Mediation in Kenya

Conflict is a pervasive and inevitable feature of the social systems including the international systems, conflict can lead to mutual satisfaction and growth or acrimony, hostility and violence Bush and Folger (2005). Over time human race have learnt conflict resolution and peace management with the practice of settling disputes through intermediaries has a rich history in all cultures (Gulliver, 1979). Bush and Folger (2005) define conflict resolution as the desire to manage conflict in a way that maximizes potential benefits and maximizes its destructive consequences. According to Deutsch (2010) mediation is one of the tools used by the modern society resolve conflicts and prevents the escalation of conflicts. The study will seek to examine in detail the use of mediation in conflict resolution for the Kenyan Post Election Violence of 2007-2008. The post election violence that erupted in Kenya in December2007resulted in the deaths of over one thousand people and left three hundred thousand people displaced. While catastrophic, the scale of the social and economic destruction, not to mention the loss of life, could have been much greater were it not for the peace mediation mandated by the African Union in January 2008. The Panel of Eminent African Personalities, chaired by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, led the forty-one-day mediation process, culminating in the Agreement on the Principles of Partnership of the Coalition Government and power sharing putting an end to the crisis which engulfed Kenya (United Nations, 2009) Mediation should take place when a conflict as taken some time, the efforts of individuals and actors involved as reached an impasse, neither actor is prepared to continuance of costs or escalation of the dispute and both parties welcome mediation and are ready to engage directly or indirectly in dialogue (Bercovitch, 1984). Literature from Taylor (1985), Binghma (1986;5) and Moore 1986 conceptualizes mediation as the use of a third party who has no mandate in enforcing the resolutions and the ultimate decision making of the disputants to intervene on regional, international, interstate and ethnic conflicts. Their studies lay emphasizes on neutrality and impartiality in isolation of disputed issues, development of options, consideration of alternatives, and reaching consensual settlement. Bercovitch (1984) indicates that success of the mediation is mostly reached when the conflict cycle is half way, both parties request the mediation, lack of any strong ideological stances and when both parties have relatively same power parity and clear understanding of the parties in conflict. The international community intervention in Kenyan case is seen as the most notable success of the mediation efforts in the modern history (Ferris, 2011). Aspects such as fairness of the mediation, satisfaction with its performance or improvement in the overall climate of the relationship correlates to the success of the process; Success of the mediation is measured in objective terms as the general cessation or reduction of violent behavior and hostilities and opening of dialogue between parties, or when a binding and formal agreement is signed to settle the conflict (Bercovitch, 1984). Although initial efforts by the African Union to deal with the situation bore no fruits; the African Union, United Nations, Kenyans and European Union encouraged parties to the conflict reached amicable solution this lead to the efforts by the UN lead by Kofi Annan which became critical in halting the violence; prior to international involvement more than 1500 persons were killed and others 600,000 displaced from their homes (Ferris, 2011) Based on the above context this study will conceptualize mediation as a extension of peaceful conflict resolution, involving intervention of a third party with facilitative, non-coercive and non binding form of social behavior and an interest to terminate the conflict leading to forgoing of advantages