Addressing Armed Violence in East Africa.pdf - Project Ploughshares

Addressing Armed Violence in East Africa3. KenyaAdvice was given concerning disarmament exercises:• Human rights organisations were identified as getting in theway of giving the government a chance to take away guns.• “Government has legitimate cause to remove guns, but itshould be done without excessive force.”• Measures to control guns were suggested, such as registeringall guns in the community.• “People have invested in their guns and don’t want to givethem up until security is better assured.”Some of those interviewed stated a need for a deeper religiouscommitment to end the violence:• “Communities also need evangelisation, the Gospel. Pastorsneed support to do this.”ObservationsAs indicated by the variety of factors and motivations forviolence related in interviews, it is not possible to reducearmed violence among pastoralists by identifying a group ofperpetrators of violence and focusing on them. The violenceis embedded in a rich cultural web of long-held practices nowdistorted by a range of factors, not the least of which is thewidespread introduction of automatic weapons in the secondhalf of the 20 th century.1. The Marakwet decision to reduce the practice of dowry orbride price seems to have significantly reduced the incentiveto raid from their neighbours and has increased intermarriagewith the Pokot. This and a range of other initiatives forpeace give hope that peace is attainable between pastoralistcommunities.2. Solutions must go beyond interrupting the supply of gunsin conflict zones and removing them through disarmamentprocesses. Forced disarmament may be counter-productive.Keith Krause from Small Arms Survey has called the neededinterventions second-generation strategies:Second-generation attempts to deal with the small armsproblem are probably more important and thornierbecause those of us who come out of an arms control ordisarmament background have so much to learn from thedevelopment, humanitarian, public health, and crimescontrol communities. When you start to talk aboutsecond-generation measures, you shift your focus to thedemand-side of the equation, to what drives people to seekand to hold, use, or misuse weapons whether for personal orcommunity security or with criminal and violent intent. 5The factors influencing the escalation of violence and demandfor guns among Kenyan pastoralist communities fall into thissecond-generation category: disease and drought, conflicts withthose in nearby settled towns and trading centres along roads,remoteness from central government attention and decisionmaking, climate-influenced shrinkage of grazing lands and watersources, few roads and public services, and increasing crimemet by inadequate policing. 6 Even the traditional motivationsof cattle raiding for pride, wealth and dowry are giving way tostolen cattle ending up on trucks bound for slaughterhouses andmeat exporters.3. Gun violence is both a harbinger of change and a sign ofthe impact of that change on traditional societies in Africa.If the devastating violence caused by these weapons is to bereined in, the number of guns must be reduced, while the gunsremaining come under strict social controls. But disarmamentis only part of the solution; development and security reformare also necessary. Disarmament initiatives must be carried outin all contending communities, and integrated into communitydevelopment and specific peace initiatives to create a more secureenvironment that in turn will allow for increased development.This is the complex reality in which WVK, with its civil societyand government partners, is undertaking peacebuilding in theNorth Rift Valley of Kenya.4. An inherent problem with these interconnecting sectoralinitiatives is discerning the impact of each initiative and of theinfluence of other factors, including such imponderables asrainfall. Complex problems do not have predictable timelinesor project outcomes. Donors looking to have an impact throughpeacebuilding programmes may need to shift their sights fromresults-based management and log frame matrixes that predictspecific outcomes in specific periods. Donors should be preparedto be flexible as the context changes.5 K Krause, Lead paper, Session One “Controlling Small Arms and LightWeapons”, Contemporary Threats to International Peace and Security, Waterloo,Project Ploughshares, 2007, p 24, http://www.ploughshares.ca/libraries/Build/30thAnnSymposium.pdf6 J Bevan, Crisis in Karamoja: Armed Violence and the Failure of Disarmamentin Uganda’s Most Deprived Region, Small Arms Survey, Geneva, 2008, pp 28–29,http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWFiles2008.nsf/FilesByRWDocUnidFilename/ASIN-7GJSQY-full_report.pdf/$File/full_report.pdf32