Hobyo - DCSA Report - 2015 - Observatory of Conflict and

District Conflict and Security Assessment
Report
HOBYO DISTRICT
JUNE 2015
2015
AUTHORS AND CONTRIBUTORS
Asha Ali (Researcher, OCVP)
Ismail Abdullahi (Researcher, OCVP)
Kenneth Mutinda (Researcher, OCVP)
Omar Abshir (Researcher, OCVP)
Disclaimer
This report is not a legally binding document. It is an assessment document and does not necessarily reflect
the views of the institution in all its contents. Any errors are the sole responsibility of the authors.
©The Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention
All rights are reserved. Requests for permission to reproduce or translate OCVP’s publications – whether for
sale or for non-commercial distribution – should be addressed to the OCVP via email: info@ocvp.org
Publications of OCVP can be obtained from our offices in Mogadishu, Somalia, or could be downloaded from
our website www.ocvp.org
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention (OCVP) would like to thank the interviewees and survey
participants who gave us their precious time and shared their thoughts on such sensitive issues.
We also thank the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, for providing us
with the financial support needed to undertake this survey through the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) in Somalia.
Finally, we are grateful to the local authorities in Hobyo District for giving us the permission to conduct this
assessment in the district.
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ABBREVIATIONS
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ADR
Alternative Dispute Resolution
DCSA
District Conflict and Security Assessment
DFID
Department for International Development
FGD
Focus Group Discussion
FGS
Federal Government of Somalia
IDPs
Internally Displaced Persons
KII
Key Informant Interview
OCVP
Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention
ODK
Open Data Kit
SPSS
Statistical Package for Social Sciences
SRS
Systematic Random Sampling
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................................................................................. III
ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................................................................................... IV
CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................................................... V
LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................................................... VII
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................................ IX
DISTRICT PROFILE ........................................................................................................................................................ XI
SCOPE OF THE ASSESSMENT ....................................................................................................................................... XII
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................... XIII
SECURITY PROVIDERS ........................................................................................................................................................... XIII
JUSTICE PROVIDERS ............................................................................................................................................................. XIII
GOVERNANCE PROVIDERS ..................................................................................................................................................... XIV
CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE ...................................................................................................................................................... XIV
1.
METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................................................1
1.1.
1.2.
1.3.
1.4.
1.5.
OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................................................................. 1
SAMPLING METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................................ 1
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY ................................................................................................................................................ 1
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 2
KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS ..................................................................................................................................... 2
2.
PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS....................................................................................................................................4
3.
SECURITY, JUSTICE AND GOVERNANCE PROVIDERS ..............................................................................................6
3.1.
SECURITY PROVIDERS .......................................................................................................................................... 6
3.1.1. Level of Deployment ........................................................................................................................................... 6
3.1.2. Preference of the security providers ................................................................................................................... 7
3.1.3. Perception of security providers ......................................................................................................................... 9
3.1.3.1.
Perception of the ‘police’ ......................................................................................................................................... 9
3.2.
JUSTICE PROVIDERS ........................................................................................................................................... 11
3.2.1. Level of deployment ......................................................................................................................................... 11
3.2.2. Performance of the Justice Providers ............................................................................................................... 12
3.2.2.1. Formal Courts ............................................................................................................................................................... 13
3.1.3. Perception of the Justice Providers................................................................................................................... 14
3.3.
GOVERNANCE PROVIDERS................................................................................................................................. 17
3.3.1.
Level of Deployment ................................................................................................................................. 17
3.3.2.
Performance of the Local Council ............................................................................................................. 18
3.3.2.3. Election vs Nomination ................................................................................................................................................ 20
3.3.3. Perception of the Local Council ........................................................................................................................ 21
4.
CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE ....................................................................................................................................23
4.1.
EXPERIENCE OF CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE .................................................................................................................... 23
4.2.
DYNAMICS OF CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE ..................................................................................................................... 24
Conflict Resolution ..................................................................................................................................................... 24
4.3.
PERCEPTION OF SAFETY............................................................................................................................................ 25
5.
CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................................27
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6.
ANNEXES .............................................................................................................................................................28
6.1.
6.2.
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SAMPLE SIZE FORMULA ........................................................................................................................................... 28
GLOSSARY OF TERMS .............................................................................................................................................. 29
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Gender distribution of respondents ......................................................................................................4
Figure 2: Age distribution of respondents by gender...........................................................................................4
Figure 3: Marital status of the respondents .........................................................................................................4
Figure 4: Respondents' education levels ..............................................................................................................5
Figure 5: Respondents' education levels by gender .............................................................................................5
Figure 6: Respondents' awareness of police presence ........................................................................................7
Figure 7: Respondents’ awareness of police presence by Subdivision ................................................................7
Figure 8: Reporting preference - civil matters .....................................................................................................7
Figure 9: Reporting preference for civil matters by gender .................................................................................8
Figure 10: Reporting preference - petty crimes ...................................................................................................8
Figure 11: Reporting preference for petty crimes by gender ..............................................................................8
Figure 12: Reporting preference - serious crimes ................................................................................................8
Figure 13: Reporting preference for serious crimes by gender ...........................................................................9
Figure 14: Most trusted security provider in responding to crime and violence .................................................9
Figure 15: Respondents’ level of trust towards police in responding to crime ................................................ 10
Figure 16: Respondents’ level of trust towards police in responding to crime by gender ............................... 10
Figure 17: Perception of the performance of the police - yearly trend ............................................................ 10
Figure 18: Perception of the performance of the police - yearly trend ............................................................ 10
Figure 19: Respondents' awareness of the existence of courts ........................................................................ 11
Figure 20: Respondents' awareness of the existence of courts by Subdivision ................................................ 12
Figure 21: Usage of justice providers ................................................................................................................ 12
Figure 22: Issuance of judgments ...................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 23: Enforcement of judgments ............................................................................................................... 13
Figure 24: Respondents' choice of must trusted justice provider..................................................................... 14
Figure 25: Respondents' choice of most trusted justice provider by gender ................................................... 14
Figure 26: Respondents’ level of confidence in the formal justice system ....................................................... 15
Figure 27: Respondents’ level of confidence in the formal justice system by gender ...................................... 15
Figure 28: Perception of the performance of the court: yearly trend .............................................................. 15
Figure 29: Perception of the performance of the court: yearly trend by Subdivision ...................................... 15
Figure 30: Perception of the performance of the court: yearly trend by gender ............................................. 16
Figure 31: Respondents' awareness of the presence of a local council ............................................................ 17
Figure 32: Respondents' awareness of the presence of a local council by subdivision .................................... 17
Figure 33: Respondents' awareness of the presence of a local council by gender ........................................... 17
Figure 34: Respondents' awareness of services provided by the local council................................................. 18
Figure 35: Respondents' responses regarding services provided by the local council ..................................... 18
Figure 36: Respondents' opinions about the most pressing local issues .......................................................... 19
Figure 37: Respondents' awareness of channels of communication ................................................................ 19
Figure 38: Respondents' awareness of channels of communication by subdivision ........................................ 19
Figure 39: Respondents' participation in local governance consultations (last 12 months) ............................ 20
Figure 40: Respondents' participation in local governance consultations by subdivision (last 12 months)..... 20
Figure 41: Respondents' participation in local governance consultations by subdivision (last 12 months)..... 20
Figure 42: Respondents' opinions regarding the importance of elected representatives................................ 21
Figure 43: Respondents' perception as to the performance of the local council: yearly trend........................ 21
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Figure 44: Respondents' perception as to the performance of the local council: yearly trend by gender ...... 21
Figure 45: Respondents' perception as to the performance of the local council: yearly trend by gender ...... 21
Figure 46: Account of witnessing conflict between clans or groups ................................................................. 23
Figure 47: Account of witnessing conflict between clans or groups by Subdivision......................................... 23
Figure 48: Account of witnessing crime or violence outside the homestead ................................................... 23
Figure 49: Account of witnessing crime or violence outside the homestead by gender .................................. 23
Figure 50: Account of witnessing crime or violence outside the homestead ................................................... 24
Figure 51: Perception of safety ......................................................................................................................... 25
Figure 52: Perception of safety - yearly trend by gender .................................................................................. 25
Figure 53: Perception of safety- yearly trend .................................................................................................... 26
Figure 54: Perception of safety - yearly trend by gender .................................................................................. 26
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Number of male and female respondents within the Subdivisions
Table 2: Distribution of focus group participants by gender
Table 3: Key Informant Interview participants
Table 4: Respondents' reasons for choice of trusted security provider
Table 5: Issues referred to justice providers
Table 6: Reasons for trust of justice providers
2
2
3
9
12
14
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Source: UN OCHA 2012
MAP OF THE STUDY AREA
2015
DISTRICT PROFILE
Hobyo, which was among the very first nominated districts in Somalia after the country gained its
independence in 1960, is located in the north-central Mudug region. It is around 265km south-east of Galkayo
and about 50 km north of Harardhere. In the 19th century, Hobyo was the base of the Sultanate of Hobyo,
which was established by Sultan Yusuf Ali Kenadid in the 1870s and later ruled by successive members the
Kenadid family.1 In 1888, the Sultan signed a treaty with Italy that made his kingdom part of what would
later, with the signing of similar treaties in the neighbouring Sultanates, become the Italian Somaliland
protectorate.2 Upon the declaration of independence in 1960, Hobyo was made the centre of the official
Hobyo District.
As with any other Somali district, Hobyo suffered from the 1991 civil war which tore the whole country apart.
The district was left without a functioning administration. As a result of the absence of formal justice or
security providers, people in Hobyo were left to depend on the informal entities such as traditional elders
and sheikhs. Nevertheless, in 2008 the Himan and Heeb administration, based in Adaado to the west of
Dhusamareb - the administrative capital of Galgaduud region, was established by the local elites. However,
the district was also claimed by Galmudug administration, based in South Galkayo which claims that the two
regions of Galgaduud and Mudug fall under its ambit. During the assessment, there were ongoing efforts to
establish a unified administration for the two central regions of Mudug and Galgaduud; the Central Regions
State.
1
Helen Chapin Metz, Somalia: a country study, (The Division, 1993), 10.
Issa-Salwe, Abdisalam M. The Collapse of the Somali State: The Impact of the Colonial Legacy, (London: Haan
Associates, 1996), 34–35.
2
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SCOPE OF THE ASSESSMENT
The District Conflict and Security Assessment is designed to gather people’s perceptions regarding service
providers and accessibility and effectiveness of the services they provide. Information is gathered according
to four progress indicators relating to service provision: justice, governance, security and conflict. While a
district may contain a major urban settlement (main town) and a number of smaller surrounding villages, it
is the unfortunate reality that the type of public services this assessment is aiming to measure are
concentrated primarily within the main town of the district, while at the village level they are often
inadequate or completely absent. Keeping this in mind, this assessment was designed and carried out in the
major urban settlement of the district; the HOBYO Town.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Continual assessment of issues directly affecting the community’s safety and security is critical for effective
evidence – based programming, informed decision making and measuring the impact of related
programmatic interventions. It enables a better understanding of what works and does not work at the
community level. With this in mind, the district level assessments map out and provide a better
understanding of issues that affect targeted communities across the Somali regions. By using key indicators
for selected thematic areas, this report provides an assessment on the state of conflict, governance, justice
as well as safety and security in Hobyo District. The assessment was conducted from March 09 to 12, 2015
and a summary of key research findings is presented below.
Security Providers
It was observed that there was no standing police force operating in Hobyo district; the only uniformed
security personnel being a contingent of military (Marine) officers that had been seconded to the district
from Galmudug at the behest of the federal government. Accordingly, quantitative responses as to police
presence reflected this absence of a standing force, with the proportion of those who believed that the police
were present being less than one in ten across the district and most of those being in Hawl wadaag
Subdivision. The consequential reliance on informal actors could be observed in the fact that, for matters
relating to civil disputes, petty offence and serious crimes, the majority of respondents stated that they
preferred to report to traditional elders in the event of an incident. Traditional elders were also quoted by
most respondents as their most trusted security provider in responding to crime and violence, mostly due to
their perceived unbiased enforcement but also ease of access and respectability. Interestingly, when
questions relating to the police in exclusion of other security providers were posed to the household survey
respondents, an inordinately large proportion of positive indicative responses regarding the level of trust in
responding to crime and violence and the perception of the yearly trend in performance was observed.
Justice Providers
For justice provision it was observed that, in conditions characterised by a lack of sufficient overarching
central governmental authority and strong state mechanisms at the district level, recourse had been taken
to alternative approaches. In the absence of a formal court, an Islamic court in which rulings were made in
accordance with Shari’ah and religious books had developed and gained popularity. Most respondents in
fact, when asked whether there was a court in the district, answered in the affirmative. Justice provision in
Hobyo was thus carried out by this institution in addition to the traditional elders practising customary law
and religious leaders providing alternative dispute resolution and there was notable reported usage in the
household survey for the 12 month period preceding the assessment. A bulk of the cases adjudicated by the
court had involved land disputes, as had more than half of the matters resolved by the traditional elders.
Household violence was the most common issue among those who had used religious leaders. Rates of
issuance and enforcement of judgements were high in all instances. Traditional elders were the most
commonly pointed out provider when respondents were asked whom among the various justice providers
they trusted the most in solving cases and the most commonly advanced reason for this trust was their
perceived fair judgements.
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Governance Providers
The district has a locally nominated council comprising 23 councillors, four of whom are female. The duties
of the local government are administered by this council through local committees that it forms and with
oversight from the Mayor and his deputy. Awareness of the existence of the council was high among
household survey respondents, as was awareness of the services it provides which include security, justice,
sanitation, health, water, infrastructure and education. Poor health, lack of infrastructure, poor education,
unemployment, poor sanitation and shortage of electricity supply were most commonly identified by the
respondents in the survey as pressing local issues. In the course of dispensing local governance, the council
consults with members of the community. About a third of respondents who were aware of the existence of
the council were also aware of communication channels, but overall only two out of every ten respondents
from the entire sample reported having actually participated in consultations in the reporting period. By
gender, male respondents reported higher levels of participation than female respondents. Most
respondents exhibited a strong belief in the democratic principle of representation by election. Three
quarters of the respondents felt that the performance of the council had improved during the reporting
period.
