Turkana County has set a three-month deadline to finalise the County Peace Building and Conflict Management General Regulations, with Deputy County Secretary Joseph Nyang’a urging the Directorate of Peace to immediately establish an inclusive technical committee to complete the process.
Nyang’a made the call while addressing peace stakeholders during a meeting supported by Danish Church Aid (DCA) under the SPREAD project. The meeting brought together stakeholders to review the draft regulations, which are expected to provide a framework for implementing the existing Peace Building and Conflict Management Policy and Act.
The Deputy County Secretary described the regulations as a missing link in operationalising the county’s peace building framework and called for their completion to be treated as a priority.
“I want to say that peace remains one of the most important agenda of the County Government under the leadership of Governor Dr. Jeremiah Lomorukai. For that reason, concluding the regulation must be treated as a top priority activity,” he said.
Nyang’a cited the cessation of conflict between Turkana and Toposa communities along the Lokichoggio-Kapoeta border and in Turkana-Matheniko border areas as signs of progress, saying the county remained committed to promoting peace across all conflict corridors.
DCA Project Manager Nicholas Omwolo said the organisation’s support was aimed at strengthening the legal framework needed to implement peace programmes across the county.
“Through SPREAD, DCA participates in peace building by facilitating the formation of grassroots-level groups to drive the peace agenda. We hope that the regulations will assist us in ensuring the Community Action Groups (CAGs) formed comply with the legal requirements guiding such operations,” he said.
Chairperson of the County Assembly Committee on Security, Administration and Disaster Management Samuel Aliwo said the committee would fast-track its consideration of the regulations once they were formally submitted to the Assembly.
Aliwo also urged peace actors to expand interventions to Turkana East, which he said has a limited presence of development partners.
“We ought to take peace and conflict management interventions to key hotspots that have never benefitted from any interventions despite the huge threat to peace and security,” he said.
Chief Officer in the Office of the Governor Moses Korea commended development partners for their continued support of peace building efforts in the county.
“Turkana can now boast of having created a conducive environment for peace to prevail. Development partners have played a significant role in supporting the making of the policy and the Act. Support towards the regulation is certainly welcome too,” he said.
Chief Officer for Partnerships, Resource Mobilisation and Donor Coordination Jane Rose Tioko called on development partners to formalize their engagement with the county through Memoranda of Understanding and inclusion in the county’s official list of partners.
During the meeting, a team from the County Attorney’s Office led by Director of Litigation Ekal Lokuruka reviewed the draft regulations and guided participants through discussions aimed at simplifying and clarifying their provisions.
Lokuruka stressed the need for county legal instruments to remain responsive to the dynamics of Turkana’s refugee population and the community’s interaction with neighboring countries and the international community along the Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan borders.
The discussions also received contributions from representatives of International Alert, Caritas Lodwar, Danish Refugee Council and TUPADO. The meeting was moderated by Director for Peace Titus Lokorikeju.
The county is now expected to constitute the technical committee and work towards completing the regulations within the three-month time frame before the document is submitted to the County Assembly for consideration.
