit County. However, there has been insufficient analysis on how such
strategies and tools can be effectively utilized to minimize the recurrence of conflicts to
guarantee the right to security of the people of Marsabit County | en_US |