Conflict and Violence
Despite its tumultuous past, the district of Hobyo had, at the time of the assessment, been experiencing an
extended period of relative peace and calm. Almost none of the respondents in the household survey had
witnessed conflict between clans or sub groups in the past year. Crime or violence unrelated to conflict was,
however, reported by slightly more than one-quarter of the sampled population. Qualitative discussants also
pointed out numerous incidences of conflict, most of which had been localised in areas beyond the scope of
the assessment and were therefore not captured in the quantitative study, and which had various causes
such as revenge killings, disputes over water resources and land disputes. The district council, the court and
traditional elders were all said to contribute towards conflict resolution. Overall, most respondents reported
that they felt safe and almost all respondents were of the opinion that levels of safety had increased in the
12 months preceding the assessment.
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1. METHODOLOGY
1.1.
Overview
As part of its continual assessment of issues directly
affecting community security and safety, OCVP
conducted an extensive collection of primary data in
HOBYO District.
In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of
the thematic areas under investigation, a mixedmethod approach was employed to allow the
research team to triangulate information uncovered
in both the data collection and subsequent analysis
phase. The household survey aimed at obtaining a
representative picture of the target populations’
perceptions regarding the thematic areas under
exploration, and Key Informant Interviews were used
to probe deeper into, and cross-validate issues that
emerged from the Focus Group Discussions.
The quantitative data was analysed by the OCVP
Research and Analysis team using the Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22, after it
had been collected using smart tablets that were
running ODK Collect; a mobile data collection tool
developed by Open Data Kit (ODK). The qualitative
data was subjected to thematic analysis, using a
largely deductive approach (qualitative research
being a smaller component of a larger quantitative
study). The main themes of coding were developed
before the mission, in line with the questions, but
further coding was done during analysis.
1.2.
Sampling Methodology
A district household estimation provided by the local
municipality enabled the application of a sampling
formula3 to determine a representative sample size
for the district. The study took into account certain
statistical parameters such as the level of confidence
desired (95%), sample design effect (1.5), margin of
error (+ or – 8%) and the assumption that some
security correlations of (0.3) existed within the
Subdivisions.
The p-value of 0.3 in the formula assumes a security
correlation above a random normal distribution of
0.5 within the district clusters (subdivisions). This is a
reasonable assumption based on the topic of the
survey – respondents within the districts are likely to
exhibit a correlational relationship between their
perceptions and the surrounding security
environment. This is further backed by OCVP’s past
experience in which individuals from the same area
tend to exhibit similar perceptions on security,
justice, governance and conflict and violence.
The calculation detailed above resulted in a sample
size of 120.
1.3.
Household Survey
A household quantitative survey covering 120
randomly selected individuals being interviewed in
person, was carried out in Hobyo by OCVP's
Mogadishu research team with the use of trained
enumerators who received support from two local
enumerators hired from the target district and
assistants from village centres to help in the
identification of the delineations between
Subdivisions.
Discussions with a representative of the local
government in Hobyo regarding the demorgraphy of
3
See Annex 6.1
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the town helped the team to select the three
Subdivisions of: Israac, Hawl wadaag and Wadajir.
The team employed Systematic Random Sampling
(SRS) where enumerators randomly selected every
4th household after a random start point and
interviewed one respondent above 18 years old in
each selected household. Furthermore, in the
absence of gender proportion statistics, the
researchers aimed at a 50/50 representation of both
genders. Moreover, the number of questionnaires
administered in the different subdivisions was
proportional of the size of the subdivision.
Hawl wadaag had the highest number of
interviewees among all, totalling 44 respondents, 21
male and 23 females, while Israac village comprised
the second highest number of respondents with a
sum of 40, (20 females and 20 males). There were 36
respondents from Wadajir - 21 males and 15 females
(Table 1).
Table 1: Number of male and female respondents within
the Subdivisions
Area/Subdivision
Hawl wadaag
Wadajir
Israac
Total sample
1.4.
Gender (Number of
respondents)
Male
Female
21
23
21
15
20
20
62
58
Total
44
36
40
120
Focus Group Discussions
The second research tool (qualitative) was a series of
Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) aimed at capturing
participants’ perception of security and justice
providers (formal and informal), governance
providers and the dynamics and experiences of
conflict and violence. The FGDs were conducted on
the 9th and 12th of March 2015 at the district
Conference Hall. Each group discussion lasted for
about an hour.
A total of six groups were involved in the FGDs:
women, elders and religious leaders (in one group),
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youth (male and female in one group), justice
providers (formal and informal), governance
providers (formal), and IDPs. Each group consisted of
10 participants. (See Table 2.) A local organizer
assisted in the recruitment of the participants based
on clan-lines, geographic coverage, social class,
gender and age (as well as profession in the case of
justice and governance providers).
An OCVP researcher moderated the discussions with
the assistance of a note taker. Digital recorders were
used to record the discussions only after obtaining
the participants’ consent. Following verbatim
transcription, the data was cleaned, organised and
finally further coding was done during the analysis
phase.
Table 2: Distribution of focus group participants by
gender
Focus Group
Gender
Male
Women
Elders/Religious Leaders
Youth
Justice Providers
Governance Providers
IDPs
Total
1.5.
10
5
10
6
5
36
Total
Female
10
5
4
5
24
10
10
10
10
10
10
60
Key Informant Interviews
The third method utilized for data collection was
personal interviews with key informants who
possessed experiential knowledge on the themes
under investigation. The aim was to go deeper into
the subject areas and cross-validate the issues raised
in the FGDs.
The interviews were conducted between the 10th and
13th of March 2015 at the respective offices of the
interviewees. A convenient venue was selected for
those who did not have offices. Each interview lasted
for about half an hour. Four key informants were
interviewed, including the Deputy Mayor, the District
Court Commissioner, an IDP Chairperson and a key
traditional elder.
A local organizer assisted in the scheduling of the
interviews which were then conducted by OCVP
researchers. Interviews began with questions that
were tailored to the interviewee and then generally
cut-across the thematic areas of governance, justice,
security, and conflict and violence. Table 3 below
details a list of the key informants.
Table 3: Key Informant Interview participants
Key Informant
Deputy Mayor
Key traditional elder
District Court Commissioner
IDP Chairperson
Total
Male
1
1
1
1
4
Gender
Female
-
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2. PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS
Of the total respondents in the Hobyo household
survey, 52% (62 respondents) were males, and 48%
(58
respondents)
were
females.
Gender
disaggregation was emphasised to allow a clear
depiction of the differences in experiences, views
and insights between the two genders throughout
the report (Fig. 1).
Figure 2: Age distribution of respondents by gender
Figure 1: Gender distribution of respondents
A little more than three quarters of the respondents
77% (92 respondents) were married. Those who
were divorced made up 11% of the sampled
population; while the singles and widowed
accounted for 9% and 3% respectively (Fig. 3).
Regarding the age groups among Hobyo
respondents, those in their thirties made up 27%
(15% male, 12% female) of the entire sample,
followed by those in their twenties with 23% (13%
males and 10% females). Respondents who were
above sixty years old comprised only 12% of the total
respondents (Fig. 2).
Figure 3: Marital status of the respondents
The respondents who reported that they were never
educated comprised 36% of the total sampled
population (the largest category), and those who
went to Quranic Madarasa made up around one third
(31%) of the total respondents. The respondents who
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had attended formal educational institutions,
ranging from primary to secondary comprised 31%,
while only 3% had tertiary level education (Fig. 4).
