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District Conflict and Security Assessment
Report
BAIDOA DISTRICT
JULY 2015
2015
AUTHORS AND CONTRIBUTORS
Ahmed Musa (Lead Researcher, OCVP)
Ayan Yusuf (Researcher, OCVP)
Akusua De Giuli (Research Intern, Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po)
Omar Abshir (Researcher, OCVP)
Kenneth Mutinda (Researcher)
Mustafa Ibrahim (Data Analyst , OCVP)
Disclaimer
This report is not a legally binding document. It is an assessment document and does not necessarily reflect
the views of the institution in all its contents. Any errors are the sole responsibility of the authors.
©The Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention
All rights are reserved. Requests for permission to reproduce or translate OCVP’s publications – whether for
sale or for non-commercial distribution – should be addressed to the OCVP via email: [email protected]
Publications of OCVP can be obtained from our offices in Hargeisa, Somaliland, or could be downloaded from
our website www.ocvp.org
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention (OCVP) would like to thank the interviewees and survey
participants who gave us their precious time and shared their thoughts on such sensitive issues.
We also thank the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, for providing us
with the financial support needed to undertake this survey through the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) in Somalia.
Finally, we are grateful to the local authorities in Baidoa District for giving us the permission to conduct this
assessment in the district.
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ABBREVIATIONS
ADR Alternative Dispute Resolution
AMISOM African Mission In Somalia
DCSA District Conflict and Security Assessment
DFID Department for International Development
DDR Disarmament and Demobilisation Reform
FGS Federal Government of Somalia
FGDs Focus Group Discussions
IDPs Internally Displaced Persons
KIIs Key Informant Interviews
NISA National Intelligence Security Agency
OCVP Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention
ODK Open Data Kit
SNA Somali National Army
SRS Systematic Random Sampling
TFG Transitional Federal Government
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
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CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT _____________________________________________________________ i
ABBREVIATIONS __________________________________________________________________ ii
CONTENTS ______________________________________________________________________ iii
LIST OF FIGURES __________________________________________________________________ v
LIST OF TABLES __________________________________________________________________ vii
Map of Study Area ______________________________________________________________ viii
DISTRICT PROFILE ________________________________________________________________ ix
SCOPE __________________________________________________________________________ x
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ____________________________________________________________ xi
Security Providers _____________________________________________________________________ xi
Justice Providers ______________________________________________________________________ xi
Governance Providers _________________________________________________________________ xi
Conflict and Violence __________________________________________________________________ xii
1. METHODOLOGY ______________________________________________________________ 1
1.1 Overview ______________________________________________________________________ 1
1.2 Sampling Methodology ___________________________________________________________ 1
1.3 Household Survey _______________________________________________________________ 1
1.4 Focus Group Discussions__________________________________________________________ 2
1.5 Key Informant Interviews _________________________________________________________ 2
2. PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS ______________________________________________________ 3
3. SECURITY, JUSTICE AND GOVERNANCE PROVIDERS __________________________________ 5
3.1 SECURITY PROVIDERS ____________________________________________________________ 5 3.1.1 Level of Deployment ____________________________________________________________________ 5 3.1.2 Preference of security providers ___________________________________________________________ 7 3.1.3 Police Response ________________________________________________________________________ 9 3.1.4 Perception of security providers __________________________________________________________ 10 3.1.5 Challenges facing the police _____________________________________________________________ 13
3.2 JUSTICE PROVIDERS ____________________________________________________________ 14 3.2.1. Level of deployment _____________________________________________________________________ 14 3.2.2. Usage of the Justice Providers _____________________________________________________________ 16 3.2.3. Perception of the Justice Providers _________________________________________________________ 17
3.3 GOVERNANCE PROVIDERS _______________________________________________________ 22 3.3.1. Performance of the Local Council _______________________________________________________ 23 3.3.2. Pressing Community Needs ____________________________________________________________ 24 3.3.3. Perception of the Local Council _________________________________________________________ 28
4. CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE ______________________________________________________ 31
4.1. Experience of Conflict and Violence ________________________________________________ 31
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4.2. Dynamics of Conflict and Violence _________________________________________________ 33 4.2.1. Conflict Resolution ______________________________________________________________________ 36
4.3. Perception of safety ____________________________________________________________ 36
5. CONCLUSION ________________________________________________________________ 39
6. ANNEXES ___________________________________________________________________ 41
6.1. Sample Size Formula ____________________________________________________________ 41
6.2 Glossary of Terms ______________________________________________________________ 42
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Gender distribution of respondents ..................................................................................................... 3
Figure 2: Age distribution of respondents by gender .......................................................................................... 3
Figure 3: Marital status of the respondents ........................................................................................................ 3
Figure 4: Respondents' education levels ............................................................................................................. 4
Figure 5: Respondents' education levels by gender ............................................................................................ 4
Figure 6: Respondents' awareness of police presence ....................................................................................... 5
Figure 7: Respondents’ awareness of police presence by gender ...................................................................... 5
Figure 8: Respondents’ awareness of police presence by subdivision ............................................................... 6
Figure 9: Respondents’ estimation of the number of police stations ................................................................. 6
Figure 10: Respondents’ estimation of distance to the nearest police station .................................................. 6
Figure 11: Respondents’ estimation of distance to the nearest police station by subdivision ........................... 7
Figure 12: Reporting preference - civil matters .................................................................................................. 7
Figure 13: Reporting preference - civil matters by gender ................................................................................. 8
Figure 14: Reporting preference - petty crimes .................................................................................................. 8
Figure 15: Reporting preference - petty crimes by gender ................................................................................. 8
Figure 16: Reporting preference - serious crimes ............................................................................................... 9
Figure 17: Reporting preference - serious crimes by gender .............................................................................. 9
Figure 18: Most trusted security provider for responding to crime and violence ............................................ 10
Figure 19: Most trusted security provider- crime and violence by gender ....................................................... 10
Figure 20: Respondents’ level of trust towards police in responding to crime and violence ........................... 11
Figure 21: Respondents’ level of trust towards police in responding to crime by gender ............................... 11
Figure 22: Perception of the performance of the police - yearly trend ............................................................ 12
Figure 23: Perception of the performance of the police by gender - yearly trend ........................................... 12
Figure 24: Perception of the performance of the police by subdivision - yearly trend .................................... 12
Figure 25: Respondents' awareness of the existence of courts ........................................................................ 14
Figure 26: Respondents' awareness of the existence of courts by gender ....................................................... 14
Figure 27: Respondents' awareness of the existence of courts by subdivision ................................................ 15
Figure 28: Respondents' awareness of the number of courts .......................................................................... 15
Figure 29: Respondents' estimation of the distance to the court ..................................................................... 15
Figure 30: Respondents' estimation to the distance of the court, by subdivision ............................................ 15
Figure 31: Usage of justice providers ................................................................................................................ 16
Figure 32: Usage of justice providers, by gender .............................................................................................. 16
Figure 33: Issuance of judgments ...................................................................................................................... 17
Figure 34: Enforcement of judgments ............................................................................................................... 17
Figure 35: Respondents' choice of must trusted justice provider ..................................................................... 18
Figure 36: Respondents' choice of most trusted justice provider by gender ................................................... 18
Figure 37: Respondents’ level of confidence in the formal justice system ....................................................... 19
Figure 38: Respondents’ level of confidence in the formal justice system by gender ...................................... 19
Figure 39: Perception of the performance of the court: yearly trend .............................................................. 19
Figure 40: Perception of the performance of the court: yearly trend, by subdivision ..................................... 20
Figure 41: Perception of the performance of the court: yearly trend by gender ............................................. 20
Figure 42: Respondents' awareness of the presence of a local council ............................................................ 22
Figure 43: Respondents' awareness of Local Council, by gender ..................................................................... 22
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Figure 44: Respondents’ awareness of Local Council, by subdivision .............................................................. 23
Figure 45: Respondents’ awareness of services provided by the local council ............................................... 24
Figure 46: Pressing Community Needs .............................................................................................................. 24
Figure 47: Respondents' awareness of channels of communication ................................................................ 26
Figure 48: Respondents' awareness of channels of communication by subdivision ........................................ 26
Figure 49: Respondents' participation in local governance consultations (last 12 months)............................ 26
Figure 50: Respondents' participation in local governance consultations by subdivision (last 12 months) ..... 26
Figure 51: Frequency of participation in local governance consultations (last 12 months) ............................. 27
Figure 52: Respondents' opinions regarding the importance of elected representatives ................................ 27
Figure 53: Respondents opinion regarding the importance of elected representatives by gender ................. 28
Figure 54: Respondents' level of confidence in Local council ........................................................................... 29
Figure 55: Respondents' level of confidence in the local council by gender .................................................... 29
Figure 56: Respondents' perception as to the performance of the local council: yearly trend ........................ 29
Figure 57: Respondents' perception as to the performance of the local council: yearly trend by gender ...... 30
Figure 58: Respondents' perception as to the performance of the local council: yearly trend by subdivision 30
Figure 59: Account of awareness of conflict between clans or groups ............................................................. 31
Figure 60: Account of awareness of conflict between clans or groups by gender ........................................... 31
Figure 61: Account of awareness of conflict between clans or groups by subdivision ..................................... 32
Figure 62: Account of witnessing conflict between clans or groups ................................................................. 32
Figure 63: Account of witnessing conflict between clans or groups by gender ................................................ 32
Figure 64: Account of witnessing conflict between clans or groups by subdivision ......................................... 32
Figure 65: Number of conflicts witnessed (last 12 months).............................................................................. 33
Figure 66: Number of conflicts leading to violence ........................................................................................... 33
Figure 67: Causes of conflict within the last 12 months ................................................................................... 33
Figure 68: Account of witnessing crime or violence outside the homestead ................................................... 35
Figure 69: Account of witnessing crime or violence outside the homestead by gender .................................. 35
Figure 70: Account of witnessing crime or violence outside the homestead by subdivision ........................... 36
Figure 71: Perception of safety ......................................................................................................................... 37
Figure 72: Perception of safety by gender ........................................................................................................ 37
Figure 73: Perception of safety by subdivision .................................................................................................. 37
Figure 74: Perception of safety -yearly trend .................................................................................................... 38
Figure 75: Perception of safety by gender-yearly trend ................................................................................... 38
Figure 76: Perception of safety by subdivision-yearly trend ............................................................................. 38
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Number of male and female respondents within the subdivisions........................................................ 2
Table 2: Distribution of focus group participants by gender................................................................................ 2
Table 3: Key Informant Interview participants ..................................................................................................... 2
Table 4: Respondents' reasons of choice of most trusted security provider ..................................................... 11
Table 5: Issues referred to justice providers ...................................................................................................... 17
Table 6: Reasons for trust of justice providers ................................................................................................... 18
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Map of Study Area
Source: UN OCHA 2012
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DISTRICT PROFILE
Baidoa, also known as “Baidoa Janaay” was established in 1913. It is situated approximately 256 kilometres
northwest of Mogadishu. Baidoa is the capital of the Bay region, which shares borders with the Gedo, Bakol,
Lower Shabelle and Middle Jubba regions of Somalia. The Baidoa district is home to almost 230 000 people1
of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The city was strongly affected by the Civil War in the early 1990s.
It was attacked and occupied by the United Somali Congress in 1995, and then progressively transitioned under
the control of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army and has been increasingly stabilizing in the following years.
The city served as the nation’s capital city for a short period of time in 2005 when it was the seat of the
Transitional Federal Government (TFG). In January 2009, Al-Shabaab seized control of the city, leading to the
removal of the TFG. In February 2012, Ethiopian troops and the TFG recaptured the town and in May 2012,
the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops replaced the Ethiopian troops.
Baidoa has four main subdivisions: Isha, Bardale, Horseed and Hawl-Wadaag. In 2014 the city became the
capital of the South-western state of Somalia, expected to become a Federal Member State. The population
is mainly comprised of persons from the Digil and Mirifle (Rahanweyn) tribes, which speak Maay-a language
which varies significantly from standard Somali.
1 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). "Regions, districts, and their populations: Somalia 2005 (draft)." UNOCHA. https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/Somalia/UNDP-POP-RURAL-URBAN%202005.pdf.
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SCOPE
The District Conflict and Security Assessment is designed to gather people’s perceptions regarding service
providers and accessibility and effectiveness of the services they provide. Information is gathered according
to four progress indicators relating to service provision: justice, governance, security and conflict. While a
district may contain a major urban settlement (main town) and a number of smaller surrounding villages, it is
the unfortunate reality that the type of public services this assessment is aiming to measure are concentrated
primarily within the main town of the district, while at the village level they are either inadequate or
completely absent. Keeping this in mind this assessment was designed and carried out in the major urban
settlement of the district; the Baidoa town.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Continual assessment of issues directly affecting the community’s safety and security is critical for effective
evidence – based programming, informed decision making and measuring the impact of related programmatic
interventions. It enables a better understanding of what works and does not work at the community level.
With this in mind, the district level assessments map out and provide a better understanding of issues that
affect targeted communities across the Somali regions. By using key indicators for selected thematic areas,
this report provides an assessment on the state of conflict, governance, justice, as well as safety and security
in Baidoa District. The assessment was conducted from the 21st-27th May 2015. Key Research findings are
presented below.
Security Providers
The police were identified as the most trusted security provider, although informal providers such as
traditional elders and religious leaders were also widely perceived as legitimate, especially for dealing with
cases such as civil matters or petty crimes. The consulted population reported a high level of awareness of
police presence in the territory, and confirmed their relative proximity to police stations, with the solid
majority (86%) of survey respondents declaring they resided less than forty minutes away from the closest
station. Easy accessibility was one of the main reasons mentioned by respondents for their choice of the police
as the preferred security provider. Although the majority of survey respondents (52%) demonstrated their
satisfaction with the police by declaring that they held some degree of trust in the institution, participants also
discussed several challenges that the police faced in providing security. These included perceived corruption
of officials, poor logistics and lack of resources (including means of transportation), little coordination with
other security providers, and low salaries, which contributed to limiting the involvement of well-trained and
qualified staff. Possibly due to such challenges undermining police action, only one-quarter of survey
respondents (26%) reported having perceived an improvement in the performance of the police in the year
leading up to the assessment.
Justice Providers
Participants in the assessment reported high awareness of the presence of the court, with over three-quarters
of survey respondents (77%) reporting that they were familiar with the court operating in the district.
Respondents, however, identified several factors which they believed undermined the efficiency of the court.
Allegations of corruption were the main challenge, resulting in the belief that justice delivery was contingent
on the disputants’ capacity to bribe judicial staff. Only a minority (30%) of the quantitative survey sample
reported some degree of confidence in the formal justice system, and an even smaller portion (10%) reported
that there had been an improvement in the court’s performance over the year prior to the assessment.
