Influence of the Kenya National Policy on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management Framework on the Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees in Mombasa County

Abstract

Global experience with sustainable peacebuilding has been diverse since the term was formally introduced to the world by the United Nations in 1992. Since then, peacebuilding has been implemented in the absence of a universally accepted approach or clear criteria for success. Multiple actors have conceptualized and implemented peacebuilding to correspond with their contexts and needs. This is true for Kenya and Mombasa County, in particular. Mombasa Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees have been conducting peacebuilding in the County, against the backdrop of old conflict drivers such as poverty and resource-based conflict, and emerging threats to peace such as drug trafficking and youth radicalization. Therefore, the ability of the Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees to foster sustainable peacebuilding in these circumstances needs to be interrogated. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of the policy framework of the formal peacebuilding infrastructure in fostering sustainable peacebuilding. The conceptual framework was based on Galtung’s Theory of Peacebuilding, Galtung’s Theory of Structural Violence, and Lederach’s Conflict Transformation Theory. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design and applied both convenience and purposive sampling techniques. Data was collected through semi-structured questionnaires, key informant interviews (KII), and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) guides and observation checklists. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used for data analysis. The study findings indicated that Mombasa County Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees are experiencing diminished agency because of a lack of resources to carry out peacebuilding work in the County. Those members of the Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees were not competent to undertake modern-day peacebuilding activities because of inadequate training. Therefore; the study recommends that the idea of peacebuilding through local peacebuilding structures such as Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees be a priority in Kenya’s peacebuilding discourse with some modifications in the formation and functioning of Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees. The Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees should be de-linked from the county security processes and positioned as the “Honest Brokers for Peacebuilding”, whose primary responsibility will be to harness all available resources in their locality to bear on their peacebuilding agenda. The national government should educate the public about peacebuilding and the role that Sub-County Peacebuilding Committees are expected to play in this agenda.