MURULE - GARRE -GHARRI PEACE AGREEMENTS IN 2005/2006 ERA

 The #MURULE & #GARRE resolutions of 2005 dispute.

Resolution 1.

It was judged, after tabulations of deaths and injuries caused by the conflict and agreements to pay compensation according to Somali Customary Law, that the greater losses suffered by the Garre should be compensated.

It was agreed that Murulle would pat KSh. 7,600,000 in three installments, three million on signing, Ksh. 2.3 million by 30th October 2005, and a final Ksh 2.3 million by April 2006.

It was agreed that a sum of Kenya Shillings one million, which had been paid by the Garre and held by the Mandera DC, be returned to them.

Resolution 2.

After payment of Phases 1 compensations, combined. delegations of Garre and Murulle elders would go to the hot spots and ‘preach peace.’ Then payment would be made at the ground level of the compensation, and there would be a return of displaced urban people to El Wak, Lafey, Wargadud.

Resolution 3.

It was resolved that there would be no compensation for loss of wealth and property, but Garre would pay Kenya shillings six hundred thousand (600,000 Ksh) to repair houses.

Resolution 4.

It was agreed that rapists would be handed over to the government and there would be no acceptance of payment to forgive this crime. Where clear evidence was lacking, an Islamic oath would be used to establish innocence, administered first to the accused, then to the woman. Injuries would be dealt with according to the Islamic Sharia.

A woman who was raped would be paid dowry equivalent to what is normally paid for women getting married; further compensation would be sought if the victim was a virgin. Farms and pasture land would be separated by clear fencing, and farm owners should guard their farms during the day.

Livestock owners would pay for transgressions by their stock; if transgression were proved to be deliberate the culprit would be arrested and made to pay for damage caused.

Nomadic communities would have to respect the traditions of the place where they move to, and accept the area chief as their chief.

Any conflict that arose would be resolved through elders of the host community. The host community should have patience and deal with migrants tolerantly.

Damage actions against trees and vegetation were prohibited, and such actions should be reported and punished. Murderers were to be handed over to the government. In unclear cases, the oath would be used. If a group of elders claimed compensation for the murder of one of their own, the oath would first be administered on 50 elders from those claiming compensation.

If the 50 elders agreed and underwent the oath, their claim would be accepted and they would be paid. If they declined to undergo the oath, then 50 elders from the accused the clan would be asked to take the oath; if the accused clan elders under oath swore they were not transgressors, no payment for compensation should be made.

If both sets of elders decline to undergo the oath, the case will be adjourned until clarity is found; Elders would undertake to control crowds, and avoid any incitement that leads to conflict.

Resolution 5.

It was resolved to ask government to release all those who had been captured by security forces in the name of the conflict.

Resolution 6.

Conflict over pasture and water were not resolved; Issues of peaceful coexistence not solved; Conflict over administrative locations were not solved; The killing of Garre at Jabibar 20 April 2004 unresolved.

Resolution 7.

It was resolved to create a standing committee, made of 20 persons, including 6 religious leaders, and 7 elders from each clan, Murulle and Garre, to oversee the implementation of the resolutions.

It was agreed that not every incident will be treated as a violation of the accords until the elders from violating community accept that they have failed to resolve the issue at hand.

YADO - YETHO - ALUNGU WARD, LAFEY CONSTITUENCY

                       

Yetho is an area in Lafey Constituency particularly the Alungu Ward and is a grazing Ground. 

Of Late, we are hearing there are people from the neigbouring Tribe, Garre who have settled in Yetho, sometimes written as Yado or Yedo.  We have several times advised our Neighbours that they have a lot of land in Mandera County. They should live in other areas and leave us alone.

Murule Community used to Live in Elwak Sub-County in Mandera County but our Neighbours told us to leave and move to Lafey. We Complied and moved to Lafey Constituency. Our Border with the Garre Community is along the Mandera -Rhamu-Elwak and Kenya Somalia Border. We try to advise our neighbours everything and it is really getting our of hand. 

Garre and Murule have fought several times and we need to think about these before it becomes a serious issue. Garre have fought with almost all communities including Degodia in Mandera Rhamu Area, Ajuuraan in Wajir North, Borana in Moyale and Marsabit area. They also fight with Marehaan and accuse them as refugees in Mandera County. 

We urge the Kenya The National Cohesion and Integration Commission, The Kenya National Police Service, The DCI and All Government of Kenya officials who know this issue to mitigate this impending crisis as we have tried our best to convince these complicated neighbours to find some other ways to stay in their areas to no avail.

Please once again, avoid increasing tension and putting innocent people lives in risk especially  in Yetho (Yado) and Wanteey areas....I repeat, Murule were living in Elwak Sub-County and Garre Told us to leave for them...Let them not follow us in Lafey Constituency. Garre have a big land in Elwak upto Takaba upto Moyale....what do they want from Murule Land.....Here, we are urging people and all responsible to avoid Conflicts and putting people into risk....as this is a serious case....

Also have LAFEY CONSTITUENCY MP Hon. Abdi Mude Talking about the same here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNrz8thqtYQ

GHARRI (GARRE) WAA LACAG RAADIS, DHIIG RAADIS

THE GARRE - GHARRI COMMUNITY NEEDS TO CO-EXIST WITH ALL COMMUNITIES IN MANDERA COUNTY

SUMMARY :

- The Garre and Murule clans were considered the “resident clans”. This changed after careful analysis of the Colonial records and past histories. 

