Fighting between north-eastern Kenya's feuding Degodia and Gare clans has ceased as their leaders agreed to a truce during Ramadan and vowed to continue working towards peace even after the Muslim holy month.
Weeks of inter-clan clashes killed at least 50 people and displaced many others, but Mandera County resident and Gare clansman Omar Ali Kerrow, 33, welcomed the move towards reconciliation.
"Since Ramadan began on July 10th, the animosity we had towards each other has significantly toned down," said Kerrow, who lives in Rhamu district. "We hope to carry on with the peace even after Ramadan."
Since the start of the Muslim holy month, Kerrow said he has made it a point to host or join a friend from the Degodia clan for iftar, the meal that marks the end of the daily fast.
"This is the month that we have to entrench peaceful co-existence because we are all Muslims and there is no need to fight each other," he told Sabahi.
Kerrow's general store was burned down during the inter-clan fighting, but he said he has no hard feelings towards the perpetrators. "To move forward, I have asked for forgiveness for the wrongs I committed during the clashes. I have also forgiven those who wronged me," he said.
Rhamu resident Mohammed Mursal Amin, 30, said that after months of anxiety, Ramadan has finally brought peace to the area.
"We are working together to ensure there will not be a repeat," Amin told Sabahi. "If you had asked me which clan I belong to during the fighting, I would have proudly told you that I am a Degodia, but now I am a Muslim. I will remain so even after Ramadan. Muslims should not fight each other in the name of their tribe."
The Ramadan gift
Amin said he lost three relatives and his shop in the clashes, but has seen improvements in peace since a truce was signed between the feuding clans July 4th -- known as the "Ramadan gift".
Many of the families displaced by the fighting were able to return home in time for Ramadan, he said. "We are working around the clock to ensure that the peace pact holds long after Ramadan," Amin said.
So far, residents have heeded calls for peace and there have been no incidents of violence between the tribes since they agreed to the truce, he said.
Leaders at Rowla Mosque in Mandera town have urged residents to mingle with one another and share other meals like suhour, the meal that marks the beginning of the fast, said Imam Sheikh Yusuf Ali.
"This is the month we encourage the faithful to speak to each other and ask each other for forgiveness," he told Sabahi. "Ramadan came at just the right moment. There is also the issue of brewing animosity between Christians and Muslims over the terrorists' attacks. It is the right month to exhibit how Islam is all about peace."
Although there are few Christians in Mandera, Muslims have been asked to invite non-Muslim neighbours to partake in iftar, Ali said.
At Nur Mosque in Mandera town, worshippers were praying for peace among communities in the county and country, said Imam Sheikh Mukhtar Abdi.
"We pray to God to reunite us … not to let the devil tear us apart. We have asked God to let this Ramadan be the turning point of our unity," he told Sabahi.
"I am encouraged by the hugs, grins and the echo of hearty laughter among the faithful who formerly could not make eye contact with their formerly perceived foes," he said.
Encouraging inter-clan and interfaith peace
Wajir County Governor Ahmed Abdullahi told Sabahi that similar Ramadan peace initiatives were taking hold there.
"The fighting in Mandera spilled into Wajir, causing the deaths of five people," he said. "We want to live in a peaceful environment devoid of violence."
Sheikh Abduwahab Mursal, secretary of the Wajir branch of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya, said Ramadan would not halt interfaith activities that have been established.
Besides working hand in hand with Christians in the county to strengthen peaceful co-existence, Muslim clerics have the added responsibility of ensuring that the clan clashes never repeat, he said.
"We are guarding against inciters of clan and sectarian violence," he told Sabahi. "To check on extremists, Muslim clerics are preaching tolerance."
In addition, he said, an interfaith monitoring unit formed last September meets every fortnight to review outstanding and emerging threats to peaceful co-existence of Christians and Muslims. The unit was formed after a spate of terrorism attacks targeting civilians in the county, he said.
The Venerable Rueben Njue, archdeacon of the Anglican Church of Kenya in Wajir, said Christians are pleased by the continued support from Muslims.
"There have been attacks targeting Christians, but in some of those instances the Muslim community has worked with the police leading to arrests," he said. "The gestures are proving that the larger community is not party to a few criminals misusing religion."
Njue encouraged Christians to respond to invitations to partake Ramadan meals with their Muslim neighbours.
"Sharing is good as it strengthens the existing bond," he said. "We have also encouraged Christians to respect Muslims and their practices."
Rachel Nginya, a 33-year-old hair dresser in Wajir town, told Sabahi that her Muslim neighbours offer her food almost every evening.
"The neighbours insist and I cannot turn down the offer. I am grateful to have them," she told Sabahi.
on both.
