Assessment of community peace accords in Kenya

This report assesses the role and effectiveness of community peace accords in seven Kenyan counties: Tana River, Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Mandera, Wajir, and Turkana. It examines the transition from top-down, state-led agreements to community-led processes, highlighting that sustainable peace depends on local ownership, inclusive design, and the integration of traditional customs. The study identifies key drivers of conflict, including resource scarcity, historical marginalisation, and political competition under devolution, while providing policy recommendations to improve the coordination, funding, and legal frameworks supporting these accords.

• Community conflicts in the seven target counties are primarily driven by competition over scarce water and pasture, which is intensified by climate change, as well as disputes over historical and administrative boundaries.
• Historical marginalisation through colonial and post-colonial policies has left these regions with low levels of social and economic development, fueling grievances and hostility toward government security and administrative agencies.
• The introduction of devolution under Kenya's 2010 Constitution has intensified intercommunal competition for resources, development projects, and elective positions, such as governor and county assembly seats.
• There is a critical distinction between top-down peace accords—often negotiated in hotels by elites and lacking community ownership—and community-led accords, which are more resilient because they are designed and owned by the affected populations.
• The Lokiriama Peace Accord of 1973 between Turkana and Karamojong communities is cited as a highly resilient agreement due to its community-led negotiation process and the use of traditional symbolism, such as burying weapons.
• The Modogashe Declaration is a long-standing framework for peace in northern Kenya, though its effectiveness is hindered by a lack of understanding among some communities and resistance from men regarding the inclusion of women's issues.
• Recent interventions by the NCIC and Interpeace in Mandera and the North Rift region have improved peace outcomes by establishing local structures like ceasefire monitoring committees (CMCs) and inter-village dialogue committees (IVDCs).
• The Marsabit Peace Accord of August 2024 demonstrates the failure of top-down processes, as it was primarily signed by administrators and lacked community awareness, resulting in a disconnect from the actual security situation on the ground.
• Implementation of peace accords is severely hampered by a lack of resources, over-reliance on donor funding, and a failure by county governments to prioritize peace in their budgets.
• There is a significant gap in the legal and policy framework, specifically regarding the legal enforcement of community accords and the integration of traditional justice practices like Maslaha (blood compensation) into the formal law.

APA

Bosire, C. M. (2026). Assessment of community peace accords in Kenya. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1771581148013-monograph215.pdf

Chicago

Bosire, Conrad M. Assessment of community peace accords in Kenya. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1771581148013-monograph215.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bosire |first1=Conrad M |title=Assessment of community peace accords in Kenya |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=February 2026 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1771581148013-monograph215.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bosire2026assessment, author = {Bosire, Conrad M}, title = {{Assessment of community peace accords in Kenya}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1771581148013-monograph215.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }