Borama 2012

District Conflict and Security Assessment Report

Observatory of
Conflict and Violence
Prevention
 Observatory of
Conflict and Violence
Prevention

Borama 2012
District Conflict and Security Assessment Report
 Table of Contents

Overview................................................................. 2

Picture 1: Map of Somaliland

Acknowledgments
The Somali Observatory of Conflict and Violence
Prevention (OCVP) would like to thank the
following:
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in Somalia, in particular, the Community Security
project within the Governance and Rule of Law
Programme, for providing financial support
during this survey exercise.
Authors
Abdirahman Sheikh Hassan, Lead Researcher (OCVP)
Abdullahi Mohamed Odowa, Senior Social Researcher
(General Director, OCVP)
Ilyas Ibrahim Mohamed, Data Analyst (OCVP)
Nienke Hiemstra, Researcher (OCVP)
and Puntland illustrating the
location of Borama ............................................... 3
1. Introduction ........................................................ 4
2. Methodology....................................................... 4
2.1 Questionnaires ......................................... 4
2.2 Focus Group Discussions.......................... 5
2.3 Key Informant Interviews........................ 5
3. Perceived Performance of Security,
Justice, and Governance Actors ..................... 5
3.1 Security Provider ..................................... 5
3.2 Justice Provider ........................................ 7
3.3 Governance Provider............................... 8
4. Forms of Insecurity and Violence....................10
4.1 Conflict and Violence..............................10

The Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention

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and Violence Prevention can be obtained from Observatory
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1
Overview
Key findings from the focus group
discussions are as follows:
Focus group discussions were held with youth
(men and women in one group), women, elders
and religious leaders, IDP camp residents, and
business leaders. Youth participants, IDP camp
residents, and elders and religious leaders
pointed out that youth violence is the most
serious safety concern in the district. Youth
groups often clash with each other after
football games. In addition, the youth focus
group participants mentioned cases of group
rape committed by youth in the suburbs of the
town as a growing concern.
The IDP camp residents also mentioned an
increasing number of street children and human
rights violations by the police as growing security
concerns. On the other hand, participants from the
women focus group said that the security in the
district is generally good, but expressed their
concern about a lack of cooperation between
the community and the police.
There were mixed opinions with regard to the
extent that mobile phone muggings form a security
threat. Participants of the youth group and IDP
group mentioned these muggings as a growing
concern, whereas the business leaders said that it
rarely happens. Business leaders, on the other hand,
stated that youth violence and violence/attacks
committed by individuals are the largest safety
concerns, but Borama is generally considered as a
relatively safe district.
According to youth, women, business leaders and
IDP camp residents, land based disputes are a
common cause of conflict within the community. In
addition, participants from the womens and youth
groups said that political violence during and after
the local council elections might result in conflict in
the district.
.
2
Both land based disputes and disputes
as a consequence of the elections are
potential sources of clan-based conflicts.
Moreover, a female youth participant as well
as a religious leader mentioned that clan issues
had had a negative influence on the polling
process during the recent elections.
With regard to individuals and institutions
best able to prevent and stop violence, youth,
women and business leaders mentioned the
police as the most important institution. Other
individuals that play a central role are the
traditional and religious leaders, according to
the women and business leaders. Contrary to the
participants from the other groups, the elders
and religious leaders stated that the police is
sometimes the cause of violence, and therefore
does not play an important role. Besides, young
police officers are often undisciplined and not
well trained. The elders and religious leaders
considered themselves as best able to prevent
and stop violence in the district.
Youth participants and women mentioned besides
security issues, unemployment as the most
significant concern within the community. Another
concern that was mentioned by youth, women and,
religious and traditional leaders is sanitation.
Especially slaughterhouses need urgent attention
according the elders and religious leaders. IDP had
other concerns on the other hand. They said that
Borama is in need of more bill markets and at least
two more police stations. Also, the construction of
roads is a serious concern according to the IDPs.
Overall, focus group participants were unsatisfied
with the performance of the local government. Youth
participants said that people refuse to pay taxes,
because they have no trust in the local government
anymore. Both IDPs and business leaders mentioned
sanitation as the most important area for improvement
 Borama
Picture 1: Map of Somaliland and Puntland illustrating the location of Borama
Key findings from the key informant (mayor,
prosecutor, police commissioner, community
elder and religious leader) interviews are as
follows:
According to both the key religious leader and
police commissioner, no significant conflict had
occurred in Borama over the last 12 months.
However, the religious leader said that
land-based disputes are a constant potential
source of community conflict. The police
commissioner, on the other hand, said that the
land-based conflicts that occurred were insig-
nificant; youth violence is the most serious security
problem at the moment. The religious leader
rated sound and incorruptible leadership
as the most significant concern in the community.
The mayor's main concern is related to land
disputes in Borama, often regarding community-
owned land. The recent case about the enclosure
of an area calledCidhiidhiga is yet to be resolved
by a security committee.
In addition, the mayor is satisfied with progress
made in the JPLG Programme.
3
The key local elder mentioned, besides security
issues, two serious concerns: employment gene-
ration, especially for youth, and construction of
a road that connectsBorama to other towns.
Furthermore, the regional prosecutor mentioned
youth violence, land-based disputes, violence/
attacks by individuals and rape as the most
common crimes. However, there has been a
significant reduction in the number of reported
rape cases. Approximately three years ago,
25 cases were annuallyreceived by the
prosecutors office compared to 10 cases
in the last two years.
All key informants, except for the mayor, were
rather unsatisfied with the performance of the
local government. The mayor, on the other hand,
expressed his content with the development of the
new District Development Framework (DDF), which
will support the government to develop the
capacity to deliver services. Sanitation and
hygiene were mentioned as the most important
areas for improvement by most key informants.
1. Introduction 2. Methodology