Figure 4: Respondents' education levels
The proportion of female respondents who had not
been educated was almost two times higher than
that of males who reported to have never been
educated (47% females, 25% males). In contrast, a
higher portion of male interviewees (35% males, 26%
females) had attended Quranic Madarasa. Overall,
male respondents were more likely to have attended
formal educational institutions ranging from primary
to secondary, than females (Fig. 5).
Figure 5: Respondents' education levels by gender
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3. SECURITY, JUSTICE AND GOVERNANCE PROVIDERS
3.1.
SECURITY PROVIDERS
Being found in one of the regions in South Central
Somalia most adversely affected by decades of
conflict and civil war has had a characteristically
negative effect on the Hobyo District. Only in recent
years has control of the district been sufficiently
wrested from militant groups and clan militia to
allow the gradual re-stablishment of governance
structures. Most political dialogue centres upon the
need to prioritise security as a prerequisite to making
further headway along the recovery pathway.
However, numerous challenges, chief among them
being the lack of resources, have been hindrances to
progress on the matter. Consequently, despite the
apparent need for the prioritisation of security so as
to cement the requisite community safety for postconflict development and state-building, it was
observed that there was no free-standing,
government sanctioned/supported police service
present in the district.
In the absence of a state sanctioned police force, a
regiment of uniformed marine soldiers seconded to
the district from the Galmudug Administartion at the
behest of the Federal Government, the local
authorities and traditional elders all play a part in the
maintainiance of security and order in this district.
Most of the services provided at the district level are
led by informal entities such as traditional elders,
religious leaders and local intellectuals. Participants
in the governance providers’ focus group discussion
pointed out that there had been a small number of
police officers in the district; however, there had
4
Governance providers. Focus Group Discussion. March
12th 2015. Hobyo
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been insufficient resources available to maintain
their presence.
We had 30 police officers and unfortunately that force
disbanded due to non-payment. As of today they are part
of the public (civilians).The last police were recruited and
trained during the Sheikh Sharif regime but afterwards
nothing has been done here to improve this force.
There is no police in Hobyo at the moment, only an old
police station in a very sorry state.
Local council uses the military to work in case of a serious
security breach sometimes deploying the marines and the
Galmudug state military. However, even these Galmudug
military may soon go away due to non-payment too.4
Accordingly, when respondents in the household
survey were asked questions that relate directly to
the police, their responses were in line with the
observations discussed above. Participants in the
focus group discussions and key informant
interviews were, however, able to provide better
insight into the state of policing in the district.5
3.1.1. Level of Deployment
When asked whether there were police in their town,
the majority of the survey participants (84%) said
that they were not aware of any police presence,
while one in every ten respondents (9%) reported
that there were police in Hobyo and 7% were not
sure (Fig 6).
Figure 6: Respondents' awareness of police presence
All the survey respondents (n = 11) who were aware
of police presence went on to state that they knew
of one police station and further stated that it was
less than one hour away from their respective
homes.
3.1.2. Preference of the security providers
In such circumstances, a lot of reliance was placed on
informal actors and formal actors that would
otherwise have been non-conventional with regard
to security provision. For instance, Internally
Displaced Persons claimed, in their focus group
discussion, that the local authorities in Hobyo play a
key role in the provision of security.8
The vast majority of respondents in all Subdivisions
of Hobyo (90% Israac, 89% Wadajir and 75% Hawlwadaag) reported that they were not aware of any
police presence in the district (Fig 7).
Figure 7: Respondents’ awareness of police presence by
Subdivision
Respondents were asked about their reporting
preference for various types of security issues. With
respect to civil matters, a little more than one half
(55%) of the respondents stated that they would
prefer to report to the traditional elders, followed by
18%, and 12% who stated that their preference lay
with the religious leaders and the local authority
respectively (Fig 8).
Figure 8: Reporting preference - civil matters
Traditional elders, in their respective focus group
discussion, also stated that there is currently no
police presence in Hobyo. They pointed out that
security is provided by federal marines, who had
been trained in Djibouti.6 Governance providers
added that the local authorities are sometimes
involved in security provision.7
6
Traditional elders of Hobyo, Focus Group Discussion,
March 9th 2015
7
Governance providers. Op. cit.
Regarding the results of gender based analysis, there
was no notable variation in the proportions of male
and female respondents who stated that they would
prefer one or the other of the security providers in
Hobyo (Fig 9).
8
Internally Displaced Persons in Hobyo. Focus Group
Discussion. March 10th 2015.
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Figure 9: Reporting preference for civil matters by gender
Regarding petty crimes, the findings of the survey
showed a similar pattern to that which was observed
in the case of civil disputes. More than one-half of
the respondents (56%) preferred the traditional
elders for reporting petty crimes.9 However, the
court and the police were slightly more favoured
than the local authority for reporting petty crimes
(Fig 10).
Figure 11: Reporting preference for petty crimes by
gender
In terms of security provision in Hobyo, traditional
elders were most preferred for reporting serious
crimes as 60% of the respondents chose them.
Courts came second, with 15% of respondents
stating that they would prefer to report serious
crimes to the courts (Fig 12).
Figure 12: Reporting preference - serious crimes
Figure 10: Reporting preference - petty crimes
Pertaining to the gender disaggregation of
respondents’ reporting preference for petty crimes,
no substantial variation was noted between the
preferences that were indicated by men and women
(Fig. 11).
9
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|8|
Theft, household violence
Upon gender analysis, it was observed that while
both men and women mentioned traditional elders
most as their preferred security provider for
reporting serious crimes, a larger proportion of
female respondents (66%) had mentioned them
compared with the proportion of male respondents
(55%) who had done so (Fig. 13).
Figure 13: Reporting preference for serious crimes by
gender
chose traditional elders, 70% of those who chose
religious leaders, 59% of those who chose the courts
and 60% of those for whom the local authority was
the most trusted security provider. Respectability
and ease of access were also dominantly pointed out
by those declaring that they trusted the traditional
elders most (Table 4).
Table 4: Respondents' reasons for choice of trusted
security provider
3.1.3. Perception of security providers
The strong influence of informal security providers
was further illustrated when it was inquired of the
respondents as to who they trusted most to respond
to crime and violence. In this regard, around eight in
every ten respondents (78%) chose informal security
providers (59% traditional elders, 19% religious
leaders) as their most trusted security provider.
Conversely, only 19% of the respondents reported
that they trusted formal security providers most
(14%: court and 5%: local authority). Notably, none
of the respondents mentioned the police as his or her
most trusted security provider (Fig. 14).
Figure 14: Most trusted security provider in responding
to crime and violence
Reason for
trust of
security
provider
Fast response
Unbiased
enforcement
They are
respected
Ease of
access
Other
Base
Most trusted security provider in
responding to crime and violence
Traditional Religious Courts
Local
elders
leaders
authority
15%
9%
24%
-
39%
70%
59%
60%
25%
22%
-
-
20%
-
12%
40%
71
23
6%
17
5
3.1.3.1. Perception of the ‘police’
As observed, most of questions about security
providers in the household survey elicited responses
that were in line with the observation of the
researchers that no formal police force was in place
to serve Hobyo District. Nonetheless, respondents
were able to give answers when asked about the
police in general. For instance, with regard to the
level of trust they had in the police in responding to
crime and violence, more than one half (59%) of the
respondents said that they had fairly high trust, and
a further 20% reported very high levels of trust (Fig.
15).
