Addressing Armed Violence in East Africa.pdf - Project Ploughshares

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Addressing Armed Violence in East Africa3. Kenyapeace. The reasons given for this peace, and for fewer guns andless gun use among the Marakwet, are among the importantfindings of the field research in Kenya and are described morefully at the end of this chapter. Deliberate cultural changeswere instituted, including decreasing the practice of dowry orbride price; increased reliance on agriculture, thereby lesseningdependence on livestock herding; and greater social control ofgun possession and use.But the introduction of automaticweapons, primarily AK-47s, irrevocablychanged the dynamic of cattle raids.The people interviewed reported that illiteracy, poverty andisolation had an impact on the level of violence. Illiteracy isas high as 97% in some North Rift Valley areas according toone WVK staff person. People are isolated in cattle camps,or kraals, and have not been exposed to alternative ways ofsettling conflicts or different livelihood possibilities. Tribalgroups compete with each other over boundaries and toexpand their political power. Idleness among young men, aged15–30, also contributes to the frequency and intensity of raids.Paradoxically, we heard that opponents will come together intimes of drought to share water and pasture, but then fightagain when there is plenty.One person interviewed said that 18 of his family membershad been killed in the past three years, including his fatherand mother. Another said that 10 relatives had been killed,but not his wife or children. One person claimed not to havebeen personally affected by violence, but said that a sister hadhad her house robbed and another had been forced to flee.One focus group member described losing four cousins to theviolence.One community member summed up his frustration over thefutility of cattle raiding this way: “Go on enough raids youwill eventually die. Cows are simply circulating between thecommunities.”Pastoralists are not the only ones who come under attackduring raids. Government officials and security personnelhave also been killed and injured. A District Commissioner(DC) was reported by another government official to havebeen nearly killed in early March 2008. The DC escaped withminor injuries from a shattered windscreen. The intervieweein question did not believe that the attackers knew they wereattacking the DC, since they were robbing another vehicle whenthe DC arrived.A government official described the stress he feels living andworking in the area. When he worked at the Pokot–Marakwetborder there were clashes and raids from 1997 to 2003. His firsthouse was on the border; and “when there is a crisis, you arecollateral damage. It was very stressful.”Other types of armed violence were described, including postelectionviolence following national elections in December2007, land disputes between pastoralist groups, road banditry,sexual assault and rape, and common banditry or criminal acts.Post-election violence in Kenya, which was particularly intensein Eldoret, was mentioned in passing in some interviews but didnot emerge as a prominent theme in this research.Violence between the Turkana and PokotThe people interviewed had different ideas about the frequencyof violent incidents between the Turkana and Pokot. One personsaid that, three years ago, incidents took place 20 to 50 timesa month; now maybe there is one incident per month or every2 months. Another person said that about 100 Turkana werekilled in 2008, with almost 40 in August alone.The general reduction reported in the number of violent cattleraids between Turkana and Pokot was sometimes qualifiedaccording to specific areas within the broader territory. Forexample, the downward trend in cattle raids was true for centralPokot, but not for north and east Pokot where small-scale raidsare ongoing, according to a government official in an interview.Functional Peace between the Pokot andMarakwetThe general trend of stable peace between the Pokot andMarakwet was recounted, with reasons why the peace isholding. Some of the explanations included:The Marakwet and Pokot interact together in markets.There aren’t attacks by the Pokot because the elders of thePokot and Marakwet resolved to live in peace together.16
Addressing Armed Violence in East Africa3. KenyaBox 3.1.1. CEWARN–IGADEarly Warning DataIt is difficult to find reliable sources of information and data onthe impact of armed violence between pastoralists in Kenya andthose in neighbouring countries. The Conflict Early Warningand Response (CEWARN) mechanism of the Horn of Africasub-regional political organisation, the IntergovernmentalAuthority on Development (IGAD), has been tracking incidentsrelated to pastoral conflicts on the Kenyan side of the Karamojacluster from six reporting locations since January 2004. Asindicated in CEWARN’s title, the primary purpose of thedata collection is to provide early warning of troubles so thatappropriate state authorities and others can take action to stopincidents. The data is collected by national research institutesand forwarded on a quarterly basis to the CEWARN office inAddis Ababa where the consolidated reports are posted on theCEWARN website (http://www.cewarn.org/index.htm).The number of human deaths reported for the Kenyan sideof the Karamoja Cluster for the period January 2004 toAugust 2008 is 566, of which 50 were reported to be womenand children. If these cumulative totals are accurate andcomprehensive, they indicate that almost 92% of those killed inthe violence are men. It may be possible to drill down into theprimary data to get more localised results that could be relatedto the specific sites where World Vision or other NGOs areengaging in peace initiatives.Each year since 2004, the CEWARN statistics have shown aspike in the reported number of incidents of deaths and cattlelosses in the January–April period, which roughly correspondsto the dry season in the North Rift Valley. This would suggestthat increased movement of cattle to find scarce water andpasture can be a primary trigger for violent incidents. In theJanuary–April 2008 report the conclusion is drawn that, “interms of early warning and early response, it therefore meansmore preventative interventions must be stepped up at thebeginning of a new year”. The CEWARN reporting also coversindicators of peace initiatives and mitigating behaviours. WorldVision peacebuilding activities are mentioned in the narrativeof the May–August 2008 report: “the unhindered distributionof relief food and continued access to education and health careservices in most of the areas of reporting also served to mitigateconflict. Several civil society organizations such as Oxfam,Action Aid, NCCK, World Vision, and the Catholic Justiceand Peace Commission worked together with the district peacecommittees to promote peaceful coexistence throughout thecluster. This helped calm down the tensions that existed.” 11 Conflict Early Warning & Response Mechanism (CEWARN), Kenya–Karamoja Cluster Update, May – August 2008, p 13,http://www.cewarn.org/gendoc/clustrupdt.htmThe reported reduction in the number of large-scale violentcattle raids between Marakwet and Pokot, which could involveup to 1,000 raiders, according to one person interviewed,does not mean that gun violence has stopped. Insecurity inMarakwet areas was related to theft and highway robbery.These criminals aren’t necessarily Pokot, but could be localsfrom the Marakwet.Over the past two years the trend is for small robberiesof animals rather than large organised raids.”Today, the problems of insecurity relate to highwayrobbers, who wait for vehicles, however, these aren’tnecessarily Pokot. They could be local [Marakwet].”Incidents of sexual violence against women and female youthwere recounted in Marakwet territory but were not reportedamong Turkana and Pokot.Women and Children as Victims of Violencein Turkana and PokotInterview participants particularly emphasised the relativeimpact of armed violence on specific groups within the affectedcommunities, including women and children. Traditionally,the men directly involved in raids or in defending againstraiders were the primary perpetrators and direct victims ofviolence. Other groups of people were left alone. Now, with theintroduction of guns, the killing has fundamentally changed.17
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