CLAN ELDERS INITIATIVES AND THEIR EFFECT ON PEACEBUILDING IN LOWER JUBBA REGION, SOMALIA
Abstract
Despite having a homogenous ethnic population, Somalia's society is severely divided because of the existence of rival clans. The nature of the intra-clan conflict between different clans is diverse from one region to another and keeps changing. Therefore, the role of Clan Elders in promoting peace and the results of their actions in Kismayu is still not well understood. The study used a descriptive research design. It examined how clan elders’ initiatives through civic education, arbitration and community mobilization, contributed to the promotion of peace in the Lower Juba Region in Somalia. The researcher employed the stakeholder’s theory and the social capital theory to inform the study. 120 respondents, including 40 members of the Council of Clan Elders, 25 members of the Council of Religious Leaders, 20 members of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), 20 members of the Chamber Business Committee, and 15 state and municipal administrators from the Lower Juba Region, participated in the study's census of the entire target population. Purposive sampling was also employed to select individuals with characteristics of interest to the researcher, while a questionnaire was employed to gather data. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative research data using tables, graphs, and pie charts. On the other hand, qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis. The study established that clan elders’ community mobilization and arbitration initiatives were the only factors that had a statistically significant impact on peacemaking in the lower Jubba region of Somalia, while civic education initiatives had an insignificant effect. The study made several recommendations, including that clan elders be encouraged to promote civic education through coordination with other stakeholders in order to improve the lower Jubba region of Somalia's peace building, and that the council of elders be encouraged to improve their communication techniques to increase their efficacy in promoting peace building.
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