Dissatisfaction with the formal justice system was reflected in the participants’ choice to rely on the informal
justice system, consulting traditional elders and religious leaders rather than the courts for cases of different
types, including instances of business disputes, robberies, household violence and assault.
Governance Providers
The majority of respondents were aware of the existence of the Local Council, but only a minimal fraction
were familiar with the channels of communication in place between the local authority and the population.
Moreover, very few respondents reported having made use of such channels during the 12-month period prior
to the assessment. With regard to the delivery of services, Baidoa’ s mayor discussed the local administration’s
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involvement in several efforts to ensure increased security, better sanitation, improved town beautification
and to facilitate the registration of households to guarantee better service provision. When asked to illustrate
the delivery of services by the local council, the provision of security was most frequently cited. Substantial
portions of participants in both quantitative and qualitative data collection, however, reported not being
aware of any service being provided. The findings also indicate that the population failed to detect any major
improvement in the local administration’s performance over the year prior to the assessment.
Conflict and Violence
The majority of participants claimed that they had not witnessed any clan or group conflict over the year prior
to the assessment. Nonetheless, reports of instances of violence, perpetrated by armed groups, clan militia
and especially Al-Shabaab were frequent among the participants in the qualitative research. Such armed
groups were responsible for carrying out armed robberies, illegal roadblocks and other crimes, fundamentally
undermining the area’s security. Participants in the assessment also identified land disputes as a fundamental
cause of conflict and, potentially, violence. A weak land management regime and a justice system facing
allegations of rampant corruption were said to increase the likelihood of land disputes and the consequent
violence they portend. Family disputes, revenge and crime were additional factors that participants regarded
as potentially leading to conflict or violence. Despite providing detailed accounts of threats to their physical
integrity, only a minority of survey participants regarded their district as ‘unsafe’, and about one-third of the
sample also claimed that the situation had improved over the 12-month period prior to the assessment.
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1. METHODOLOGY
1.1 Overview
As part of its continual assessment of issues directly
affecting community security and safety, OCVP
conducted an extensive collection of primary data in
the BAIDOA District - the capital of the Bay region of
Somalia.
In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of
the thematic areas under investigation, a mixed-
method approach was employed to allow the
research team to triangulate information uncovered
in both the data collection and subsequent analysis
phase. The household survey aimed at obtaining a
representative picture of the target populations’
perceptions regarding the thematic areas under
exploration. Focus Group Discussions and Key
Informant Interviews were used to probe deeper
into, and cross-validate issues pertaining to these
areas.
The quantitative data was analysed by the OCVP
Research and Analysis team using the Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 22, after it
had been collected using smart tablets that were
running ODK Collect; an open source mobile data
collection tool. The qualitative data was subjected to
thematic analysis, using a largely deductive approach
(qualitative research being a smaller component of
the overall study). The main themes of coding were
developed before the mission, in line with the
questions, but further coding was done during
analysis.
1.2 Sampling Methodology
A district household estimation provided by the local
municipality enabled the application of a sampling
formula2 to determine a representative sample size
for the district. The study took into account certain
statistical parameters such as the level of confidence
2 See Annex 6.1
desired (95%), sample design effect (1.5), margin of
error (+ or – 9%) and the assumption that some
security correlations of (0.3) existed within the sub-
divisions.
The p-value of 0.3 in the formula assumes a security
correlation above a random normal distribution of
0.5 within the district clusters (subdivision). This is a
reasonable assumption based on the topic of the
survey as respondents within the districts are likely
to exhibit a correlational relationship between their
perceptions and the surrounding security
environment. This is further backed by OCVP’s past
experience in which individuals from the same area
tend to exhibit similar perceptions on security,
justice, governance and conflict and violence.
The calculation detailed above resulted in a sample
size of 240 households.
1.3 Household Survey
A face-to-face quantitative survey was conducted in
which questions relating to personal demographics,
security, justice, governance, and conflict and
violence were asked of respondents from randomly
selected households. OCVP’s two trained data
enumerators and two local supporters (with local
acquaintances and knowledge on borders between
subdivisions) under the supervision of an OCVP
supervisor, conducted 240 household interviews
with respondents in Hawl-wadaag, Isha, Bardale,
Horseed and IDPs Sub-divisions (Table 1), from 21st
to 27th May 2015.
OCVP employed a modified Systematic Random
Sampling (SRS) approach where enumerators
randomly selected the 4th household after a random
start point and interviewed one respondent above
18 years old in every selected household.
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Table 1: Number of male and female respondents within the subdivisions
Area/Subdivision
Gender (Number of
respondents) Total
Male Female
Bardale 30 30 60
Horseed 14 22 36
Isha 33 27 60
Hawl-wadaag 29 31 60
IDPs 17 7 24
Total sample 123 117 240
1.4 Focus Group Discussions
The second research tool utilised was a series of
Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) aimed at capturing
participants’ perception on security and justice
providers (formal and informal), governance
providers and the dynamics and experiences of
conflict and violence. FGDs were conducted on the
23rd-25th May at Bay Hotel (see breakdown in Table
2). Each discussion group lasted for about an hour.
A total of six groups were represented in the FGDs: women; youth; elders and religious leaders; informal justice providers; governance providers (formal); and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
Each group consisted of 10 participants. A local
organiser assisted in the recruitment of the
participants based on clan-lines, geographic
coverage, social class, gender and age (as well as
profession in the case of justice and governance
providers).
An OCVP researcher moderated the discussions with
the assistance of a note taker. Digital recorders were
used to record the discussions only after obtaining
the participants’ consent. Following verbatim
transcription, the data was cleaned, organised and
finally, further coding was done during the analysis
phase.
Table 2: Distribution of focus group participants by gender
Focus Group Gender
Total Male Female
Women - 10 10
Elders/Religious Leaders 10 - 10
Youth 5 5 10
Justice Providers 10 - 10
Governance Providers 5 5 10
IDPs 2 8 10
Total 32 28 60
1.5 Key Informant Interviews
The third method utilised for data collection was
personal interviews with key informants who
possessed experiential knowledge on the themes
under investigation. The aim was to go deeper into
the subject areas and cross-validate the issues raised
in the FGDs.
The interviews were conducted from 24th to 26th May
2015 at Bay Hotel. Each interview lasted for about
half an hour. Five (5) key informants were
interviewed, including: the Police Commissioner, a
Religious Leader, a Traditional Elder, the Mayor, and
a Business Person.
A local organiser assisted in the scheduling of the
interviews, which were then conducted by OCVP
researchers. Interviews began with questions that
were tailored to the interviewee and then generally
cut across the thematic areas of governance, justice,
security, and conflict and violence.
Table 3: Key Informant Interview participants
Key Informant Gender
Male Female
Police Commissioner 1 -
Religious Leader 1 -
Traditional Elder 1 -
Business Person 1 -
Mayor 1 -
Total 5 -
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2. PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS
The household survey sample comprised 51% males
and 49% females (Fig. 1). A gender balance had been
emphasised to allow a clear depiction of the
differences in experience, views and insights
between the two genders in relation to the areas that
were assessed.
Figure 1: Gender distribution of respondents
Over three quarters of the sampled respondents
(77%) were aged between 20 and 49 years old, with
23% of respondents falling in the 20-29 year age
group, 26% in the 30-39 year age group and 28%
between the ages of 40-49 years. Respondents in the
50-59 year age bracket and those 60 years and above
represented 12% and 10% of the sample
respectively, whereas the least represented group
was that of those aged under 20 years, which made
up only 1% of the sample (Fig. 2).
Figure 2: Age distribution of respondents by gender
About three-quarters of respondents (73%) were
married, followed by the single (11%) and the
widowed (9%). Divorced respondents were the least
represented, constituting 7% of the sample (Fig. 3).
Figure 3: Marital status of the respondents
With regard to the level of education received by the
respondents, one-third (33%) had attended Quranic
Madarasa and over one-quarter (29%) had never
attended school. Approximately 2% of the sample
had been self-schooled, and about three in ten
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respondents had been formally schooled to either
the primary, intermediate or secondary level (10%,
10% and 11% respectively). A minor portion (5%) of
the sample had been educated to the tertiary level
(Fig. 4).
Figure 4: Respondents' education levels
The distribution of education along gender lines
highlights some differences in the educational levels
of the male and female components of the sample.
Females were almost twice as likely to have never
been educated (38% of women, as opposed to 21%
of men), whereas males were over four times more
likely to have attained secondary schooling (18% of
men as opposed to 4% of women). Males were also
more likely to have been educated to tertiary level.
Comparable portions of the female and male
respondents were represented for all other levels of
education (Fig. 5).
Figure 5: Respondents' education levels by gender
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3. SECURITY, JUSTICE AND GOVERNANCE PROVIDERS
3.1 SECURITY PROVIDERS
At the time of the data collection, the district of
Baidoa had not witnessed any major destabilising
security incidents for twelve months. On the other
hand, the security providers (in particular the
national army and African Mission in Somalia
(AMISOM)) were engaged in a protracted fight
against terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab who still
posed a threat to the region.3
3.1.1 Level of Deployment
The Police, Somali National Army (SNA), National
Intelligence Security Agency (NISA), AMISOM and
neighbourhood watch (madani) were, with different
capacities and mandates, all responsible for the
provision of security. The security providers had
different lines of communication and authority: the
Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), AMISOM and
the newly established interim South West
Administration were the authorities that different
formal security providers belonged to. There were,
however, reports of poor co-ordination and
collaboration between and among these entities.
With regard to the presence of the police, the vast
majority of respondents (89%) were aware of their
presence in the district. A minor portion of
respondents (5%) were not aware of its presence,
and a group of comparable size (6%) were uncertain
as to whether or not the police were present, as
shown in Figure 6.
3 Police Commissioner, Key Informant Interview, 25th May 2015
Figure 6: Respondents' awareness of police presence
Along gender lines, men were slightly more aware of
police presence than women, with 93% of the male
respondents confirming their awareness compared
with 85% of female respondents. Those who were
not aware of police presence made up comparable
portions of 4% and 5% of the female and male
respondents respectively, but women were more
likely not to express a clear opinion on the issue: one
in ten women (11%) reported not knowing, whereas
only 2% of the men did so (Fig. 7).
Figure 7: Respondents’ awareness of police presence by gender
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Within subdivisions, respondents from Horseed and
from the IDP community were least aware of police
presence (75% and 79% respectively). These two
groups featured the highest proportion of
respondents to have claimed outright that there
were no police or to have been uncertain as to police
presence in the district - (25% of respondents from
Horseed and 21% among the IDPs). More than 90%
of respondents in each of the other subdivisions
acknowledged police presence. See Fig. 8.
Figure 8: Respondents’ awareness of police presence by subdivision
Among those who were aware of police presence,
the majority (51%) correctly estimated the presence
of two police stations. However, approximately one-
third of the respondents (32%) believed the number
of police stations amounted to three. Smaller
portions of the relevant sample believed that the
district featured one (9%) or four (3%) police
stations, or stated that they did not know (4%). See
Fig. 9.
Figure 9: Respondents’ estimation of the number of police stations
Of those who were aware of the presence of the
police in the district, 44% reported that they could
reach the closest police station in less than 20
minutes, and 42% stated it would take them
between 20 and 40 minutes from their area of
residence. Almost one in every ten respondents (8%)
reported residing farther away, and needing
between 41 minutes and one hour to reach the
station. Only 1% of respondents claimed it would
take them over an hour to reach the police, and the
remaining 6% stated they did not know (Fig. 10).
Figure 10: Respondents’ estimation of distance to the nearest police station
Among those who were aware of the police,
residents of the Horseed subdivision, followed by
those from the IDPs and the Hawl wadaag
subdivision, reported being the closest to police
stations, with the majority of respondents from
these areas (63%, 58% and 53% respectively)
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claiming it would take them less than 20 minutes to
reach a police station. Between one-third and one-
half of respondents from each subdivision stated
that they live between 20 and 40 minutes away from
a police station. Bardale had the highest portion of
respondents who estimated that they live farther
away from a police station, with almost two in ten
(18%) respondents declaring it would take them
between 41 minutes and one hour to reach the
closest police station (Fig. 11).
Figure 11: Respondents’ estimation of distance to the nearest police station by subdivision
3.1.2 Preference of security providers
Although participants expressed several criticisms of
the police work in the district, the police were still
regarded as a fundamental security provider by a
large portion of participants in the survey.
Respondents also regarded traditional elders as
legitimate security providers, and most respondents
reported referring cases to either of the two,
according to their nature.
3.1.2.1. Civil cases
Respondents were slightly more likely to report civil
cases, including trespass, family disputes and
business disputes to traditional elders than to the
police, with 36% of respondents claiming they would
report such cases to the traditional elders, whereas
4 Governance Providers, Focus Group discussion, 23rd May 2015
31% would prefer referring such cases to the police
(Fig. 12).
The time it took for one security provider to deal with
cases reported to them was one of the factors which
influenced the reporting preference. For this reason
civil cases were likely to be reported to the
traditional elders, according to the governance
providers:
Cases like family disputes and issues related to land
disputes and properties are better dealt with by
traditional elders, because they are the ones who can
better mediate and solve cases within limited time.4
The perception of security providers’ impartiality
also potentially influenced the reporting preference:
Civil disputes or civil matters: such as business or family
disputes need fairness and can be solved by the people by
reporting them to the sub village committee or the clan.5
Figure 12: Reporting preference - civil matters
The disaggregation of data along gender lines
highlights that women were more likely than men to
regard religious leaders as their preferred security
providers when dealing with civil matters, with 18%
of the female respondents stating a preference for
them to other providers, as opposed to only 7% of
the male respondents. Minor differences were
5 Women, Focus Group Discussions, 24th May 2015
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present in the choice of other providers, with women
being slightly less likely than men to choose to report
civil matters to the police or traditional leaders (Fig.
13).
Figure 13: Reporting preference - civil matters by gender
3.1.2.2. Petty crimes
In instances of petty crimes such as theft and
household violence, the police were the preferred
security provider, with 37% of respondents choosing
them over other options. Traditional elders were still
regarded by many as a legitimate entity for dealing
with such types of cases, and one third of the sample
(33%) reported that they would involve them when
facing matters pertaining to petty crime (Fig. 13).
About one in every ten respondents would each opt
for local security guards and religious leaders as the
security providers to deal with cases of this kind (10%
and 9% respectively). Another 4% indicated that they
would report to ‘other’ entities including NISA, their
families, their neighbours, or none of those
mentioned.
Figure 14: Reporting preference - petty crimes
Both males and females indicated similar
preferences with respect to their choice of security
providers for reporting petty crimes. The police,
followed by traditional elders, was the leading choice
for both, with the majority of men and women
indicating that that they would prefer to report petty
crimes to either of these two entities (Fig. 15).
