Bottlenecks to the Demobilization and Disarmament of Former Combatants Process in Mount Elgon Region, Kenya

Mount Elgon region of Kenya suffered violent armed conflicts. After the violence was quelled by government security forces, efforts to demobilize and disarm former combatants were undertaken. The study sought to examine the process of demobilization and disarmament. The purpose of the study was to examine the demobilization and disarmament process in Mount Elgon. The desistance theory was used in the study. The study used the cross sectional descriptive survey design. The respondents comprised former combatants, sub county commissioners and peace committee members, religious leaders and NGOs. The stratified and purposive random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 150 former combatants, Three Sub County commissioners and 16 peace committee members, five religious leaders and Four NGO members. Data was collected by use of questionnaires, interviews and Focus Group discussion. The reliability of the instruments was determined through test retest of the instruments. The findings of the study were presented descriptively. The findings of the study showed that: in the context of social reintegration the three dimensions of family and community; sustainable employment; and civic responsibilities should be given proper attention: to achieve the goal of reintegration there should be a major shift in the contemporary DDR approach by moving from the insertion approach towards a social reintegration one; community support is essential for the successful reintegration of former combatants and the sustainable social and economic reintegration of former combatants should be the ultimate objective of disarmament and demobilization and reintegration (DDR). Consequently, the study recommends that the government should budget for and give priority to the reintegration programmes so that they are fully completed instead of leaving them at the reinsertion stage; the communities take the lead in proposing community- based solutions for the issues identified.