TOR- DEPLOYMENT OF THE NATIONAL POLICE RESERVISTS FOR PEACE AND SECURITY IN THE ARID AND SEMI-ARID LANDS (ASALS)-ACT-DNPR-05-2019 197 views1 applications

1. About Act Change Transform (Act!)

Act! is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization that was established in Kenya in September 2001 and registered under the provisions of Non-Governmental Organizations Coordination Act of 1990. Act! vision is “empowered citizens and communities living a productive life in dignity” while its mission is to “support, partner with and develop local organizations to be effective agents of lasting positive change”. Act’s holistic approach to development is delivered through capacity development and grants management.

Act! through its Peace Building and Conflict Transformation (PBCT) Platform, is implementing the Peace, Security and Stability (PSS) Program whose expected outcome is*; Improved Capacity and Effectiveness of CSO’s Government and Security Oversight Bodies to Counter Violent Extremism and Prevent Political and Natural Resource Conflicts in Kenya.* PSS is a five-year DANIDA funded program that commenced in 2016 and will end in 2020. PSS has five key outputs. These are:

1. The capacity of local level CSO’s to address emerging conflicts and forestall violence enhanced.
2. Increased women engagement in leadership roles in peace and security in the engagement areas.
3. Collaboration between CSOs and government agencies in addressing conflicts and extremism enhanced.
4. Increased use of local information by relevant national and county government agencies to develop and implement coherent national security policies, action plans and strategies
5. Strengthened evidence-based research informing policy frameworks and decision making to promote peace and stability.

Under output 5 of the PSS program, Act! proposes to develop peace and conflict policy papers to inform peace and security strategies and practices in the country.

Context

The Arid and semi-arid lands in Kenya have long been confronted with insecurity arising from a lack of state-led security provision; this has resulted in the demand for firearms as communities living in these areas sought to protect themselves, which has in turn led to a greater circulation of illegal weapons in these communities. The combination of lack of state led security provision and proliferation of firearms in the ASAL areas, which are mainly inhabited by pastoralist communities has resulted in frequent violent conflicts over grazing fields, water, and cattle raids. To address insecurity in the ASAL areas, community-level policing in the form of the National Police Reserve (NPR) was established and it (NPR) has taken the lead in security provision in these areas.

The National Police Reserve (NPR) is an auxiliary force detached from the National Police Service and is made up of volunteers operating within their own localities. NPRs are supplied with firearms by the state to supplement the role of the National Police Service in providing security where police presence is low. Such services have included collection of information and protection of livestock against stock theft. Communities in different locations/settings within the ASALs have mixed opinions as to the value of NPRs. For many, they provide an important first response to insecurity in remote communities where there is a heavy reliance on their local knowledge and ability to operate in harsh climates and difficult terrain and to provide security against resource-based conflicts and cattle raiding. For others, they are a source of insecurity through firearms misuse, poor training and supervision, a lack of operational policy or governance, and an absence of any formal disciplinary mechanisms for any misdeeds they may commit or damage they may cause.

Rural pastoralist counties in Kenya that are prone to armed violence have been classified as [1]operation areas by security agencies because of the nature of the conflicts that exist. These counties straddle the Arid and Semi-Arid areas of Kenya and are characterized by scarce natural resources, poor physical infrastructure, low socio-economic development indices and usually border neighboring countries which have had a history of political instability, a factor that has aided in the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons. Since the post-colonial period, the ‘Operation areas’ have borne the brunt of deadly armed violence manifesting itself as cattle raids, banditry, resource access wars and land clashes. This has prompted the recruitment and deployment of NPRs previously called KPRs (Kenya Police Reservists).

While the recruitment of the NPR was initially meant to be a transparent community policing initiative, the same has been marred with allegations of corruption, incompetence and favoritism as preference is given to recruits belonging to certain ethnic communities in the making decision on who should be armed as an NPR. In some instances, there have been allegations of political interference with respect to recruitment, as politicians are said to ensure that their clan members and/or community members outnumber those of their rivals in the recruitment exercise. Even more worrying is the fact that there are weak accountability procedures within the NPRs operations; there are reports that some of them (NPR) either use their official guns to conduct criminal activities like livestock theft or loan out the said guns to criminals. Recently, the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government began the digital registration of all police reservists to mop out illegal guns and check lawlessness in rural areas bringing the fore the need for a structured approach in the management of the NPRs.

Kenya is under a new dispensation having passed the Constitution of Kenya 2010 which provides the most fundamental guidelines within the country. The National Police Service Act of 2011 was written to give effect to the 2010 Kenyan Constitution. The National Police Service Act of 2011 section 110, subsection 3 provides for the deployment of NPRs.

2. The Task & Desired Outcomes

It is with above background in mind that Act! is seeking the services of a suitably qualified and experienced consultant(s) to develop a policy paper interrogating the role and place of national police reservists in building and maintaining peace and security in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALS).

2.1 Objectives of the Policy Paper

The main objective of the study is to establish the effectiveness of the NPRs in promoting peace and security in the Arid and Semi-Arid Counties of Kenya and develop policy recommendations to policymakers and relevant institutions

2.2 Specific Objectives of the Policy Paper

• To establish the security needs of ASAL areas aligned with the need for the recruitment and deployment of NPRs in those Counties;
• To establish the current status of the NPR in terms of their numbers, distribution, structural arrangements on the ground and recruitment and deployment processes;
• To identify the challenges affecting the performance of the reservists in the ASAL Counties;
• To provide recommendations that will inform management, control and policy regarding NPR.

3. Proposed Approach & Methodology

The approach will involve among others desk-top analysis of available qualitative and quantitative data, including police records at the headquarters, government records and media reports.

Whereas Act! expects the consultant (s) to suggest other methods and approaches in carrying out this assignment, it has made suggestions on the proposed approach as follows:

Desk review: The consultant will undertake a literature review of the recent secondary data in the realm of peace and security in the ASAL counties especially on the recruitment and deployment of National Police Reservists and the National Police Act and what it stipulates on the role on the NPRs. Interrogate the recent digital registration and deployment of NPR’s. Review any gaps identified especially regarding existing policies that guides the NPRs to inform the assessment. Key Informant Interviews and Focussed Group Discussions would be employed where necessary. The final methodology will be proposed by the consultant and agreed upon after selection.

4. Reporting Writing and Supervision

The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Program Manager, PBCT with support from the Program Officer, PBCT.

5. Deliverables

The deliverables will be assessed against the provisions of this scope of work set for the assignment. In synopsis, the following are the key deliverables:

a) Draft Report: This report, between 15-20 pages, will have detailed information analyzing the security architecture in the recruitment and deployment of the National Police Reservists and their roles in maintaining peace and security in the ASAL counties. This report will be reviewed by Act! staff and the comments shared with the consultant.

b) Final Assessment Report: A final report of not more than 20 pages incorporating comments from the Act! reviewers will be submitted to Act!

c) Designed Policy Paper: A final designed policy paper (maximum 4 pages) ready for publication and sharing with policymakers and aligned institutions such as the National Police Service, office of the Inspector General of Police, Internal Affairs Unit, Independent Police Oversight Authority, Ministry of Internal Security, line government ministries, development partners and civil society organizations.

6.0 Duration of the Assignment

This task will be carried out over a period of 20 consultancy days.

[1] heavy presence of security/military personnel, imposition of curfews, random search and seizures, high likelihood of violations on rights by security agencies, etc