Figure 15: Reporting preference - petty crimes by gender
3.1.2.3. Serious crimes
In instances of serious crimes such as grave assault,
rape, or murder, almost one-half (49%) of the sample
directed their preference towards the police as the
legitimate security provider. Over one-quarter (26%)
of participants expressed their preference for
involving traditional elders to deal with serious
crimes, and about one in ten respondents would
have referred the case to either religious leaders or
to the courts (9% each). See Fig. 16.
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Figure 16: Reporting preference - serious crimes
There was little variation in respondents’ choice of
preferred security provider for reporting serious
crimes along gender lines. The police were most
frequently identified by both male and female
respondents (49% and 48% respectively) as their
preferred choice. Traditional elders were second in
order of preference for both males and females (29%
and 23% respectively). See Fig. 17.
Figure 17: Reporting preference - serious crimes by gender
Several factors, mainly the nature of the cases and
perception towards the entity, were likely to
influence the reporting preference. According to the
discussions, crimes such as murder, robbery and
6 Women, Op. cit. 7 IDP, Focus Group Discussion, 24th May 2015 8 Youth, Focus Group Discussion, 25th May 2015
theft were mostly reported to the police owing to the
fact that this entity was perceived to hold
enforcement authority. A discussant in the women’s
group, for example, stated that, “Serious crimes mostly
require enforcement and legitimate intervention, therefore must be
reported to powerful security providers [those with authority to
enforce].”6 The IDP discussants also stated:
Some incidents, especially those which need enforcement,
such as murders or serious crimes, would be reported to
the police. However, instances of family or
neighbourhood disputes would be referred to the sub-
village committee or to local elders.7
Youth discussants were of the opinion that cases
involving theft should be reported to the police:
“Theft cases and robbery must be reported to the police, because
they have better experience and are familiar with such types of
issues.”8
The justice providers’ group, however, stated that
the lack of enforcement by the formal security
providers, police and district administration, made
people resort to the usage of informal security
providers.9
3.1.3 Police Response
Community-police relations are vital for effective
security provision. The findings, however, indicated
strained relations as status and familiarity with police
officers was perceived to have an influence on police
response. Those who did not have connections
feared being labelled informants or accused of
causing the incident. As a result, people were
sometimes unwilling to report to the police.
According to the discussants from the justice
providers’ group:
Their response depends on your relations with them. At
times you may get a quick response, while at other times
they will accuse you of being responsible for the crimes
you called them for. Lack of trust and fear of each other
substantially weakens their services.10
9 Governance Providers, Op. cit. 10 Justice Providers, Focus Group Discussion, 25th May 2015
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The timing of the incident was also likely to influence
police response as IDP discussants claimed that the
police responded only during the day. Incidents that
took place at night had to wait until dawn breaks.
Discussants argued that the police were not available
at night:
Police response is quick during the day but they are
unavailable at night, and one thus has to wait until the
morning for their intervention.11
At night you will fail to get any response as the police are
not operating at all. During the night the police are
concerned with protecting themselves and not the
community.12
Traditional Elders’ and Religious Leaders’ FGD
discussants also suggested that the reduction in the
deployment of the police at night had a detrimental
impact on efforts to prevent insurgents from
operating in the district:
Most people thus lack access to security during the night,
which explains why Al-Shabaab targets our people at
night-time, [they are] aware victims will lack any
support from security providers.13
3.1.4 Perception of security providers
Despite a myriad of challenges and institutional
deficiencies, police remained relevant and enjoyed a
moderate degree of trust as an entity capable of
responding to crime and violence.
The police were identified as the most trusted
security provider for dealing with crime and violence
by the largest portion (44%) of respondents.
Traditional elders were chosen by 21% and religious
leaders by 15% of respondents. Minor portions of the
sample also mentioned the local authority (8%) and
local security guards (5%), whereas 4% of
participants claimed they did not trust any of the
above to respond to crime and violence (Fig. 18).
11 IDPs, Op. cit. 12 Youth, Op. cit.
Figure 18: Most trusted security provider for responding to crime and violence
Variations were minimal along gender lines. The
sequence remained the same for both genders’
selection of the top four entities for responding to
crime and violence. The greatest variation was
observed with the respective proportions that
selected religious leaders (17% of females versus
12% of males). See Figure 19.
Figure 19: Most trusted security provider- crime and violence by gender
Further examination was carried out to identify the
factors that influenced respondents’ choice of most
trusted security providers. The findings indicated
that respect for religious leaders was the main
reason for their selection (68%), whereas fast
13 Traditional Elders & Religious Leaders, Focus Group Discussion, 23rd May 2015
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response was the factor which most influenced trust
in the local authority and police above other security
providers (61% and 45% respectively). Also, ease of
access was the dominant reason for choice of local
security guards (54%). Table 4 illustrates the reasons
given by respondents for their choice of most trusted
security provider.
Table 4: Respondents' reasons of choice of most trusted security provider
Respondents who indicated that they were aware of
police presence in the district were further asked to
qualify the level of trust they had in the police, the
institution which received the highest preferences in
responding to crime and violence. More than one-
half (52%) of the participants expressed high levels of
trust, with 21% stating they had very high levels of
trust and 31% fairly high. Of the remaining sample,
7% claimed they did not know, 16% reported having
fairly low trust in the institution, and one-quarter
(25%), the second most represented group, claimed
they had very low levels of trust in the police’s ability
to respond to violence and crime (Fig. 20).
Figure 20: Respondents’ level of trust towards police in responding to crime and violence
Levels of trust in the police were comparable for both
males and females. Consistent with the overall
responses, a slight majority of both males and
females (51% and 52% respectively) indicated fairly
or very high levels of trust in the police, while
approximately two in every five indicated fairly low
or very low levels of trust (males: 42% and females:
40%). Approximately 7% of males and 8% of females
did not give a definite response (Figure 21).
Figure 21: Respondents’ level of trust towards police in responding to crime by gender
When asked to compare their current perception of
the change in police performance over the past year,
the largest group (44%) of respondents claimed
there had been no change, while 13% felt that there
had been a decline in performance. However,
approximately one- quarter (26%) of the
Reason for
choice of most
trusted
security
provider
Most trusted security provider in responding to
crime and violence
Trad
itio
nal
eld
er
Rel
igio
us
lead
ers
Loca
l
auth
ori
ty
Po
lice
Loca
l
secu
rity
guar
ds
Fast response 29% - 61% 45% 46%
Unbiased
enforcement 27% 27% 6% 10% -
They are
respected 33% 68% 11% 6% -
Ease of access 12% 5% 17% 34% 54%
They are
security
provider
- - - 5% -
Don’t know - - 6% 1% -
Base 49 37 18 105 13
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respondents claimed that there had been an
improvement in their performance. The remaining
17% of respondents stated that they did not know
whether police performance had improved or
declined over the past year (Fig. 22).
Figure 22: Perception of the performance of the police - yearly trend
The disaggregation of data along gender lines
revealed that a greater proportion of men than that
of women reported that they had seen an
improvement in the performance of the police over
the previous year, with 31% of male respondents
claiming it had improved, compared to 21% of
women. Approximately 22% of female respondents
compared with 13% of males failed to take a clear-
cut position (Fig. 23).
Figure 23: Perception of the performance of the police by gender - yearly trend
Some differences emerged from the disaggregation
of data according to subdivision. Residents of Isha
were most likely to state that there had been an
improvement in the performance of the police, with
39% of respondents from that subdivision stating so.
Comparable portions of approximately one-quarter
of the respondents from the other subdivisions, with
the exception of the IDPs, also reported an
improvement. None among the IDPs felt that there
had been an improvement in the performance of the
police. Reports of a decline were highest among the
IDP community (29%), followed by those in the
Horseed subdivision (17%). Figure 24 illustrates
respondents’ perception of the change in the
performance of the police over the past year by
subdivision.
Figure 24: Perception of the performance of the police by subdivision - yearly trend
From the qualitative analysis there was the
suggestion that police performance was affected by
insufficient police numbers and poor organisation to
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deal with the fragile security situation which the
district faced.14
3.1.5 Challenges facing the police
As previously mentioned, the police were not the
only security providers in the district but operated
alongside other entities such as the SNA, NISA,
AMISOM, and neighbourhood watch (madani).
However, one of the biggest challenges was that:
All these forces are not yet organized across a central
command, and each follow their own regulations,
making their activities unsystematic and causing clashes
among them.15
The various security providers all adhere to different
rules and regulations, and operate independently of
each other, causing discord and rendering them less
effective when responding to incidents. Participants
in the Justice Group discussions went as far as
suggesting that ultimately each community were
themselves responsible for their personal security,
“Every inhabitant of Baidoa is responsible for themselves, for self-
defence, as no other provider can be trusted for security.”16
Even with the best will and intention when
responding to incidents, the police faced further
obstacles when it came to logistical capability (lack of
police vehicles and fuel), along with means of
communication, rendering them “…reactive instead of
proactive in dealing with incidences of crime and violence.”17
Weak relations with members of the community,
combined with Al-Shabaab having a presence in
certain parts of the region, have led to situations
whereby the public were sometimes reporting
disputes/concerns to Al–Shabaab instead of the
police and the other formal security providers.18 The
public’s dissatisfaction with the security providers
has created an environment where certain members
of the community believe that any “authority” with
14 Women, Op. cit. 15 Governance Providers, Op. cit. 16 Justice Providers, Op. cit. 17 Women, Op. cit.
strong enforcement capability is better than inaction
or weak response that is the current case.
Furthermore, it was felt that the police required
appropriate training to equip them with the
necessary skills to handle the various types of issues
that they are faced with. This was expressed by
respondents who claimed that military style training
to effectively deal with the diverse range of security
threats, would help to improve the performance of
the police.19
Focus group discussants also acknowledged that
police morale was affected by inadequate pay: “They
are human beings like us, we cannot expect them to do their job
voluntarily.”20 Respondents suggested that the police
were not being appropriately compensated for the
risks they took as security provision in the current
environment was dangerous work.
18 Ibid 19 Traditional Elder and Religious Leader, Op. cit. 20 Governance Providers, Op. cit.
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3.2 JUSTICE PROVIDERS
Baidoa district, like most of the Somali regions, has
both formal and informal justice providers who are
sometimes used interchangeably.
This section examines the deployment of justice
providers in Baidoa, their performance and
interaction, as well as the perceptions and
preferences of the community with regard to justice
provision.
3.2.1. Level of deployment
A solid majority of survey participants (77%) were
aware of the presence of court in the district. Almost
two in every ten (19%) respondents, however, did
not know how to respond, and 4% were not aware of
the court’s presence (Fig. 25).
Figure 25: Respondents' awareness of the existence of courts
The levels of awareness of the court’s presence were
similar among male and female respondents, with
79% of men and 76% of women reporting their
knowledge of the presence of the court. See Figure
26.
Figure 26: Respondents' awareness of the existence of courts by gender
Only minor differences emerged from the
organisation of data according to the respondents’
subdivision of residence. Respondents from Horseed
reported the highest awareness of the courts (81%),
while the largest portion of those who were not
aware of the court was among respondents from Isha
(7%). Across the five subdivisions, there were a
proportion of approximately one in five respondents
who did not know how to answer the question.
Members of the IDP community featured the highest
(21%) proportion of respondents who did not know
how to answer the question (Fig 27).
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Figure 27: Respondents' awareness of the existence of courts by subdivision
Among those who acknowledged the court’s
presence, over two-thirds (71%) were aware of only
one court, while two in every ten (21%) were aware
of two courts. Almost one in every ten (8%)
respondents was unable to quantify the number of
courts (Fig. 28).
Figure 28: Respondents' awareness of the number of courts
Virtually all concerned respondents reported that
they could reach the court in less than one hour.
More than one-quarter (28%) of respondents
claimed it would take them less than twenty minutes
to reach the court, and about one-half (49%) stated
that it would take between twenty and forty
minutes. Two in every ten (21%) survey participants
reported living a bit farther away, and having to walk
more than forty minutes and one hour to reach the
court. See Figure 29.
Figure 29: Respondents' estimation of the distance to the court
Residents from Hawl-wadaag were closest to the
court, with almost one-half (45%) of the respondents
from that subdivision stating that they could reach
the court in less than twenty minutes, and a slight
majority (52%) stating that it would take between
twenty and forty minutes to walk to the court. In
contrast, residents from the Bardale subdivision
appeared to be farthest away from the court, as this
subdivision featured the smallest proportion of
respondents who estimated that they could walk to
the court in less than 20 minutes (10%) as well as the
greatest proportion who would require more than 40
minutes (32%).See Figure 30.
Figure 30: Respondents' estimation to the distance of the court, by subdivision
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3.2.2. Usage of the Justice Providers
Since the collapse of the Somali government, the
courts have struggled to regain the public’s trust and
to meet their expectations with regards to access to
justice. Concerns over the cost of bringing a case
before the court as well as suggested bribery
involved in order to obtain a just verdict were two of
the main issues mentioned by participants of the
Justice FGD: “Justice here depends on the size of your wallet.”21
The findings indicated that traditional elders were
the justice providers that survey respondents had
consulted most during the past year, with one-
quarter (26%) of the sample reporting their usage.
They were followed by religious leaders and the
courts, whose consultation was claimed by 15% and
12% of respondents respectively (Fig. 31).
Figure 31: Usage of justice providers
Analysis of the usage of justice providers along
gender lines highlights that traditional elders were
consulted most by both males and females over the
past year. However, males indicated greater usage
of traditional elders, with 33% of men compared with
20% of women stating that they had used traditional
elders during this time. Usage of the courts (females:
14% vs males: 10%) and religious leaders (females:
21 Justice Providers, Op. cit.
18% females vs males: 10%) was slightly higher
among female respondents. See Figure 32.
Figure 32: Usage of justice providers, by gender
The preference for the usage of traditional elders
was further reiterated during the focus group
discussions, whereby the main reason cited by
discussants was their ability to dispense just and
swift verdicts, all done without enforcement
capabilities, but merely based on their role as experts
in Somali traditional law.
3.2.2.1. Comparisons between justice providers
The respondents were asked about the issues they
took to the justice providers. Respondents would
approach different justice providers depending on
the types of cases, for example: land, youth related
matters, business disputes and household violence
related cases, robbery and assault were common
cases that justice providers dealt with. The findings
show that land related disputes comprised 35% of
the cases that respondents brought to the traditional
elders and 43% of cases that respondents brought to
court. Also robbery and household violence were
other types of cases taken to elders (13% and 25%
respectively) and religious leaders- (20% and 37%
respectively). On the other hand, the court alone
dealt with issues including rape and matters related
to Al-Shabaab among others. Table 5 illustrates the
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types of issues that respondents had referred to the
justice providers in the past year.
