Universität zu Köln

Okumu, Willis (2013). Trans-local Peace Building among Pastoralist Communities in Kenya. The Case of Laikipi Peace Caravan. Masters thesis, Universität zu Köln.

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Abstract

Violent conflicts have haunted northern Kenya – a semi-arid region inhabited by pastoral communities – since some decades. The enormous increase of violence in recent years has several pertinent causes. Instability in neighbouring countries and a far flung network of small-arms trade has brought thousands of semi-automatic guns to the region. Political change in Kenya has created a lee-way for competing politicians to engage vigilantes on their behalf. Beyond these causes which are rather to be sought for at a macro-level there are a number of factors located at the micro-level. Rampant food insecurity linked to population increase coupled with a stagnant economic system, changes from a pastoral mode of production to more sedentary lifestyles and a continued focus on a heroic warrior ideal contribute to the situation. While there have been a number of efforts to manage and suppress violence through army, police or other state actors, non-state actors have become important during the past few years. It is here that Okumu’s thesis has its focus. During a two months stay in northern Kenya he studied the “Laikipia Peace Caravan” (LPC). The LPC is constituted by about 70 professionals, highly educated members of pastoral communities like the Pokot, Samburu and Turkana. The members of LPC generally live in Nairobi or in other urban centres of Kenya. All of them still have strong linkages to their pastoral communities. They are engaged in well-paid jobs, have good links to the press or other media and have also ties to the political establishment. They have formed an NGO which has as its aim to step in immediately once violence is threatening or has happened in order to prevent an escalation of conflicts. In an ethnographic effort Okumu sheds light at the origins, principles and practices of the peace caravan and analyzes its potential to foster peace.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters thesis)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Okumu, Willis willokumu@gmail.com UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-85195
Series Name at the University of Cologne:	Culture and Environment in Africa Series
Volume:	3
Date:	2013
ISSN:	2194-1556
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Fächergruppe 4: Außereuropäische Sprachen, Kulturen und Gesellschaften > Institut für Ethnologie
Subjects:	Customs, etiquette, folklore
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language MA thesis, Kenya, Pastoralism, Violence, Peace Building English Masterarbeit, Kenia, Pastoralismus, Gewalt, Friedensstiftung German
Date of oral exam:	2013
Referee:	Name Academic Title Bollig, Michael Prof. Dr.
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/8519