Baragoi Community

Baragoi is located in the Northern part of the country, in Samburu County, at approximately 450KM from Nairobi. The semi-arid area is mostly occupied by the pastoralist communities of the Samburu and the Turkana. In Baragoi town, other communities like the meru, Kikuyu, Somali and Kisiican also be found.

 

Main security challenges:

  • continuous conflict amongst the communities in the area who mainly fight over scarce pasture and water resources.
  • Cattle Rustling between Samburu-Turkana-Pokot communities
  • Banditry along the highways of Maralal-Baragoi and Maralal-Nyahururu
  • presence of illegal firearms and trafficking of SALW
  • illegal alcohol brew
  • early and forced marriages

 

Partners in Baragoi:

El-Barta Child and Family Programme, Christian Children’s Fund and ACTED, the Baragoi women peace and development, the Baragoi Youth Speakout and the Baragoi Community Development programme.



Achievements:

  • establishment of community policing and improved public and police interaction

Kagumo Community

Kagumo town is situated in Kerugoya division, Kirinyaga County. Kagumo has a population of approximately 9,000 inhabitants (2009). Kerugoya is largely an agricultural area with tea and coffee being the main cash crop. Kagumo is a predominately a Christian community and the main ethnic groupings are Kikuyu, Aembu and the Ndia.

The area is relatively safe and peaceful, though there are some security challenges:

  • Cases of petty crime
  • Mugging
  • Presence of alleged Mungiki sect
  • congestion and conflict over public space
  • fear of victimization
  • limited knowledge of crime and violence patterns and ignorance of rules and solutions, diminished cultural values and poor parenting
  • violence in schools
  • youth delinquency

 

Partners in Kagumo:

The area is policed by 15 Administration Police officers who are housed within the Mutira Chief Camp. The main police station is Kerugoya police station and Kabonge police post.


Achievements in Kagumo:

 

Mtwapa community

Mtwapa town is one of the earliest settlements in the coastal region of Kenya, in Kilifi County. It is located between Mombasa and Malindi and has an approximate population of 60,000 and is highly cosmopolitan. Until recently, it had exclusively been settled by the Swahili, the Chonyi and Jibana communities, who mainly practiced agriculture.

 

Security Challenges:

  • drugs and substance abuse
  • poor relationship between the community and the police
  • rise in presence of outlawed groups like the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC)
  • Early initiation of underage girls into risky sexual behaviour
  • sexual and gender based violence, including defilement
  • Youth violence
  • Drugs and substance abuse

 

Partners in Mtwapa:

Matatu and the Boda Boda sector, Bar maids, Police, Mama Mboga units and the local Security Agencies.

 

Achievements in Mtwapa:

Voi community

Voi community is located in Taita Taveta County in the south east of the country. The population is 69,000 people. The main groups are the Kikuyu, Taveta, Kamba, Somali and Taita communities.

 

Main security challenges:

  • child abuse
  • illegal immigrants
  • land grabbing
  • pastoral conflict
  • petty crimes

 

Partners in Voi

USAID, Chemonics, police, probation office, children department, business association, taita taveta development forum, professional forum, resource center, Anguo FM radio, court users committee and the community policing committee.

 

Achievements:

  • A refurbished model police station was created in Voi police station to improve services to the public

Eastleigh Community

Eastleigh is a vibrant neighborhood of Nairobi, located 10km from the central business district. It is also called ‘little Mogadishu’ due to its large Somali immigrant population. It has a population of over 400,000.

Major security challenges are:

  • gun related crime
  • organized gangs
  • gun trade
  • illegal immigration
  • drugs trade and substance abuse

 

Partners in Eastleigh:

Police, provincial administration, education sector, health facility, International Justice Mission, Kituo cha sharia (NGO), Fight for peace international (sports), Eastleigh business association

 

Usalama achievements:

 

  • The members of the safety forum have acted to share information and ideas that has led to the cooling of tension between the boda operators, criminals and police.
  • Former gang members have been engaged in the safety forum and activities
  • developed a framework that has resulted in police and community being able to work together to reduce crime
  • established a women safety volunteer program, support group among women whose children are involved in crime
  • managed to bring on board commercial sex worker, which expands the scoop of information gathering in the area

Garissa community

The Garissa municipality is located in the arid or desert terrain of North Eastern province. Somalis are the primary residents of the area, many of who have migrated from rural settings in Somalia and the world’s biggest refugee camp in Dadaab.

 

Security challenges:

 

  • Garissa has experienced a number of terrorist attacks.
  • The most common crimes are petty theft, burglary, assault, traffic cases, rape,
  • inter-clan disputes, violence over plots of land and political differences
  • illegal migrants

 

Partners in Garissa:

Peacenet, Matatu, Taxi and Boda-Boda services, the business sector, Private Security Providers, the police, the Community Policing Committee and the informal peace structures, chief, health facility and children's office.


Achievements in Garissa:

  • In collaboration with the Judiciary training institute the community is now being challenged to increase access to justice and solve conflicts between locals and non local ethnic groups (e.g. Somali vs. Kambas.)

 

 

Isiolo community

 

 

 

Isiolo is a districts in Eastern Province of Kenya. It borders Marsabit, Garissa, Wajir, Meru, Laikipia and Samburu counties. Isiolo is classified as 100% Arid and Semi-Arid Land. Isiolo is inhabited by among othergroups the Borana, Somali, Turkana, Samburu and the Meru Communities.The total population is 143,294,000. Isiolo city is going to be developed under the proposed Lamu Port- Southern Sudan- Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET) flagship project to become a economic as well as tourist location.
 