Regular assessments of issues affecting
community safety and security are critical
in providing evidence for effective progr-
amming, and to allow for continual
monitoring and evaluation of safety and
security interventions. However, such evidence
based programming at a district level does
not currently exist in Somalia. Measuring the
outcome and impact of interventions to deal
with insecurity is important in order to advance
collective understanding of what works and
what does not. The Somali Observatory of
Conflict and Violence Prevention (OCVP) is
an apolitical and neutral Somali organization,
which collectively aims at building Somali
capacity to mitigate violence and insecurity
in a sustainable manner.
The objective of the survey is to annually
assess the performance of security, justice,
and governance providers, and levels of
conflict and violence at the district level in
Somalia, in order to assist in the development
of District Council Annual Work Plans.
This District Conflict and Security Assessment
Report for Borama district was prepared through
compilation of data and information gathered
through three research tools and methodologies:
questionnaires, focus group discussions and key
informant interviews.
2.1 Questionnaires
The first tool used was questionnaires. The
questionnaire aims at providing the necessary
quantitative information for outlining an accurate
picture of the level of deployment, level of use and
perception of security, justice and governance
providers, and finally, conflict and violence. The
questionnaires were administered to 80 households,
approximately 80 people (58.8% were female and
80% was married) from 4 divisions of Borama,
namely Sh. Makaahiil, Sh. Axmed Salaan, Sh. Cali
Jowhar, and Sh. Cismaan (including people from the
IDP settlements at the outskirts of the latter two
divisions). Figures 1 and 2 show characteristics of
the respondents.

The questionnaire was designed to gather

quantitative data, in combination with the
data from focus group discussions and key
informant interviews. The findings of this
analysis will be used in the preparation of the
annual development plan of Odweyne, as part
of provision of local governance across Somalia.

Targeting level of deployment, level of use and

perception by the community on justice, security
and governance providers, as well as community
perceptions on conflict and violence, the district
assessment will be divided into four key sections.
Following this introduction, methodologies used
will be described in section 2.

The remaining sections present the perceived

performance of security, justice, and
governance actors. Finally, the last section looks
at perceptions of conflict and violence.

4
 3. Perceived Performance of
Security, Justice, and Governance
Actors

Both the questionnaires, focus group discussions

and key informant interviews inquired about the
performance of the various public authorities or
civil society actors able to respond to insecurity,
namely the police, the courts, local authorities,
religious leaders and community elders. The
following sub-sections will present a perspective
of the perceived performance of these different
actors, including by type of crime.

