Bishops’ Peace Initiative Aim to Transform “underlying conflict drivers” in Kenyan Region

Eldoret, 27 June, 2023 / 9:45 PM

The peace initiative that members of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) are to launch has an objective of facilitating the transformation of factors behind conflict and “curb the perennial violence” in the country’s North Rift region covered by six Catholic Dioceses.

Dubbed “North Rift Peace Initiative”, the Catholic Bishops’ project is to be launched on Wednesday, June 28 at St. John the Baptist pastoral Centre in Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Eldoret.

In a Monday, June 26 press release, Catholic Bishops in Kenya say that the initiative seeks to “bring together the six Catholic Dioceses to address the root causes of conflict in the North Rift Region.”

“The initiative aims to bring together peace-building actors in the region to curb the perennial violence and join forces in transforming the underlying conflict drivers,” KCCB members say about the project that involves the Catholic Dioceses of Eldoret, Nakuru, Nyahururu, Kitale, Maralal, and Lodwar.

They add, “Through the initiative, the Dioceses will create synergies for peacebuilding through advocacy, learning, and collaboration.”

The Local Ordinaries of the six Catholic Dioceses are to grace the launch of the peace initiative alongside the Governors of the Counties in the North Rift region, which include Nakuru, Baringo, Laikipia, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, Trans Nzoia, Turkana, and Samburu.

“The launch will also be graced by Senior Officers from the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government,” the Catholic Bishops say in the letter that the General Secretary of KCCB, Fr. Ferdinand Lugonzo, signed.

Kenya’s North Rift region has been hit hard by security challenges occasioned by violent conflicts involving cattle rustling among pastoralist groups.

A March 31 report that the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) released indicated that the violent activities of pastoralist groups in the region have greatly increased in 2023 as compared to last year.

“ACLED records 69 political violence events involving pastoralist militias from 1 January to 24 March 2023, a 77% increase compared to the period from 10 October to 31 December 2022,” the report indicated.

The report further showed that “violence involving pastoralist militias accounts for almost 30% of total political violence events in Kenya in the first quarter of 2023, resulting in at least 73 reported fatalities.”

ACLED also reported that competition over grazing land is one of the multiple factors contributing to the complexity of violence in the Kenyan region.