For any of the four security providers that were
mentioned by the respondents, the most comonly
stated reason for the choice was unbiased
enforcement. It was proffered by 39% of those who
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2015
Figure 15: Respondents’ level of trust towards police in
responding to crime
Figure 17: Perception of the performance of the police yearly trend
The level of trust with regards to the police did not
vary much between the genders as around eight in
every ten of both female and male respondents
generally expressed trust in this security provider.
Marginally, males had a higher likelihood of having
expressed a high level of trust in the police than
females, 81% and 77% respectively (Fig. 16).
There was no notable gender distinction in the
reported improvement of police performance.
However, males were more likely than females to
perceive that there had been an improvement in
police performance over the last twelve months
(64% men, 55% women). (Fig. 18).
Figure 16: Respondents’ level of trust towards police in
responding to crime by gender
Furthermore, when the respondents were asked
what their opinion of the trend in performance of the
police over the year preceding the assessment was,
a majority (60%) perceived that there had been an
improvement, while 29% reported that the
performance had not varied in this period, and only
1% felt that there had been a decline (Fig. 17).
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|10|
Figure 18: Perception of the performance of the police yearly trend
Conclusively, while it was apparent that the state of
post conflict recovery had not progreessed to a point
where ther was a formal police force in place,
community oriented approaches had ensured the
provision of security services through a continued
reliance on indigeneous informal entities as well as
the existent formal government structures.
3.2.
JUSTICE PROVIDERS
The lack of sufficient overarching central
governmental authority and strong state
mechanisms at the district level had also, as
observed in the section above, led to alternative
approaches to justice provision in Hobyo including a
maintenance of the traditional structures that had
existed in pre-colonial Somali society. At the time of
the assessment, there was no formal justice provider
(formal court), rather, there was an Islamic court
functioning on the basis of religious authorization.
Traditional elders and religious leaders were
observed to operate as informal justice providers in
the sense that they were involved in the process of
dispute settlement in the community.
that context where it appears in this section, in which
the level of deployment, the performance and the
perception of the various justice providers are
discussed.
3.2.1. Level of deployment
A majority (88%) of the household survey
respondents reported that they were aware of the
existence of courts in Hobyo. Only 3% said they were
not aware, while 10% were not sure whether or not
there was a court (Fig. 19).
Figure 19: Respondents' awareness of the existence of
courts
Participants in the qualitative discussions provided
varied opinions in regard to the existence of formal
courts in Hobyo. For instance, traditional elders said
that there was no formal court10 and participants in
the focus group discussion with women also held the
same view;
We do not have formal courts in this town. All we have
are ADR practitioners, particularly religious leaders who
provide us with smooth justice services.11
In the same vein, it was stated in the FGD with justice
providers that there are only two forms of justice
providers in Hobyo; the Islamic court and traditional
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) practitioners.12
Conversely, the judge in charge of the Shari’ah court,
during a key informant interview, was adamant that
he oversees a formal court. 13
Across all Hobyo subdivisions, the levels of
awareness of court presence were remarkably high
among respondents at 93% in Hawl-wadaag, 86% in
Wadajir and 83% in Israac (Fig. 20).
For the lay person in Hobyo, the word “court”
generally means the Shari’ah practicing institution
mentioned above which bases its judgements on the
Islamic principles from the holy Quran and other
Shari’ah books. It should therefore be understood in
10
Traditional Elders of Hobyo, Focus Group Discussion,
9 March 2015.
11
Women Group. Focus Group Discussion, 9th March
2015
th
12
Justice Providers, Focus Group Discussion. 11th March
2015
13
Local Court Commissioner, Key Informant Interview.
11th March 2015.
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2015
Figure 20: Respondents' awareness of the existence of
courts by Subdivision
3.2.2. Performance of the Justice
Providers
Pertaining to the justice providers of Hobyo, there
are only informal justice providers (traditional elders,
religious leaders and the Islamic court). The
procedure of the court is in a way similar to that of
religious leaders as the base or authority of
judgement is founded on Islamic principles, but the
traditional elders refer to Somali customary law.
Elders often use the traditional system and norms (Xeer)
as precedence. They are the most preferred justice
provider. We approach them first, but if they fail to offer
a mutually acceptable solution, we go to the religious
leaders for settlement.14
In the twelve months preceding the assessment, the
most used justice provider had been traditional
elders, who were used by one third (32%) of the
respondents. Courts were the second most
commonly used justice provider, having been used
by almost a quarter (23%) of the respondents and the
religious leaders had the lowest level of usage at 11%
(Fig. 21).
14
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|12|
Women Group, Op cit.
Figure 21: Usage of justice providers
The most commonly reported issues among those
who had used the court were land disputes (78%).
This was also the cause of more than one-half (58%)
of disputes settled by traditional elders. On the other
hand, among those who had used religious leaders,
the most cited issue, at close to one-third (31%) of
the disputants, was household violence but land
dispute, robbery and assault, at 23% each were also
dominant issues (Table 5).
Table 5: Issues referred to justice providers
Issues referred to
different justice
Providers
Land dispute
Robbery
Household
violence
Assault
Base
Court
78%
4%
15%
4%
27
Justice providers
Traditional
Religious
Elders
Leaders
53%
23%
11%
23%
18%
18%
38
31%
23%
13
Looking at the proportions of respondents who had
used any form of justice provider in the past 12
months, it was observed that nearly all respondents
- 100% who used religious leaders, 97% who used
traditional elders and 96% who used the courts received judgments (Fig. 22).
Figure 22: Issuance of judgments
Pertaining to those who had received judgments, the
rate of enforcement was reported to be similar
among all of those who had used the three different
justice providers at 92% each. (Fig. 23.)
Figure 23: Enforcement of judgments
3.2.2.1. Formal Courts
As previously discussed, the functioning court of
Hobyo is not formal, but is instead an informal entity
which carries out resolutions of cases and disputes
among the community members. To a certain extent,
this Islamic court is different from the pure
traditional or religious practices and procedures
carried out by individuals (traditional elders and
15
16
Traditional Elders. Op cit.
Justice providers. Op cit.
religious leaders) because of its physical location and
the name it has been given as a court; neither does it
resemble the formal courts due to lack of statutory
procedural rules and regulations and constitutional
authority. This court functions in a manner similar to
the Islamic Courts Union in Mogadishu in 2006, with
the exception that this court does not have the type
of militias who were used enforce the judgements in
the case of the Courts Union.
Access to Justice
Pertaining to the access to justice in regard to the
justice providers available in Hobyo, the traditional
elders claimed that there is easy access to the
informal justice providers (ADR practitioners) during
their focus group discussion.15 Despite the fact that
the formal justice system and law enforcement
forces are not functioning, the informal justice
providers of Hobyo seemed to be active. Discussants
described the interaction between the community
and informal justice providers (elders and religious
leaders) to be smooth and this might have influenced
the community’s trust in ADR practitioners.16
Interaction between justice providers
Traditional elders were said to play a dominant role
in Hobyo that went beyond the provision of justice to
include the nomination of the Islamic court judges as
well as the members of the district council. To a large
extent, their popularity is related to the relevance of
their approach within the cultural setting of the
community.17 With regard to justice provision, a
degree of interrelation existed between religious
leaders and traditional elders whereby disputants
who seek justice provision from either one of the two
may refer back to the other in the applicable matters.