Table 5: Issues referred to justice providers
Issues
referred to
different
justice
Providers
Justice providers
Court Traditional
Elders
Religious
Leaders
Land dispute 43% 35% 17%
Business
dispute 11% 14% 11%
Robbery 4% 13% 20%
Youth
violence 11% 5% 11%
Household
violence 21% 25% 37%
Assault 7% 8% 14%
Other 11% - -
Refused to
answer - 3% 11%
Base 28 63 35
Among participants who reported consulting the
various justice providers, reports of having received
a judgement was highest among those who had used
traditional elders (71%). Approximately 64% of those
who had used the courts and 61% of those who had
used religious leaders for the provision of justice also
reported that they had received a judgement (Fig.
33).
Figure 33: Issuance of judgments
A very strong majority of the relevant sample
claimed that the judgements that they received from
the various justice providers were enforced. Almost
all (95%) respondents who received judgments from
religious leaders saw judgements being enforced,
while approximately nine in every ten respondents
who had received judgements from the courts and
traditional elders also reported having their
judgements enforced (89% and 87% respectively).
See Figure 34.
Figure 34: Enforcement of judgments
3.2.3. Perception of the Justice Providers
When asked to identify which justice providers they
trusted most, religious leaders were mentioned by
42% of respondents, followed by traditional elders at
23%. The court was mentioned by 20% of the sample.
A minority of respondents (3%) also mentioned local
security guards, and a further 3% cited the local
authority and the police. A total of 6% claimed that
they did not trust any among the justice providers
(Fig. 35).
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Figure 35: Respondents' choice of must trusted justice provider
Slight variations emerged upon the disaggregation of
data along gender lines. A greater portion of women
reported their trust in religious leaders, with almost
one-half (47%) of female respondents compared
with 39% of male respondents claiming that they
trusted them most for solving cases. Women were
also slightly more inclined than men to choose the
court as their most trusted justice provider (22% of
female respondents versus 19% of male
respondents). On the other hand, a slightly greater
proportion of men chose traditional elders, with 25%
of males compared with 20% of females identifying
them as the justice provider that they trust most.
Men were also more likely not to have trust in any of
the justice providers (8% males vs. 3% of female
respondents). See Figure 36.
Figure 36: Respondents' choice of most trusted justice provider by gender
Table 6 shows the reasons for respondents’ choice of
most trusted justice provider. Fair judgements (42%),
fast decisions (29%), ease of access (13%) and
reliability (4%) were the reasons most cited for trust
in the courts ahead of other justice providers. Fair
judgement (59%), independence from politics (15%),
ease of access (7%) and affordability (13%) were the
main reasons cited for trust in traditional elders.
Religious leaders were primarily selected based on
their perception as successfully providing fair
judgements (80%) and local security guards based on
ease of access and fast decisions (38% each).
Table 6: Reasons for trust of justice providers
Reason for trust of justice
provider
Most trusted justice provider in solving cases
The
Co
urt
Trad
itio
nal
eld
ers
Rel
igio
us
lead
ers
Loca
l sec
uri
ty
guar
ds
Oth
er
secu
rity
pro
vid
ers
Fast decisions 29% 6% 2% 38% 75%
Fair judgment 42% 59% 80% 13% -
Independence from politics 2% 15% 13% - -
Less costly 6% 13% 2% 13% 13%
Ease of access 13% 7% 3% 38% -
More reliable 4% - 1% - 13%
Base 46 54 101 8 8
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Public confidence in the formal justice system is
pivotal for its usage. It is against this notion that the
assessment sought to assess respondents’
perceptions of the confidence in the formal justice
system. Of the respondents who were aware of the
court’s existence, the findings indicated that a
minority (30%) held confidence (very or fairly
confident) in the formal justice system, whereas one-
half of respondents (50%) stated outright that had no
confidence in the system. Approximately one in five
respondents (21%) did not give a definite response
(Fig. 37).
Figure 37: Respondents’ level of confidence in the formal justice system
Confidence in the justice system across gender
suggested little variation with 49% of the female
respondents claiming they held no confidence in the
formal justice system, versus 50% of their male
counterparts. Similar proportions of 30% of both
male and female respondents stated that they were
fairly confident or very confident in the system (Fig.
38).
Figure 38: Respondents’ level of confidence in the formal justice system by gender
A little less than one-half of the respondents (48%)
were of the view that there had been no change in
the performance of the formal justice system over
the twelve months preceding the assessment and
12% felt that the performance had declined. Only
one in ten respondents (10%) were of the opinion
that there had been an improvement in performance
over the past year. However, three in ten
respondents (31%) did not give a definite response
(Fig. 39).
Figure 39: Perception of the performance of the court: yearly trend
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Analysis of respondents’ perception of the change in
the court’s performance illustrates that one-half of
the respondents in Isha (50%) and a little less than
one-half of the respondents in each of the other
subdivisions stated that there had been no change in
the court’s performance. None of the IDPs perceived
that there had been an improvement in performance
over the past year. However, few respondents in
Bardale (12%), Isha (12%), Horseed (11%), and Hawl-
wadaag (8%) felt that there had been an
improvement. The perception that performance had
declined was greatest among members of the IDP
community (21%), followed by those in the Horseed
(19%), and Hawl-wadaag (13%) subdivisions. See
Figure 40.
Figure 40: Perception of the performance of the court: yearly trend, by subdivision
Males and females held similar views regarding the
change in the courts’ performance over the previous
year. Similar proportions of approximately one in ten
men and women (11% and 9% respectively) felt that
there had been an improvement in performance.
However, close to one-half of both male (49%) and
female (47%) respondents maintained that there had
been no change in the court’s performance, while
approximately 11% of males compared with 13% of
females indicated that performance had declined
during this time. Finally, approximately one-third of
both female and male respondents (30% and 32%
22 IDPs, Op. cit.
respectively) expressed no opinion regarding a
change in performance (Fig. 41).
Figure 41: Perception of the performance of the court: yearly trend by gender
3.2.3.1. Formal vs. Informal Justice
Participants in the FGDs suggested that rampant
corruption, combined with unskilled staff had led to
the community holding serious mistrust and
apprehension towards the courts. Instead, informal
providers were perceived as less corrupt and their
“staff” were regarded as experts in Somali customary
law (Xeer) and Shari’ah law. For these reasons and
many more, the informal providers, such as elders
and religious leaders seemed to hold the public’s
trust and respect and thus held more sway and
authority. In order to restore public confidence,
there were calls for justice sector reform, not only to
eradicate bad practices, but also to ensure that the
archaic legal system, which was drafted by the
military regime of Siad Barre, was updated in order
to reflect the needs of the current civilian
administration.22
Formal Justice Providers - Courts
There was general consensus in the criticisms levied
against the courts, which included: the protracted
length of time cases took to resolve, the high costs
associated with bringing matters before the court
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and the perception that verdicts would swing in the
favour of whomever had the biggest funds available:
Our district lacks any fair form of justice system, with
corruption being the biggest challenge to its attainment.
People have no access to justice and their perception is
that you go to the court either to pay money to protect
your property, or to lose it.23
Respondents lamented over weak institutions
unable to resolve cases efficiently, with seemingly
unknowledgeable and unmotivated staff.24
Informal Justice Providers - Elders and Religious
Leaders
Due to the public’s perception that informal
providers were less corrupt and more just, they were
regarded as being more trustworthy.25
The informal providers utilised various mechanisms
to handle cases, which included: elders ensuring that
disputants signed a declaration that they would
accept the outcome; the creation of an office for
religious justice providers in order to facilitate the
resolution of cases through the use of Shari’ah law.