3.1 Security Provider

The vast majority (82.5%) of Borama respond-
ents said they perceive the police as trustworthy,
ranging from fairly high (51.5%) to very high
2.2 Focus Group Discussions
(48.5%). 15 per cent of the remaining respond-
The second tool used is focus groups to capture
ents answered they have a low trust in the police
perceptions about the nature of insecurities in
(Figure 3).
district subdivisions, and its victims and perpetrators.
The researchers from the Observatory of Conflict
and Violence Prevention convened the focus groups
in December, bringing together women, youth, elders
and religious leaders, business leaders, and IDPs of
the district. Participants were asked to compile a list
of all major types of violence experienced in Borama.
They were then led through a process of describing
the causes, locations, times, victims and perpetrators.
Finally, they were asked to identify the individuals or
institutions that they trusted to either prevent or
respond to violence.

2.3 Key Informant Interviews

Qualitative interviews were conducted by the
Moreover, there is no significant difference
researchers from the Observatory of Conflict and
between the level of trust afforded to the police
Violence Prevention. These interviews were carried
by male and female respondents. 85.1 per cent
out between 9-12th of December 2012, covering the
of female respondents as well as 78.8 per cent
district of Borama. Each interview lasted about half
of male respondents afforded high levels of trust
an hour, and five individuals, including key district
to the police.
elder, key religious leader, prosecutor, police
commissioner and mayor of Borama were
Out of 12 respondents who afforded low levels
interviewed separately.
of trust to the police, seven were residents of
Sh. Axmed Salaan.

5
Over half of respondents (51.3%) pointed out the
absence of police in their community. 69.3 of
respondents who acknowledged presence of police
added that there were at least three police officers.
In addition, 53.8 per cent of respondents who
acknowledged police existence also said their
premises are situated at less than 10 minutes
walking distance from where they live.
66 per cent of respondents who pointed out
absence of police were female. Furthermore,
57.6 per cent of male respondents said the police
operate in their communities (Figure 5).
46.3 per cent of respondents would contact the police
in the event of a civil case 1, and 43.8 per cent would
contact a court. There proved to be no significant
difference in preference between male and female
respondents. Over half of male respondents (54.5%)
prefer to contact the police, while most female
respondents (42.6%) would contact a court. In
addition, 40.4 per cent of the female respondents
would contact the police (Figure 7).

Despite the fact that the majority of respondents

who afforded low levels of trust to the police were
Sh. Axmed Salaan residents, 90 per cent of them
confirmed presence of police in their community.
In addition, 55 per cent of Sh. Cismaan respondents
said that the police operate in their community. On
the other hand, 95 per cent of Sh. Makaahiil respo-
ndents as well as 55 per cent of Sh. Cali Jowhar
respondents said that there is no police presence in
their community (Figure 6). Notably, all Sh. Cismaan
respondents who said there is no police in their
community are IDPs.
With respect to petty crimes 2, the overwhelming
majority of respondents (93.8%) would contact the
police. The remaining four respondents who preferred
to contact another authority (including local authorities,
religious leaders and courts) were female (Figure 8).

1. Crimes include land dispute, and divorce

2. Crimes include robberies

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 A regional breakdown shows that 85 per cent of
Sh. Makaahiil respondents said they are very
confident in the formal justice system. Furthermore,
perceptions of respondents from other divisions
were fairly evenly divided between the options
(Figure 11).

In line with the preferred contact points for the crimes3

mentioned above, the vast majority of respondents
(90%) said they would contact the police for serious
crimes3. Furthermore, seven female respondents
would contact a court in case of a serious crime
(Figure 9).

Only 21.3 per cent of respondents said there are

no courts nearby. The vast majority of both male
respondents (84.8%) and female respondents
(74.5%) acknowledged the establishment of courts
in their community (Figure 12).

3.2 Justice Provider

3.2 Justice Provider
Over two-third of respondents (68.8%) said they were
fairly or very confident in the formal justice providers.
On the contrary, an equal number of female and male
respondents (nine each) said they are not confident in
the formal justice system. However, nearly half of all Over half of respondents (58.8%) who said that
female respondents (48.9%) said they are very courts do not exist in their community were residents
confident in the formal justice system (Figure 10). from Sh. Cismaan division of Borama. This is
50 per cent of all Sh. Cismaan respondents
(Figure 13).