An instance is when there is an issue referring to the
Shari’ah based matters and sheikhs are asked to
resolve it, they ask for the consent of the subject
disputants as well as their respective traditional
leaders for future enforcement in case one of the
disputants changes his mind and refuses to be bound
by the judgement.
17
Traditional Elders, Op cit.
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2015
3.1.3. Perception of the Justice Providers
When the household survey respondents were asked
which among the justice providers they trusted most
to resolve cases, the traditional elders appeared to
be the most trusted, having been chosen by over half
(56%) of the respondents. Religious leaders were
stated as the second most trusted justice provider by
18% of the respondents. Courts and local authorities
were pointed out by 15% and 6% of the respondents
respectively. (Fig. 24.)
Figure 25: Respondents' choice of most trusted justice
provider by gender
Figure 24: Respondents' choice of must trusted justice
provider
For any of the justice providers, the most proffered
reason as to why the respondents had chosen them
as the most trusted was fair judgement (50%: court;
48%: traditional elders and 67%: religious leaders)
See table 6 below.
Table 6: Reasons for trust of justice providers
Reason for
trust of justice
provider
Fast decisions
Regarding the gender patterns observed with the
preference of justice providers, there were no
notable differences. However, men were slightly
more likely to indicate trust for the traditional elders,
religious leaders and the local authority than women.
Conversely, women were more likely than men to
report the court as their most trusted provider. (Fig.
25).
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Fair judgment
Independence
from politics
Less costly
More reliable
Base
Most trusted justice provider in solving
cases
The Court
Traditional
Religious
elders
leaders
28%
19%
14%
50%
48%
67%
6%
4%
10%
17%
18
22%
4%
67
10%
21
When household survey respondents were asked to
state what level of confidence they ascribed to the
formal justice system, the vast majority (86%)
exhibited confidence (60%: very confident and 26%:
fairly confident). Only 3% said they were not
confident (Fig. 26).
Figure 26: Respondents’ level of confidence in the formal
justice system
When respondents were asked about their
perception regarding the performance of the courts
compared with the previous year, the majority
indicated that courts’ performance had improved.
One quarter (25%) of the respondents reported that
there had been no change, while only 1% said the
performance declined. (Fig. 28.)
Figure 28: Perception of the performance of the court:
yearly trend
According to the gender disaggregation of the
confidence in the formal justice system, there were
no remarkable differences as almost similar portions
of both sexes (25% of men versus 28% of women)
expressed that they were very confident or fairly
confident (61% men compared with 59% women) in
in the formal justice system (Fig. 27).
Figure 27: Respondents’ level of confidence in the formal
justice system by gender
In regard to the perception of the respondents within
the subdivisions of Hobyo about the performance of
the courts, , seven in every ten (70%) respondents in
Israac felt that the performance of the formal court
had improved, compared with 59% in Hawl- wadaag,
and 56% in Wadajir (Fig. 29.)
Figure 29: Perception of the performance of the court:
yearly trend by Subdivision
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2015
Along gender lines, men (63%) were somewhat more
likely than women (60%) to indicate that
performance of the formal courts had improved,
while a greater portion of women (28%) than men
(23%) felt that the performance had not changed.
The portions of both sexes who did not know
whether the performance improved or declined
were similar with (13% male and 12% female). See
figure 30.
Figure 30: Perception of the performance of the court:
yearly trend by gender
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3.3.
GOVERNANCE PROVIDERS
3.3.1. Level of Deployment
In 2008 a new administration (Himan and Heeb)
which was based in Adaado and under whose ambit
Hobyo fell was established by the local elites. Under
the new administration Hobyo has a locally
nominated council consisting of 23 members, four (4)
of whom are female. The positions in the council are
distributed on the basis of clan composition of the
district. This council is administered by a mayor and
a deputy mayor with the help of local committees
formed by the council.
Nine in every ten (91%) of the household survey
respondents were aware of the existence of the local
council. Only 3% claimed that there was no council
while a further 6% were not sure whether or not
there was a council (Fig. 31).
Figure 31: Respondents' awareness of the presence of a
local council
Figure 32: Respondents' awareness of the presence of a
local council by subdivision
In regard to gender lines, a greater proportion of
men than that of women acknowledged the
presence of the district council (94% men compared
with 88% women). (Fig. 33.)
Figure 33: Respondents' awareness of the presence of a
local council by gender
The levels of awareness of the existence of the
council were high across all the subdivisions of
Hobyo. In Hawl-Wadaag 98% of the respondents
indicated awareness, while in Israac, and Wadajir
88% and 86% of the respondents reported
awareness. (Fig. 32.)
According to both qualitative and quantitative data,
the district council in Hobyo provides services in
relation to public utilities such as sanitation, and
water supply, as well as services such as security and
justice in relation to its mandate to contribute to the
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2015
governance of the district.18 Nonetheless, there still
remains a need for vast improvements in all aspects
of service provision.19
Among those who had indicated awareness of the
local council, 55% of the respondents stated that
they were aware of the services it provides while 38%
claimed they did not know about these services (Fig.
34).
Figure 34: Respondents' awareness of services provided
by the local council
are facing is lack of resources, especially financial
resources;
Every service is tied with resources and without them we
cannot operate. Our service delivery is voluntary based
and this is why our service provision is not at its highest
level.22
Security appeared to be the most visible service
associated with the district council, having been
mentioned by a little less than one-half (48%) of the
respondents in the household survey who were
aware of services provided. Justice came second as it
was indicated by 29% of the respondents and
sanitation was stated by 14% of the respondents (Fig.
35).
Figure 35: Respondents' responses regarding services
provided by the local council
3.3.2. Performance of the Local Council
Despite the fact that the deputy mayor of Hobyo
complained about the existence of many challenges
that hinder the smooth implementation of the
district council services, he pointed out some basic
services that the council was able to provide. These
include sanitation and security services.20
Governance providers in the FGD however pointed
out that the service delivery capacity of the council
was severely constrained by lack of resources. 21 The
deputy mayor added that the biggest challenge they
18
Ibid.
19
Deputy Mayor of Hobyo, Key Informant Interview.
March 12th 2015.
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3.3.2.1. Pressing Community Needs
Poor health and lack of infrastructure were the most
pressing community issues as indicated by the
greatest portion of the respondents (79% each). Poor
education service was the second most indicated
community pressing issue with 76% of the
respondents pointing it out while equal portions of
the respondents reported that unemployment and
poor sanitation (71% each) were among the most
pressing issues in the community (Fig. 36).
20
Governance Providers. Focus Group Discussion, March
12th 2015.
21
Ibid
22
Ibid
Figure 36: Respondents' opinions about the most pressing local issues
When the respondents who had indicated an
awareness of the local council (109 out of 120) were
asked whether they knew of any channels of
communication between the community and the
local government, approximately 38% of them
answered in the affirmative, while an almost equal
portion (39%) stated the opposite and about a
quarter (24%) were not sure whether or not there
were channels of communication (Fig. 37).
Figure 37: Respondents' awareness of channels of
communication
The deputy mayor confirmed that there are different
levels and means of communication between the
23
district council and the community members
including meetings with representatives of different
groups within the society.23
The respondents in Hawl-Wadaag exhibited
relatively high levels of awareness of communication
channels (49%) compared with Israac at 36%, and
Wadajir at 26% (Fig. 38).
Figure 38: Respondents' awareness of channels of
communication by subdivision
Upon further analysis of the household survey
responses, it was observed that approximately one in
every five respondents (22%) across the district had
actually participated in consultations within the 12
Deputy Mayor. Op. cit.
