The Role of the Church in Facilitating Reconciliation Between Warring Communities: A Case Study of Pokot and Turkana Communities in Northern Kenya

Abstract

This study focused on the Christian church’s critical role in facilitating a sustainable peace process between the warring communities of Pokot and Turkana, which have witnessed protracted inter-ethnic conflicts that have led to the loss of lives and property. Various organisations have attempted to resolve this recurring problem; however, their efforts have not yielded fruit. The study investigates how a sustainable reconciliation can be achieved and proposes the Christian church as an entity that can appropriately facilitate sustainable reconciliation between warring communities. Four specific objectives guided this study: First, it explored the underlying cause of conflict; second, examining why other attempted conflict resolution has not been able to offer sustainable conflict resolution; third, it discussed biblical mandates for the church as an agent of sustainable reconciliation; and fourth, explore how the church can be equipped to offer sustainable reconciliation. The study adopted a qualitative design in collecting the data, and the Pastoral cycle methodology was used to analyse the data. The study revealed that the sinful nature of humankind is the primary root cause of the repeated conflict. Also, the failed approaches have focused on only responding to symptoms of conflict hence offering temporary reconciliation. The Christian church has a divine role and mandate to be the agent of sustainable reconciliation and should be equipped to fulfil this role.