Security challenges

  • Violent escalations related to multiple factors such as politics, ethnicity and land (pastoral conflict)
  • presence of illegal fire arms


Partners in Isiolo:

PeaceLink, Saferworld, the councils of Elders, police station

 

Achievements in Isiolo:

 

 

 

Ugunja Community

Ugunja town is located along the Kisumu-Busia highway, 72 km north of Kisumu in Western Kenya. Ugunja town has a population of about 93,372 occupying an area of 212.9 square kilometers. The district is majorly dominated by Luo tribe. Agriculture is the main source of food and income.

 

Security challenges:
 

  • Substance abuse, availability of illegal alcohol and drugs
  • sexual offences
  • formation of gangs accused of major crimes in Ugunja
  • influx of homeless people and an increase in the number of Street Families

 

Partners in Ugunja:

Court Users Committee, Ugunja Police Station, Kenya Land Alliance, Children Office, Ambira Sub-district Hospital, Ugunja Community Resource Centre, Community Policing Group, Provincial Administration, BodaBoda and Matau touts.

Achievements:

 

Bungoma

Bungoma is located in Western Kenya.

 

Main security challenges:

  • Ethnic and political violence
  • Lynching / mob justice
  • theft of personal properties, housebreaking and robbery
  • Sexual abuse, assault and domestic violence

 

Partners in Bungoma:

Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, police, community policing committee, chief

 

Achievements:

  • Since the crime observatory project was started by Usalama forum at the station, services have improved
    as all parties-the police, agencies and the community- are able to share their views.
  • The crime observatory software has been vital in capturing data thus decreasing the police officers workload which was exhaustive and time consuming.

Kopsiro

 

Kopsiro community is situated on the slopes of Mount Elgon in Bungoma County, close to the border with Uganda.The target community in Kopsiro comprises of the ethnic groups; the Sabaots, Luhyas and Teso’s. Most of the locals are self-employed. They depend largely on agriculture and practice subsistence farming.


Security challenges:

  • Retrogressive political leadership that fuels strife, anarchy and intercommunity hatred
  • Youth involved in delinquency
  • Proliferation of small arms
  • Crimes like malicious damage of property, land disputes, incest and girl child defilement

 

Partners in Kopsiro:

local CBOs, Religious institutions, business and education sectors, the police and informal security bodies

 

Achievements:

  • Ensuring community participation in the on-going national reform process
  • Building trust between police and public
  • Enhanced accountability and transparency from the police to the community
  • Involvement in the development of budgetary request for security at the local and national government level
  • Creating awareness on crime and violence prevention initiatives, the Community Based Policing policy and the role of the County Policing Authority.

Kapenguria

Kapenguria is situated in West Pokot County, located in the North Rift Valley region. Kapenguria town hosts a total of 25,000 residents (2009). The town is the meeting place for community from all over the county as it hosts the County offices and Heads of Departments and National Government appointees. 

 

Security challenges:

  • Cattle rustling
  • Banditry
  • Intra-community conflict
  • Gender based violence amongst which Female Genital Mutilation and underaged prostitution
  • presence of firearms
  • Substance abuse among youth
  • urban crimes like robbery, vandalisation and gambling

 

Partners in Kapenguria

SIKOM peace network, Saferworld, West Pokot County Government, the Court Users Committee, West Pokot County Policing Authority and groups at risk of becoming offenders or victims of crime and violence.

 

Achievements

 

  • The county safety is improving through community policing initiatives and the improved relationship between community and police

 

Kakuma

Usalama is working with the community members in Kakuma in Turkana West Constituency. The majority of the population is Turkana, but there are also 99,000 refugees hosted in Kakuma Refugee Camp, of which the major groups are Somalis, Sudanese and Congolese. This brings a

 

Main security challenges:

  • Cattle rustling along the borders with Uganda, Ethiopia and Sudan. 
  • Violence is caused by competition over resources as well as between the refugees and the local community.
  • There are also conflicts between NGOs and the Local Arbitration over the distribution of resources.
  • A possible new challenge could arise from the recent discovery of oil in the region.
  • Other frequent crimes are Armed Robbery, Assault and Defilement.

 

Partners in Kakuma

Community Based Organizations and other development agencies like UNHCR, Oxfam and WFP but also the Red Cross and faith based organizations. There is one police station, a police post, three patrol bases and one GSU. Other partners are the local chief, the children office and the health facility.

 

Achievements

  • The police-community interactions are analyzed to produce better working relationships, create mutual understanding of responsibilities and role in ensuring safety and security.

Kisii Community

 

 

 

Kisii town is the capital of the Kisii County, one of the most economically active peri-urban towns in Kenya; it has a large metropolitan population of over 100,000 residents (2009). The town serves the larger South Nyanza County and the Trans Mara area of western province.

Since August 2010, Usalama Forum and the local Community Prevention Team identified a range of challenges that impact negatively on the safety and security of Kisii community residents.

  • Domestic and Gender Based Violence relating to young girls being coerced into Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and under age prostitution,
  • Vigilante Justice from Community Policing Groups that is commonly preferred opposed to Kisii High Court to administer justice,
  • Youth Violence related to Alcohol and Drug Abuse sold in the town among the youth operating in car washes
  • insecurity in public spaces, like bus park, due to conflict between small traders, bus and motorcycle operators

Usalama’s work therefore focuses on safety of public spaces; prevention of youth violence, reduction of drugs and substance abuse and restoring authority of the formal justice and security systems.

Partners in Kisii:

Kisii Police Station, Kisii County government, the Court Users Committee, Kisii County Policing Authority and groups at risk of becoming offenders or victims of crime and violence. Usalama encourages these actors to participate and supports local initiatives in crime and violence prevention.

Achievements in Kisii:

 

 

 

 

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