The project is a follow-up to the Interpeace-NCIC peace and stabilization program that was implemented from 2019-2021 in the Northern counties of Mandera, Wajir, Turkana, Samburu, West-Pokot, Baringo and Elgeyo-Marakwet. It builds on the significant successes of the last phase, which saw the cessation of hostilities and the signing of several peace accords in Mandera and the North Rift, as well as the establishment of effective and locally led peacebuilding infrastructures. The project aims to prevent, mitigate and manage election-related conflict and violence in the context of the 2022 Kenyan general elections, which carries significant risks to the peace gains achieved. The project is implemented in close partnership with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and the Network of Peace, Cohesion and Heritage (NEPCOH) Trust, thereby establishing close links between key government agencies and local communities. More specifically, Interpeace, NCIC and NEPCOH Trust are working along three interconnected lines of action: training electoral stakeholders in conflict prevention and management, establishing conflict early warning and response mechanisms for election-related violence, and developing a code of conduct among key stakeholders that promotes a peaceful electoral period. This short-term peacebuilding approach around the elections is accompanied by a more medium-term approach that aims to increase cohesion between communities by strengthening the previously established grassroots peace infrastructures. The ongoing and previous phase of this project have been generously funded by the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO).
