Abstract

Communication-Facilitation as a Faith-Based Mediation Strategy for Conflict Transformation along the Border between Bomet and Nyamira Counties, Kenya

Edwin Orina Nyaoma, Mildred Fedha Lumayo, Edmond Maloba Were

Volume: 15 Issue: 2 2025

Abstract:

Faith-based actors tend to feature less in national and international efforts to transform inter and intrastate conflicts. Their contribution has further elicited less scholarly attention to the extent that policy interventions are less comprehensive and largely exclusive. This study aimed to investigate the contribution of communication-facilitation as a faith-based mediation strategy for conflict transformation along the Bomet-Nyamira counties border, Kenya. The target population of the study comprised 140 respondents. The sample size consisted of 87 household respondents for questionnaires, 29 respondents for in-depth interviews, 18 respondents for key informant interviews, and 6 focus group discussions from the Kipsigis and Abagusii communities along the Bomet-Nyamira counties border, Kenya. A qualitative research design was employed, utilizing specific descriptive survey methods along the Bomet-Nyamira counties border zone, Kenya. The research was conducted at four sites in the Ekerubo and Raitigo locations of Nyamira County and the Gelegele location of Bomet County. Questionnaires were administered to the identified household respondents along the Gelegele, Ekerubo and Raitigo locations border. Structured questionnaires, key informant interviews, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions were utilized to gather information from the respondents. The findings indicated that dialogue, compromise, negotiation, and empowerment were key in transforming conflicts along the border of the counties. It concludes that communication-facilitation had a substantial positive impact on conflict transformation along the Bomet-Nyamira border since it builds mutual trust and promotes peaceful co-existence along the border. However, to enhance the effectiveness of this mediation strategy faith-based organizations should emphasize peaceful sessions along the border. Additional frameworks should be set on continuous training in peace.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.37648/ijrssh.v15i02.008

Back Download

References

• Baruch, R. A., & Folger, J. P. (2004). The promise of mediation: The transformative approach to conflict. JosseyBass.
• Bercovitch, J. (2019). Social conflicts and third parties: Strategies of conflict resolution. Routledge.
• Bercovitch, J., & Houston, A. (2000). Why do they do it like this? An analysis of the factors influencing mediation behavior in international conflicts. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 44(2), 170– 202. https://www.jstor.org/stable/174662
• Bercovitch, J., & Kadayifci-Orellana, S. A. (2009). Religion and mediation: The role of faith-based actors in international conflict resolution. International Negotiation, 14(1), 175– 204. https://doi.org/10.1163/157180609X406562
• Botes, J. (2003). Conflict transformation: A debate over semantics or a crucial shift in the theory and practice of peace and conflict studies? International Journal of Peace Studies, 8(2), 1–27. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41852899
• Fisher, E., Bavinck, M., & Amsalu, A. (2018). Transforming asymmetrical conflicts over natural resources in the global south. Ecology and Society, 23(4), 1–9. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26796847
• Fisher, R. J. (2016). Third party consultation: A method for the study and resolution of conflict. In R. J. Fisher (Ed.), Ronald J. Fisher: A North American pioneer in interactive conflict resolution (pp. 37–71). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39038-3_3
• Galtung, J., & Fischer, D. (2013). Johan Galtung: Pioneer of peace research. Springer.
• Haynes, J. (2007). Religion and development: Conflict or cooperation? Palgrave Macmillan.
• Hegertun, N. H. (2010). Faith-based mediation? Sant’ Egidio’s peace efforts in Mozambique and Algeria [Master’s thesis, Universitetet i Oslo]. Institutt for Statsvitenskap.
• Hoekema, D. A. (2019). We are the voice of the grass: Interfaith peace activism in northern Uganda. Oxford University Press.
• Irvine, C. (2007, September 1). Transformative mediation: A critique. Social Science Research Network. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1691847
• Kadayifci-Orellana, S. A. (2018). Religion and peacebuilding. In J. Bercovitch, V. Kremenyuk, & I. W. Zartman (Eds.), Handbook on conflict resolution. Sage Publications.
• Khadiagala, L. (2002). The failure of popular justice in Uganda: Local councils and women’s property rights. International Institute of Social Studies, 32(1), 55–76. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7660.00196
• Lederach, J. P. (2014). The little book of conflict transformation. Good Books.
• Lehti, M. (2019). The era of private peacemakers: A new dialogic approach to mediation. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Liechty, J. (2000). Mennonites and conflict in Northern Ireland 1970–1998. In C. Sampson & J. P. Lederach (Eds.), From the ground up: Mennonite contributions to international peacebuilding (pp. 77–96). Oxford University Press.
• Mahfudin, I. A., & Sundrijo, D. A. (2021). Faith-based transnational actors and peacebuilding: An analysis of the role of Nahdlatul Ulama in Afghanistan’s peace process. Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional, 23(1), 26– 50. https://doi.org/10.7454/global.v23i1.582
• Makonye, F. (2021). Conflict transformation theory as a tool for non-violence: The case of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations in Zimbabwe. African Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, 10(2), 31– 43. https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3665/2021/v10n2a2
• Mu’min, M., Yulianta, D., & Sulaeman, O. (2021). Islam Nusantara and religious peacemaking: Nahdlatul Ulama’s ideas in creating peace in Afghanistan. Walisongo: Jurnal Penelitian Sosial Keagamaan, 29(2), 181– 210. https://doi.org/10.21580/ws.29.2.8945
• Orodho, J. A. (2004). Elements of education and social science research. Kanezja Publishers.
• Power, M. (2005). Building communities in a post-conflict society: Churches and peacebuilding initiatives in Northern Ireland since 1994. The European Legacy, 10(1), 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/1084877052000321985
• Quinn, D., Wilkenfeld, J., Eralp, W. P., Asal, V., & Maclauchlin, T. (2013). Crisis managers but not conflict resolvers: Mediating ethnic interstate conflict in Africa. Conflict Management and Peace Science, 30(4), 387– 406. https://doi.org/10.1177/0738894213491352
• Rüland, J., Lübke, C. V., & Baumann, M. M. (2019). Religious actors and conflict transformation in Southeast Asia: Indonesia and the Philippines. Routledge.
• Sandal, N. A. (2017). Religious leaders and conflict transformation: Northern Ireland and beyond. Cambridge University Press.
• Turay, T. M. (2000). Civil society and peacebuilding: The role of the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone. In D. Lord (Ed.), Paying the price: The Sierra Leone peace process (pp. 50–53). Conciliation Resources.
• Ullah, R., & Inayat, M. (2023). Conflict transformation in Balochistan: Considering agonistic dialogue for ending violent conflict. Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 11(3), 3723– 3731. https://doi.org/10.52131/pjhss.2023.1103.0651
• Young, O. R. (2017). The intermediaries: Third parties in international crises. Princeton University Press.