Addressing the Moyale Conflicts in Southern Ethiopia: Challenges and Prospects
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2016-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University,
Abstract
The theme of this study is concerned with addressing the conflicts of the Moyale town in southern
Ethiopia. There has been conflicts in Moyale and its environs since early times. However, the
nature of the conflict has changed in recent decades, both in its actual subject-matter and in the
form of its expression. The conflicts were obviously not the usual fights between pastoral
communities over pasture, water source or cattle raid. As a result, the study is aimed at
identifying the actors, the factors and the interplay between different dimensions of the Moyale
conflicts. Qualitative case study method and descriptive design were used to this end. The
analysis is also framed using theories of ethnicity and ethnic mobilizations. The finding indicates
that the conflicts in Moyale and its environs shaped and re-shaped by historic and ongoing
socio-economic and political developments. The Borana, the Garri and the Gabra found to be
parties in conflict while other actors such as the OLF, Al-Shabab, Business Men, Community
elites, Security forces from both the Ethiopian and the Kenyan sides involved in the conflicts of
the area. The factors of the conflicts also includes Land Ownership and Blurred Frontier
Demarcations, Politicized Ethnicity and Elite Mobilization, the Location of Moyale and
Unenforceable Citizenship Rights. The efforts of achieving lasting peace held back due to the
Socio-economic and Political developments, focus on the Immediate factors of the conflict, the
Proliferation of Small Arms, Lack of commitment from Local Elites and the Regional Dimension
of the conflicts. At the same time, the recent measures of the government upon local elites, the
mental set-up of the community for peace, increased dependency on legal instruments and joint
planning and execution of social services found to be windows of opportunities in dealing with
the conflicts of the area. In general, the study concludes that the conflicts in the town of Moyale
and its environs are the result of a number of actors and factors. And also have a peculiar
features which cannot be addressed in terms of pastoralist conflicts of the region and calls for a
shift of focus to a deeper level, beyond the surface factors, where the underlying factors are
directly addressed.