WEEKLY CONFLICT BRIEF FOR EARLY WARNING EARLY RESPONSE DATED 3rd TO 9th SEPTEMBER 2021
1.0 KEY ISSUES FOR THIS REPORT
Kenya Community Support Centre KECOSCE has been operating the Conflict Early Warning and Early Response System for Coast Region over the Past 8 years. The EWER hub continues to receive and disseminate reports from the 6 coastal counties with the aim of predicting and preventing violence. During this reporting period, the hub received 20 reports from peace monitors and social media platforms. Resource based Conflicts have continued to feature occasioned by the Drought experienced in the Country with the President Declaring it a National Disaster within the COVID 19 Pandemic. Cases involving conflicts between human and wild animals were reported with the most affected Counties being Kilifi and Tana River. During this period there have been isolated incidences of criminal activities reported including alleged drug peddling in Mombasa. On the Political Front, Heightened political party activities in the wake of mobilization drive for members and defections from parties have been reported. There have been some reports of excessive use of force by the police and Gender based violence cases in Mombasa and Kwale.
There have also been positive invents to respond to and avert possible violence; a security meeting was held in Kinango town, Kwale County to deliberate on how inter-communal conflicts between pastoral communities will be abated. In the meeting the meeting, the security officials were blamed for increased insecurities. While Lamu county Fisheries department unveiled a monthly report with highest cases of boat accidents as a result of rough tides in the Indian Ocean. 12 boats capsized killing more than 7 in the month of August. All fishermen have been urged to be careful. In Nyali, Pamoja African Alliance (PAA) conducted a party membership recruitment exercise as the 2022 General Elections continue to gain momentum. The party is being associated with Kilifi governor Amason Kingi. Resource based conflicts were reported from Tana River, Taita Taveta, Lamu and Kilifi counties. An event of Gender Based Violence was reported from Tana River while criminal gang activities came from Kisauni in Mombasa.
World Suicide Prevention Day
The World Suicide Prevention Day was marked on 10th September with an aim to raise awareness on how to prevent suicide in the community, 14 people committed suicide between March and June this year at the Coast according to the DCI report. These incidents were reported in Kwale, Tana River, Mombasa and Taita Taveta counties. Mombasa with 5 out of the 14 incidents.
2.0 CONFLICTS REPORTED BY CATEGORIES
The 20 reports received were verified by contacting the peace monitors and local authorities before categorizing and publishing them in the EWER online platform which can be viewed at https://kecosces.ushahidi.io/views/map. Based on the platform’s indicators, the events reported were classified as criminal activities, resource based leading to increased animosity, political issues, Gender Based Violence and police brutality. Terror related events were not reported during this period. Criminal activities for this week involved an incident of suspected drug peddling. Resource based conflicts were majorly effects of drought which was directly attributed to human-wildlife conflicts. GBV involves a 15-year old school girl alleged to be married and is on the Kipini location chief’s radar. Police brutality was reported from Malindi town where a resident was shot under unknown circumstances.
3.0 CONFLICTS PREDICTION TABLE
| PREDICTION OF EVENTS IN WEEK | JUSTIFICTION | KEY ISSUES REPORTED DURING THE WEEK |
| Persistent shortage of food and water in Lamu County. | The weather forecast report indicates possibility of prolonged wait for the short rains which shall be below expectation | More than 20000 residents are facing hunger and drought in Lamu county. |
| Juvenile gang activities in Kisauni | Some houses have been abandoned and provide platforms for gang organization. Areas of Kagujo in Mshomoroini, Barsheba and Tuatugawe have been identified as potential hotspot areas during the week | An alert from Junda ward of suspicious man who is alleged to be a regular weed smoker was reported to |
| Drought and hunger in Ganze, Kilifi. | The area is experiencing a shortage of water and sporadic rains. | According to August statistics by The Red Cross Society of Kenya Kilifi county is leading in the number of residents most affected by hunger and drought. |
4.0 CRIMINAL GANG ACTIVITIES UPDATE
Decrease in criminal activities.
Criminal gang activities have significantly decreased in this week compared to last week and the the trend has been on the downward trend in the period with only 2 incidents reporting this week and 3 in the previous week. This is attributed to increased information sharing between the public and law enforcement in Mombasa Kilifi and Kwale Counties. A suspected drug peddler was reported from Kajiweni in Junda ward, this report was shared with the police for further investigative action. Owing to cooperation between the Public and law enforcement a suspected thief was arrested in Kasarani the middle aged woman is being held at the Mjambere Police Station for further investigation and arraignment in Court
POLICE BRUTALITY
A resident is shot by police in Malindi.
Use of excessive force against civilians continues to threaten trust and confidence between the community and the security officials hence retarding information sharing process. An incident was reported from Malindi town where a resident was nursing gunshot wounds after he was allegedly shot by a police, KECOSCE monitors are following on the incidence to establish the facts.
5.0 GENDER BASED VIOLENCE.
Kipini area chief led community leaders on 6.09.2021 in searching for a 15-year old girl who is alleged to be married to a nominated Member of County Assembly for Tana River County Assembly. The minor is a grade 5 pupil at one school in Tana Delta. This alert was raised by the Kipini location chief and was reported to Kipini police station.