Role of Community Involvement in Peace Building: A Case of Mount Elgon in Bungoma County, Kenya

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue III, March 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Role of Community Involvement in Peace Building: A Case of Mount Elgon in Bungoma County, Kenya

Ronald E Wanda, Joyce Muchemi, Nyandoro K Obondi & Ogachi O Nyamora
Mount Kenya University, Kenya

Abstract: – All over the world conflicts in communities materialize because of many reasons. At the community level, social changes often occur very often as a result of a conflict. The conflict that took place in Mt Elgon between 2006 and 2008 was devastating in many ways; it left many dead and destroyed many a property. This study was to assess community participation in peace-building in the Mt Elgon area between 2007 and 2017. The study also sought to assess the use of indigenous or traditional methods of conflict resolution embedded in restorative practices, as well as establish the role that Mount Elgon’s Residents Association (MERA) played through its programmes in peace-building in the area. The study revealed a yawning need for younger community members to be more involved in peace-building activities in the Mt Elgon area. The study further revealed that those aged between 35 and 54 years largely thought that their traditional culture and indigenous practices was central to their peace-building efforts in their locality.

Keywords: Role of Community Involvement; Peace building; Mount Elgon; Bungoma County, Kenya

I. INTRODUCTION

There are many reasons that cause conflicts in society. Indeed throughout the world, all societies have experienced a conflict; very often this is brought about because of certain tensions that arise because of many reasons some of which may include ethnic, religious or gender and so forth. Evidence has shown that community conflicts often emerge through many ways some of which may include riots, nonviolent demonstrations, or armed resistance against a political administration or amongst communities in a given society. As it has been pointed out by some scholars, many conflicts usually do not recognize geographic boundaries(Idean and Salehyan, 2012). According to the World Economic Forum’s recent report titled ‘Global Risk Report’ (2016), it has been observed that the world is reproaching the protest levels that were witnessed in the 1980s, caused by different protests in different parts of the world such as the Anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the East and West Cold War apprehension and so forth. The report further notes that technological progress as well as changing demographic patterns and climate change politics have all played a role in the transformation (Global Risk Report, 2016). The report further noted that the escalating terrorist attacks in countries such as Kenya and Africa in general, continue to cause problems in terms of human and economic capital (Global Risk Report, 2016).

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