Turkana Deputy Governor John Erus speaking during a training for youth on cross border peace in Lodwar
The Intergovernmental Authority on
Development and the Food and Agricultural Organization have started initiatives
to end cross border banditry and strengthen peace in East Africa.
The initiative also seeks to
promote resource sharing among the Karamoja youth in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia
and South Sudan.
Turkana Deputy Governor John Erus
urged the youth to form strong bonds to ensure peace and development in the
region.
He spoke during a workshop organised
by FAO and IGAD under the EU-funded Pastoralism and Livestock Adaptation to
Climate Change (Place) programme in Turkana county.
The DG said the youth have an
untapped influence to mobilise communities to action.
“Our youth are the pillars of
transboundary peace and productivity. The young people are very active and
cross our borders not to divide but to connect. They are not the problem, as is
often defined but they hold the solution and potential we need to unleash,”
Erus said.
He said for any development plan to
be sustained, the youth must be fully involved and engaged.
Erus also urged the youth to
leverage their digital literacy to build cross-border platforms for peace dialogue,
early conflict detection and information sharing on resource availability among
pastoralist communities.
He said the youth can positively
use the digital space to champion peace and development.
The worshop included field sessions
in Lokiriama and Lorengkippi, where participants held community-based dialogues
and learnt from existing peace models.
Lorengkippi chief Nathan Longorio praised
the initiative, describing it as a deliberate effort to empower youth to
inherit peace-building responsibilities from the elders.
He said the Lokiriama and
Lorengkippi peace models long served as symbols of unity, promoting co-existence
among the Turkana, Pokot and Matheniko communities at the Turkana-Pokot and the
Kenya-Uganda borders.
“We have to ensure our youth take
up and sustain the peace initiatives that are in place so that our communities
can co-exist in peace and unity,” Longorio said.
Turkana county commissioner Julius
Kavita said he has been working closely with representatives from FAO and IGAD
who also addressed participants from the four countries.
He said the initiatives targeting
youth are impactful and would help transform communities known for engaging in
banditry.
“The government appreciates such
initiative supported by our development partners like IGAD and FAO,” Kavita
said.