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|19|
2015
months preceding the assessment. The remaining
portion of respondents either stated explicitly that
though they were aware of channels of
communication, they had not participated in any
consultations (13%), or were either unaware of the
existence of the council, or the existence of channels
of communication (66%). See figure 39 below.
Figure 39: Respondents' participation in local governance
consultations (last 12 months)
Across the subdivisions, the highest levels of
participation was observed in Hawl-Wadaag, where
almost one third (30%) or the respondents had
participated in consultations while the lowest rates
(14%) were noted in Wadajir (Fig. 40).
Figure 40: Respondents' participation in local governance
consultations by subdivision (last 12 months)
24
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|20|
Women, Traditional elders and IDPs. Op. Cit.
Gender-wise, there appeared to be a skew in the
rates of participation whereby a notably larger
proportion of men (31%) declared that they had
participated in consultations over the last year than
the proportion of female respondents (12%) that did
(Fig. 41).
Figure 41: Respondents' participation in local governance
consultations by subdivision (last 12 months)
During the focus group discussions, women,
traditional elders and IDPs also confirmed that they
had participated in consultative meetings that the
district council holds for the community members.24
3.3.2.3. Election vs Nomination
When asked about their opinions regarding the
importance of having elected representatives in the
local council, the vast majority (94%) of the
respondents answered that they thought it was
important (Fig. 42).
Figure 42: Respondents' opinions regarding the
importance of elected representatives
Figure 44: Respondents' perception as to the
performance of the local council: yearly trend by gender
3.3.3. Perception of the Local Council
When asked about the performance of the local
council as compared with the previous year, three
quarters (75%) of the respondents felt that it had
improved, 17% felt that the performance had not
changed and only 1% of respondents felt that the
council’s performance had declined (Fig. 43).
Figure 43: Respondents' perception as to the
performance of the local council: yearly trend
Within the subdivisions, Wadajir had the greatest
portion of respondents reporting that there had
been progress in the performance of the district
council. (Fig. 45.)
Figure 45: Respondents' perception as to the
performance of the local council: yearly trend by gender
Pertaining to the gender disaggregation of the
respondents’ opinions towards the performance of
Hobyo district council, there was no remarkable
difference to report as almost equal portions of both
sexes (76% males, 75% females) felt that the
performance had improved in the last twelve
months. (Fig. 44.)
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2015
In conclusion, there is a district council in Hobyo,
which was reported to be making a positive effort
towards the provision of the services it was assigned
for and participation in the development of the
community. Examples of such services include
security, justice, sanitation and consultation
meetings for the community members. However,
they are faced with many challenges which hinder
their service provision. Lack of efficient financial
support is considered the greatest challenge as all
activities and personnel require payments and
logistical support which is missing so far. It is
important to note that the different segments of the
community such as women, IDPs, traditional elders
and youth had the opportunity to participate
consultative meetings of the district council.
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|22|
4. CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE
4.1. Experience of Conflict and
Violence
More than nine in every ten respondents (95%)
reported that they had not witnessed conflict
between clans or groups within the last 12 months
(Fig. 46).
outside their homestead, while the greater portion
(71%) of the respondents stated that they had not.
(Fig. 48.)
Figure 46: Account of witnessing conflict between clans
or groups
Figure 48: Account of witnessing crime or violence
outside the homestead
The respondents who had witnessed conflict resided
exclusively in Hawl wadaag Sub Division, making up
2% of the sampled respondents there (Fig. 47).
There was no remarkable difference to be reported
based on gender. Approximately 29% of women and
27% of men stated that they had witnessed crime or
violence outside the homestead as shown in figure
49.
Figure 47: Account of witnessing conflict between clans
or groups by Subdivision
Figure 49: Account of witnessing crime or violence
outside the homestead by gender
Slightly more than one quarter (28%) of the
respondents in the household survey reported
having witnessed crime or violence against someone
On the other hand, among the subdivisions, Wadajir
had the greatest proportion (33%) of respondents
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2015
who reported that they had witnessed crime and
violence outside the homestead and Hawl-wadaag
had the least (25%). Slightly more than one-quarter
of the respondents in Israac (28%) reported
witnessing crime or violence outside the homestead.
(Fig. 50.)
Figure 50: Account of witnessing crime or violence
outside the homestead
district with women and children being identified as
the most vulnerable. 27
In several qualitative discussions, the scarcity of
water resources which are of importance to the
pastoral (rural) communities was said to have been
the most prevalent driver of conflict between
groups.28 According to the youth FGD participants, in
addition to competition over watering points,
disagreements over grazing lands also have the
capacity to escalate into clan-based violence.29 In
addition, it was mentioned that such competition
over resources had, in recent years of relative peace,
remained as a driver of conflict and commonly
escalated from tension to conflict in areas where
different clans or sub clans were in proximity of each
other:
There was a point in time, probably around 2004 or
2005 when this town was empty and deserted due to nonending conflicts and violence. However, conflicts these
days are limited and mostly around water points between
communities in the villages where different pastoral
groups compete for scarce resources. These areas are
around El Duale, El Hobyo, Xil Xildere and Xin
Dawao.30
4.2. Dynamics of Conflict and
Violence
During qualitative discussions, several drivers and
causes of conflict were mentioned. These included
scarcity of resources and competition over pastoral
land, leading to disputes with the potential to
escalate into violence and which, in turn, had the
likelihood of leading to retributive violence.25
Another common cause of retributive violence was
said to be incidences of rape.26 Within the urban
setting of the town, an underlying cause of conflict
was said to be the resistance of certain members of
the society to pay taxes and the ensuing
confrontations when the local council attempted to
enforce taxation laws. Crime, such as such as
robbery, was also said to be a safety concern in the
25
Youth, Women, Traditional elders and religious leaders,
and Governance providers, Op. cit.
26
Women Focus Group Discussion. Op. cit.
27
Women Group, Op. cit.
28
Youth, Women, Traditional elders and religious leaders,
and key traditional elder, Op. cit.
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|24|
Women complained that public people are armed
and safety is not very reliable as many of those
armed men loot the properties of others. Such
incidents could also lead to the eruption of violence
among the gunmen themselves.31
4.2.1. Conflict Resolution
The district council, Islamic court, and traditional
elders of Hobyo were all said to be the institutions
with the ability to prevent conflict and violence in
Hobyo. In the absence of formal institutions such as
the police or formal courts who would ordinarily
have worked in concert to investigate, prosecute and
adjudicate incidences of crime within the community
that might be precursors to outbreaks of group
29
Youth Group, Focus Group Discussion, 10th March 2015
Chairman of Internally Displaced Persons, Key
Informant Interview, 12th March 2015.
31
Women Focus Group Discussion. Op. cit.
30
conflict, informal justice providers had stepped in to
fill the gap;
Figure 51: Perception of safety
Some of the issues we deal with include murders
committed as a result of disputes over watering points.
The phenomenon of revenge killings is still common in
these areas and we come across it quite often.32
Women focus group discussants stated that the
district council is the mandated institution to prevent
conflict and violence for they were nominated for
such duties. They felt that the council had been doing
well in this regard with the help of elders and
religious leaders, women committees and other
intellectuals.33
IDP focus group participants brought up the issue of
drought and famine as a security and safety issue.