68.3 per cent of respondents said they have to walk

less than 20 minutes to reach the court. There is no
significant difference between the different divisions
of Borama (Figure 14).

3. Crimes include rape and murder

7
 Furthermore, only three respondents (from Sh.
Makaahiil, Sh. Cali Jowhar and Sh. Cismaan) had
used local elders to settle land/water disputes in
the last 12 months. All respondents were referred
by their family members, and they all received a
judgement that was enforced.

Moreover, only five respondents from Sh. Cali

Jowhar had sought assistance from religious leaders
in the last 12 months to settle land/water disputes,
household violence issues and assault cases. They
all received a judgement that was enforced.

3.3 Governance Provider

Over two-third (70%) of respondents said they
are not familiar with their representatives in the
Only seven respondents had heard about the legal local council (Figure 15).
aid clinic: three from Sh. Makaahiil, three from
Sh. Cali Jowhar and one from Sh. Cismaan. Referred
by their family members and police, three of these
respondents had used the legal aid providers in the
last 12 months for land/water disputes and assaults.
They consequently received judgements that were
enforced.

With respect to court usage, only nine respondents

(five from Sh. Cismaan, two from Sh. Makaahiil,
and one from each of the remaining divisions) had
used a court in the last 12 months for land/water
disputes, robberies, assaults and household violence
issues. Five of the cases were referred by a family
member and two by elders. A judgement was given
in seven of the cases, of which only one was not
enforced.
The responses do not significantly differ between
male and female respondents. Over three-fourth of
female respondents (76.6%) as well as 60.6 per cent
of male respondents said they are not familiar with
their representatives (Figure 16).

Nearly two-third of Sh. Makaahiil respondents (65%)

said they are familiar with their representatives,
constituing more than half (54.2%) of all positive
respondents (Figure 17).

8
 Nearly one-fourth (18 respondents, of which
eleven were female) of respondents believe it is
not necessary to have an elected official to represent
them in the district council. 60 per cent of these
respondents were residents of Sh. Cismaan, forming
66.7 per cent of all respondents who held this opinion
(Figure 18).

On the other hand, only five (four female) respondents

had participated in local government consultations in
the last 12 months. Three of them were from Sh. Cali
Jowhar, one from Sh. Makaahiil and none of these
respondents were from Sh. Axmed Salaan. Four
people had participated at least twice in the local
consultations.

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4. Forms of Insecurity and Violence

Participants in focus group discussions mentioned

different types of security concerns to the local
community that fuel conflict and social unrest in the
district of Borama. This includes youth violence,
muggings, rape, and land-based disputes. In
addition, youth unemployment, sanitation, hygiene,
and road construction were mentioned as concerns.

4.1 Conflict and Violence

Nearly one-fourth of respondents (23.8 per cent,
19 respondents) said they had witnessed conflict in
the last 12 months. Seven of these respondents were
from Sh. Axmed Salaan, five from Sh. Cismaan and
four from Sh. Cali Jowhar. The total number of
conflicts adds up to 41, and as a result of the
conflicts, five people were killed in Sh. Axmed
Salaan, four in Sheikh Makaahiil and three others
in Sh. Cali Jowhar. Conflicts were related to youth
violence, resources, and family disputes.

In addition, 23.8 per cent (19 respondents, of which

10 were male) of respondents had witnessed a crime
against someone outside their household in the last
12 months. 12 of these respondents were from
Sh. Cali Jowhar, and four were residents of Sh. Axmed
Salaan (Figure 19).

Despite the violent conflicts and crimes, only 15

per cent (12 respondents, including 8 female) said
they feel unsafe when walking alone in their areas
after dark (Figure 20).

Five of the respondents who said they feel unsafe

were residents from Sh. Cali Jowhar and four were
from Sh. Axmed Salaan. These are the two divisions
that had witnessed most crimes in the last 12 months,
as figure 19 shows.

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 District Conflict and
Security Assessment Report
Borama District 2012

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