BIWEEKLY CONFLICT BRIEF FOR EALY WARNING EARLY RESPONSE DATED 27th AUGUST TO 2nd SEPTEMBER 2021
1.0 KEY ISSUES FOR THIS REPORT
During this reporting period, KECOSCE’s EWER system received 18 reports from across the 6 coastal counties. These conflicts were resource based involving land, hunger and drought attributed directly or indirectly to invasion of wild animals onto human settlement areas. Criminal activities constituting all illegal gang activities such as robbery, theft and juvenile gang attacks were also reported during this period. Other categories of events that were reported include police brutality and Gender Based Violence.
During this week Civil society organizations and communities in the Coast region marked the International Day against Enforced Disappearances and decried the manner in which a suspect of terrorism was abducted in Old town by law enforcement agencies with his whereabouts not known (This incident was reported in the previous Weekly Brief). Criminal activities were received from parts of Mombasa and Kilifi counties. Gender Based violence events came from Kwale county while terror associated event was reported from Kisauni in Mombasa.
2.0 CONFLICTS REPORTED BY CATEGORIES
The EWER system received information from the peace monitors via sms and calls on 0726549400 and media platforms. This information was verified by contacting the peace monitors and local authorities. These reports were categorized into resource based conflicts embedded leading in increased ethnic animosity, criminal activities, police brutality and Gender Based violence activities that is categorized under criminal activities indicator, The figure below shows this week’s events as categorized by KECOSCE’s EWER system.
3.0 CONFLICTS PREDICTION TABLE
| PREDICTION OF EVENTS IN WEEK 1 OF SEPTEMBER. | JUSTIFICTION | EVENTS REPORTED FROM 26TH AUGUST TO 2ND SEPTEMBER. |
| Criminal/ juvenile gang activities in Kisauni, Mvita, Likoni and Nyali in Mombasa County | The Series of attacks experienced with Wakali Kwanza and Wakali Wao suspected to be responsible for muggings and violent robberies. | 2 people were attacked at Kona ya Zamani area in Kisauni. In other events thieves stole from a cloth shop in Junda and a lady was nabbed in Kisimani village. |
| GBV and teen pregnancies in Kwale, Kilfi and Tana Delta. | Teen pregnancies on the rise. More than 10 girls were rescued from early marriages during the 2020 KCPE exams. | One girl from Lunga Lunga was rescued from a forced marriage in Mombasa. |
| Drought and hunger in Ganze, Kilifi, Tarasaa and lamu’s boni forest | The area is experiencing a shortage of water. | According to August statistics by The Red Cross Society of Kenya Kilifi county is leading in the number of rsidents most affected by hunger and drought. |
4.0 CRIMINAL GANG ACTIVITIES
Community members and community leaders directed to submit the list of suspects.
A security meeting was held at Shika Adabu Ajira Youth Empowerment Centre in Likoni to discuss solutions to criminal activities insurgency in the area. Mombasa county commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo directed community members and local leaders to provide information including names of the suspects of criminal activities in the area. The meeting established that community leaders are reluctant on provision of information because their security is threatened by these gangs.
Increase in juvenile gang activities in Kisauni.
In the first week of September, Kisauni recorded 2 incidents. One incident involves a robbery event that led to loss of property by a shop owner in Junda area. In the second event, valuables were salvaged and the suspect arrested due to community members collaboration with the police. Meanwhile, 2 people were attacked by an armed gang in Kona ya Zamani in Likoni and in another event, a 33-year old man was lynched by an irate public in Mtongwe. A youth believed to members of criminal gangs were seen carrying machetes in Mshomoroni on 29th August 2021, police were alerted they increased patrols and surveillance of the area averting possible attacks on civilians in Mshomoroni Mtakuja area.