The migration of livestock owners from one place to
another often resulted in violent conflict between
the previous settlers and the new comers to the
destination.34
4.3.
Regarding the gender disaggregation of safety in
Hobyo, the majority of respondents from both sexes
almost equally perceived that the district was rather
or very safe (93% males, 95% females). See figure 52.
Figure 52: Perception of safety - yearly trend by gender
Perception of safety
Despite the lack of or poor governmental
involvement in Hobyo district security and safety,
both qualitative and quantitative participants
perceived that the level of safety has been increasing
year after year. The IDP focus group participants, for
example, confirmed that the current situation of
safety is much better than in past years.35
The vast majority (94%) of Hobyo household survey
respondents felt that the district was rather or very
safe (Fig. 51).
Pertaining to the year to year perception of the
change in safety, the vast majority (92%) of the
household survey respondents believed that there
had been an improvement in the last twelve months
preceding the study (Fig. 53).
32
Traditional Elder. Op. cit.
33
Women Group, Op. cit.
34
35
IDPs, Op. cit.
Ibid
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Figure 53: Perception of safety- yearly trend
Even though there was not much difference between
the genders when taking into account the perception
of change in the level safety, it was observed that a
slightly greater proportion of women felt that safety
levels had increased in the last twelve months (93%
women compared with 90% men). See figure 54.
Figure 54: Perception of safety - yearly trend by gender
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Conclusively, government institutions were not in
place to provide security services in the district, but
informal actors such as elders and sheikhs had
stepped in to deal with issues of conflict and
violence. Furthermore, the community felt that the
situation was improving in this regard as compared
with the previous years. As in any other similar region
or district, the most pressing safety issues in Hobyo
concerned resources such as land and water; but
other incidences of clan based violence, armed
persons, rape and revenge killings were there as well.
People were, however, optimistic about reducing
such issues as time passes.
5. CONCLUSION
Hobyo District has endured decades of conflict
and warfare, state collapse and the
accompanying disintegration of governance
structures and institutions. While recent years
have seen a relative reduction in the incidence
of violent conflict, there are still sporadic
outbreaks of clan conflict, especially in the rural
areas of the district. There is however a hopeful
outlook as the FGS makes progress along the
path of post-conflict recovery and state building
which is expected to have a positive trickledown effect on the regional and district level
governmental institutions. Initial evidence of
this positive outlook can be observed in the
fiduciary exercise of the FGS’s authority in
seconding a contingent of marine officers from
Galmudug to assist in security stabilisation as
well as in Hobyo district’s participation in the ongoing formation of the Central Regions State.
At the time of this assessment, nation-wide
security sector reform had not progressed to a
point where a standing police force would have
been established in the district. This security
provision gap had been filled in part by the
marines seconded to the district by the FGS but
also by the local council and traditional elders.
Informal security providers, the traditional
elders in particular, were popular.
Traditional elders were also popular as justice
providers, using Xeer to mediate disputes
between conflicting parties or groups in the
community with considerable success which was
said to result from their social acceptability
within the cultural setting of the society. In
essence, this operation of traditional elders,
along with the other informal entities (religious
leaders and sheikhs) in the sphere of justice
provision was a continuation of the approaches
that had been in existence prior to the advent of
the formal justice system, rather than a
usurpation of the later.
When disputes escalated into conflict, the
traditional elders were also instrumental in
conflict resolution. By applying the customary
law approach akin to ADR, they would work to
prevent further escalation of the conflict. Where
the conflict had resulted in violence and/or
casualties, they would work towards preventing
retributive violence.
With regard to local governance, the traditional
elders also played a part in the nomination and
installation of Local Council which was made up
of councillors who were said to be making
positive progress towards the provision of basic
services.
Overall, the frequency of major outbreaks of
violent conflict and the militant attacks which
had characterised Hobyo and other south and
central Somali districts had significantly reduced
in the recent past. As such, the assessment
noted that most reports of conflict were in
relation to competition over scarce resources
among pastoral communities in the rural areas
of the district. The perception of safety within
Hobyo town, as demonstrated by the household
survey, was high.
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6. ANNEXES
6.1.
Sample Size Formula
z2 (P) (1-P) (f)
e2
Where:
z= confidence interval (95%)
P= P-Value which assumed some security correlation within the cluster (0.3)
f= is the sample design effect (1.5)
e= the margin of error to be attained (+ or – 8%)
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6.2.
Glossary of Terms
Access to Justice
Civil case
Clan
Conflict
Criminal case
District Safety Committee
Enforcement
Formal Justice System
Gender
Governance provider
Informal Justice System
Justice Provider
Justice System
Land/water disputes
Local Authority
Petty Crimes
Security Provider
Serious Crimes
Violence
Xeer
Youth
People’s ability to solve disputes and reach adequate remedies for grievances, using formal or
traditional justice systems. The justice process has qualitative dimensions, and it should be in
accordance with human rights principles and standards.
Non-criminal cases relating to civil wrongs and disputes between individuals, including generally
property, business, personal domestic problems, divorces and such types where ones
constitutional and personal rights are breached
The clan is a system characterised by a chain of paternal ancestors reaching back to a perceived
founding ancestor whose name all members of the clan share for identity
State of disharmony between incompatible persons, ideas, or interests
An action, suit, or cause instituted to punish an infraction of the criminal laws of a country
A representative body comprised of a broad cross section of civil society that acts in an advisory
capacity to the local government in issues of community security and safety
Relates to the implementation of orders, decisions and settlements emerging from formal or
informal adjudication. Enforcement bodies include police and prisons, and administrative bodies in
particular cases.
Traditional systems may also have specific mechanisms of enforcement. Enforcement systems are
the key to ensuring accountability and minimise impunity, thus preventing further injustices.
A codified system of laws and court proceedings enforced by recognised actors of lawyers, police
and justice officials
The formal justice system involves civil and criminal justice and includes formal state-based justice
institutions and procedures, such as police, prosecution, courts (religious and secular) and
custodial measures.
"Gender" refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given
society considers appropriate for men and women.
Formal institutions or Individuals thatact, process, or possess the authority of governing
Dispute resolution mechanisms falling outside the scope of the formal justice system. The term
informal justice system is used here to draw a distinction between state-administered formal
justice systems and non-state administered informal justice systems.
Formal or Informal Institutions or individuals that are responsible to provide fair and equitable
treatment of all individuals under the law (customary, formal or Sharia)
Includes formal justice institutions and procedures, such as police, prosecution, courts and prisons,
as well as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and other informal and traditional systems (e.g. a
council of elders).
The justice system includes coordination and other arrangements among its different components
that influence overall outcomes on access to justice
A state of debate or quarrel between/among persons, groups or communities over the property,
the use, etc. of plots or swathes of land and water points
Those invested with formal power, especially a government or body of government officials at
district level
Criminal offense that is less serious than a serious crime and generally punishable by a monetary
fine, forfeiture or a jail term of up to a year, or a combination of both.
Formal or informal Institutions or individuals that are responsible for the protection of persons,
dwellings, communities or the nation from harm
Criminal offense that is more serious than a petty crime and which can be punished by one or
more years in prison
The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another
person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of
resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, or deprivation
A customary law system that has evolved from a basis of clan relations, with some influence of
Islamic law (Sharia), that employs mediation and negotiation through the use of traditional elders.
Men and Women between the age of 15 and 30
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