- The Garre Community have animosity with almost all communities in Mandera, Wajir and Marsabit Counties.

- The Garre (Gharri) Fought with Murule Community Several times in the past including the Infamous 1982- 1983 'Colki Maqan' in which Garre took 4,000 Murule Camels in anticipation that it will end properly only to lose all their warriors...

- There were several Peace Agreements - The Maslaha System between Murule and Gharri Communities and eveytime, The Gharri Community breaches it. For Example, THE INTER CLAN PEACE DIALOGUE MEETING BETWEEN THE GARREH AND MURULLE COMMUNITY AT AIR TIME RESORT OF MANDERA EAST DISTRICT 12TH TO 15TH JULY 2008 contained the following issues :

After lengthy consultation the communities and clan elders agreed to deliberate on the following key issue. 

a) Sustainable peace between the two communities. 

b) The border between mandera east and mandera central district to be clearly identified. 

c) Implementation of the gare-murrule peace accord of 2005.

 - The Garres have had clashes with Degodia Community both in Mandera County as Well as Wajir County

- The Garre fought with Marehaan Community in Mandera region several times 

- The Garres have fought with Boran Community in Marsabit County as well as Ajuuraan in Wajir County.

- The Gharri Community is allegedly been supporting AlShabaab in Mandera County through Proxies to create a culture of impunity, fear and terrorism and to make sure other communities live in fear. 

BACKGROUND

Mandera County is in Northern Kenya and the upper most tip bordering Somalia as well as Ethiopia. 

Mandera has been prone to clashes ever since the first Colonial administration arrived. That was back in 1915. In 2020 July, The Same Garre Community still is instigating new tensions in Mandera County where many ethnic communities live. 

Several attempts to create a peaceful co-existence has been propped up inclusing the Famous UMUL ACCORD between Murule and the Gharri Communities back in 2008. A copy is available  here https://css.ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/center-for-securities-studies/pdfs/THE%20UMUL%20ACCORD%20Mandera%202005%20and%202008.pdf

As recent as 2018, a deadly conflict involving two Somali clans, Degodia and Garre, has been raging in Mandera County in North Eastern Kenya. While clan conflicts are not new to the area, the intensity of the latest flare up (including deliberate targeting of children and women in violation of Somali social norms in clan wars) raises fundamental questions about the newly devolved system of county governance and its impact on conflict dynamics and peacebuilding architecture in northern Kenya. The Mandera conflict comes on the heels of another conflict in neighbouring Marsabit in early 2014. The control of large budgets and political influence that comes with parliamentary and county government posts has turned competitive politics in the region into a zero sum game. The indigenous conflict management mechanisms have neither the experience nor the capacity to deal with political conflicts. The new county governments and the political and economic largesse that comes with them are, if not managed equitably, likely to further exacerbate existing conflicts in the poor and conflict-prone counties of northern Kenya.

The below clip show the extent of Garre (Gharri) community showing hatred of Somali Communities living in Mandera county.  The Clip above is showing the new tensions of Yetho Wanteey in Alungu Ward under Lafey Constituency. This must stop for co-existence otherwise it will end up in a very fatal way. 

The Degodia and Garre, (sometime read as Gharri )clans have a long history of conflict and violence that are documented even in colonial records. The current conflict, however, began in 2008 following the election of Abdikadir Mohamed from the Degodia clan as the Member of Parliament for Mandera Central Constituency. Mr Mohamed unseated Billow Kerow (current senator for Mandera county) from the Garre clan, the majority clan in Mandera and previous occupants of this seat. This election result had wider ramifications on the politics of Mandera: political domination of the Garre clan was broken; and the political presence of the Degodia clan was felt.

This win-lose mentality is rooted in a “resident-migrant” dynamic that has shaped politics in Mandera for a long time. The Garre and Murule clans were considered the “resident clans” and the rest of the Somali clans, due to their “minority” or “migrant status” (the Degodia are neither of these), were clustered into an alliance called “corner tribes”. This distinction had a major influence on the conduct of politics in the area: the “resident clans” have historically won the parliamentary seats (two for Garre and one for Murule) and the majority of the local council seats. The election of Abdikadir Mohamed (Degodia) as the Member of Parliament for Mandera Central Constituency in the 2007 election was seen to be going against this unwritten rule.

The Garre -Gharri Community have never been in Mandera County alone nor were they the majority community until the issue of Devolution came and based on Populations from wajir and Marsabit, took the Governor.  This has led to escalation and renewed skirmishes.

The conflict systems in the region are further complicated by the emergence of new forms of conflict such as terrorism and the problem of radicalisation. The Mandera conflict comes at a time when the attention of the Kenyan state is focused on countering terror attacks from the Somali-based terror group, Al-Shabaab. Clan clashes and communal violence are treated as secondary issues by the security forces, as shown by their slow response to the Mandera clashes. 

Recently they had very big skirmishes with the Degodia Community in Rhamu and Banissa areas and now they want to instigate new clashes in Yetho - A murule Community grassland....in Lafey Constituency.

 

The Garre Community always like to create tensions and Clashes in all places they are resident. The First clashes between Murule and Garre was back in 1915. 

 

 

MAMA MALYUN OO LAYABAN WANAGA MURALE WALEE WAA DAD DUN WANAGSAN BOM 02/0...

                

ETHNIC SOMALI DISTRIBUTION IN THE HORN OF AFRICA - DJIBOUTI, ETHIOPIA(SOMALI REGION), KENYA AND SOMALIA

These Information is contained in https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/5a606d7e4.pdf for further reading 

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