In Mandera County, It is said, The Murule Somali Clan, one of the dominant 'resident' group has a lot of relations with the Somalia's Marehan just over the Kenya-Somalia border. It is believed the two communities are so intertwined through marriages and tradition that there was only one Major clash between them only once in 1941 and never again. The Two Clans used to live together in the Gedo Region of present day Somalia and parts of Mandera, before the borderlines were drawn by the British Colonists.
Over the past year and a half, a program known as RASMI has worked with traditional leaders from BeletHawa in Somalia, Dollow Ado in Ethiopia, and Mandera in Kenya to enhance social cohesion between Marehan and Murule clans. These two clans live in the Mandera Triangle and share both social and natural resources across the international boundaries, which has often caused conflicts between them.
The Murule community blames the Marehan community on issues along the border of Kenya and Somalia and aiding Al Shabaab, which operates along the border. As Marehan Elder, Idris Adan once stated,
“Our Murule brothers continue to blame us for matters beyond our control – terror killings by Al Shabaab. In fact, the Marehan community suffers the most and has even lost many elders as a result of violent extremism. We encourage our colleagues to accept realities and help us in the fight against terror.”
Similarly, The Murule community allegedly accuse the Garre - Gharri Community of planning, executing (masterminding) the Al Shabaab group as most of the group leaders are of Garre community - in a bid to scuttle development in Murule Localities along the Kenya- Somalia border. Both Garre and Marehan live in Elwak, just along the border.
On the other hand, the Marehan community accuses the Murule of pitting Kenyan security agents against their families residing in Mandera. This fact led a Marehan sub clan, Ororsame, under the disguise of AlShabaab kidnapped Arabia Senior Chief and murdered him infront of Murule elders led to resentment within Murule who vowed to punish the Marehan sub-Clan.
In the news report, Assistant chief Abdinoor Dakane told the BBC that Chief Muktar 'Otieno' was tied to a tree and shot dead by the militants, after locals failed to pay a ransom.
Following a series of trust-building dialogues supported by RASMI, the two communities have now become more resilient to conflict incidences and are not easily provoked to retaliatory actions. In these meetings, communities understood how revenge killings hamper the resolution of conflicts, lead to more deaths, and hinder reconciliation. Traditional leaders present at the dialogues, agree to mobilize their communities, dissuade them from participating in retaliatory attacks, and opt for dialogue processes to manage conflicts. A former MP, Hon. Abdille Sheikh Billow, a Murule Politician and an Elder, observed,
“This forum has come at a time when the two communities are at peace and this means we can have open and honest discussions on contentious issues that usually disrupt social cohesion.” It has been the practice that agreements reached during the peak of violent conflicts are usually entered to quell the violence without intentions of honoring them.
The dialogues have resulted in easing tensions and minimizing displacement of communities when a conflict incident happens. This has allowed the Marehan children who attend school on the Kenyan side of the border to remain in school even after violent conflicts occur and the continuation of cross-border businesses and interactions. The changes in how the two communities now relate to violent incidents speak to the dialogues’ effectiveness in building trust.
For example, the killings of two Murule men in Elwak, Somalia early this year did not spark inter-clan violence, and Marehan elders even participated in their burial. The deceased, who worked as livestock brokers at the Elwak livestock market, were killed by Marehan gunmen at the market. The Marehan community took responsibility for the killings, immediately sent messages of condolences to the victims’ families, and organized dialogues with the Murule clan to discuss the killings and reparations. Additionally, the Marehan quickly apprehended the perpetrators, thus preempting any opportunities for revenge attacks.
Similarly, the killing of a Murule elder, who previously served as a Kenya Police Reservist - KPR at Fino, in March 2019 along Kenya-Somalia border was not associated with Marehan clan but was squarely blamed on Al Shabaab militia. The Marehan clan elders reached out to the Murule clan after the killing to console them and to encourage them to disseminate accurate information to the villages along the border that are inhabited by the two communities to avoid any possible revenge attacks.