There was even a murder case mentioned which the
religious justice providers’ office resolved, after the
courts had failed to reach a verdict for the past two
years. They ensured that upon swearing to Allah of
his [the accused] innocence he was freed, and this
was finally accepted by the victim’s family as a fair
ruling:
The suspect was judged innocent, but the other side
maintained that he was guilty. According to religious
rules, unless both parties agree with the ruling, Shari’ah
requires for the guilty party to swear fifty times [of their
innocence], after which the other side must accept the
claim as truthful.26
To sum up, although the majority were aware of the
court, the findings indicate that the people of Baidoa
preferred to utilise the services of the informal
providers. Only a minority of survey respondents
23 Women, Op. cit. 24 Ibid
expressed confidence in the court, which was faced
with allegations of bribery and perceived as being
somewhat inefficient. In addition, the informal
justice providers proved to be more trusted than the
court and other formal institutions.
25 Youth, Op. cit. 26 Justice Providers, Op. cit.
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3.3 GOVERNANCE PROVIDERS
After the capture of Baidoa by Al-Shabaab in 2009,
the Local Council fell as many of the councillors
resigned, while others fled the city. After the
reclamation of the city by the FGS in 2012, a few of
these councillors returned and ostensibly formed the
local council. In 2014, the Interim South West
Administration (ISWA) was officially established and
recognized as an official member of the federal state
of Somalia. The new political change ushered in
leadership changes in the district. The Ministry of
Interior appointed the former Mayor, who also acted
as District Commissioner (DC) of Baidoa, as the
interim mayor for a period of six months. Following
this, there was a discussion between the interim
mayor, the regional administration and the residents
of Baidoa to establish a new local council. An interim
council comprising 10 councillors was agreed on.
This council was nominated by the different clans in
Baidoa.
The interim council’s main function is to work, under
the interim mayor, to oversee the collection of taxes
and provide any other service provided by local
governments. In addition, one of the mandates of
the interim council is to promote citizen participation
and clan representation.
This section aims to assess the awareness,
performance, participation and perception of the
local government as well as the challenges that the
institution faces in the provision of services to the
population.
1. Level of Deployment
The vast majority of respondents (85%) were aware
of the presence of the Local Council in the district.
Almost one in ten (9%), however, was not aware, and
an additional 6% were unsure or did not give a
response (Fig. 42).
Figure 42: Respondents' awareness of the presence of a local council
Disaggregation of data along gender lines illustrated
similar levels of awareness among males and females
(87% and 85% respectively). See Figure 43.
Figure 43: Respondents' awareness of Local Council, by gender
Respondents from all but one subdivision reported
high and comparable levels (>90%) of awareness of
the Local Council. Respondents from Isha, however,
were found to have substantially lower levels of
awareness, with only 63% of the relevant sample
confirming that they knew of the existence of the
Local Council. More than one-quarter (27%) of the
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respondents in that subdivision did not know about
it, and one in every ten (10%) did not know how to
answer (Fig. 44).
Figure 44: Respondents’ awareness of Local Council, by subdivision
3.3.1. Performance of the Local
Council
The Baidoa local government provides a variety of
services aimed at improving the town’s appearance
as well as contributing to the district’s development.
According to the mayor, who took part in an
individual interview as a key informant, substantial
efforts were being made to improve the area’s
security, including support of the police with
contributions. Sanitation efforts were also supported
through a monthly budget, and a well-trained team
was dedicated to ensure that the city remained
clean. Local authorities were moreover concerned
with town beautification, especially of main roads
and popular public venues.27
Despite the high levels of awareness regarding the
existence of the Local Council, awareness of its
service provision was substantially lower. Among
those aware of the council’s presence, more than
one-half (57%) claimed that the Local Council
provided no services or that they did not know what
27 Mayor, Key Informant Interview, 26th May 2015 28 Governance Providers, Op. cit.; IDPs, Op. cit. 29 Justice Providers, Op. cit.
services the council provides. However, a significant
portion of those who were aware of the council
recognised its work in the provision of security
services (42%). In addition, justice, sanitation, health,
infrastructure and education were each mentioned
by less than 5% of these respondents (Fig. 45).
Group discussants who were not directly involved in
the district’s governance mechanisms expressed
their dissatisfaction with the Local Council’s service
provision. They claimed the Council failed to provide
any services to the community, despite it being
successfully involved in the collection of taxes from
the population.28 Participants in the justice
providers’ FGD elaborated on this:
There is no service delivery at this time, and although
taxes are being collected, these are not employed to serve
the district. People are tax payers, but this is not
translated into roads being rebuilt, water resources being
made available, or health being improved for the poor
population.29
The tax rate was also an area of concern. According
to one of the key informants:
High taxation strongly affects our costs and business
transactions. The government has not established regular
taxation, any governmental institution can increase
taxation, as well as demand extra money.30
Despite the overall negative accounts provided by
discussants, few participants in the justice providers’
and in the women’s FGDs mentioned that efforts to
improve sanitation did take place from time to
time.31 A minority within the youth FGD recognised
the efforts to provide security,32 but nonetheless
claimed that such efforts were overall unsuccessful
due to the internal and external challenges the
administration faced, including their limited capacity
and the presence of armed groups such as Al-
Shabaab in the district.
30 Business Person, Key Informant Interview, 26th May 2015 31 Women, Op. cit.; Justice Providers, Op. cit. 32 Youth, Op. cit.
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Figure 45: Respondents’ awareness of services provided by the local council
3.3.2. Pressing Community Needs
The district of Baidoa had many pressing needs as
mentioned in the quantitative and qualitative data
and the most urgent needs are presented below.
When asked to identify what they regarded as the
most pressing needs in their community,
unemployment was mentioned by over two-thirds
(68%) of respondents. Almost one-half (48%) of the
respondents also mentioned poor economy, and
over four in ten respondents mentioned poor health
(44%), lack of infrastructure (43%) and poor
education (43%). Health and sanitation-related
needs were also mentioned by around one-third of
the sample, and although 42% of respondents who
were aware of the council identified security as a
service delivered by the local council (see Fig. 45
above), 22% of the overall sample still mentioned
insecurity as one of their community’s most pressing
issues (Fig. 56).
33 Traditional Elder and Religious Leaders, Op. cit. 34 Ibid
Figure 46: Pressing Community Needs
Security
Group discussants frequently mentioned increased
security as a fundamental need, reporting instances
of mysterious killings, rape, and crimes perpetrated
by armed militias.33 Although respondents confirmed
the presence of many different security forces
operating within the district, they suggested that the
current security situation may be partly ascribed the
poor coordination between them:
There is a lack of coordination and hierarchy between the
many forces that operate in the territory, which include
the police, the military, the neighbourhood watch
services, the National Intelligence Security Agency
(NISA), and Darawsih [branch within formal security
services].34
Discussants from the women’s, youth’s and IDPs’
FGDs further elaborated on the economic
implications of insecurity, highlighting that activities
such as farming, which takes place outside the town,
has become impossible due to poor security. The
state of security in the district also impacted the
transportation of goods into and outside of Baidoa,
as reported by a key informant directly involved with
the local business community.35
35 Businessman, Op. cit.
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Unemployment
As discussed above, unemployment and poor
economic conditions were to some extent the
consequence of the current situation of insecurity,
which prevented many residents from engaging in
income-generating activities. The lack of job
opportunities, especially for the youth, also
contributed to further perpetuate insecurity, as
many among the jobless resorted to joining armed
groups to ensure financial revenues:
High youth unemployment also explains why so many
youngsters are joining either militias or Al-Shabaab, a
career they regard as a potential source of income.36
Education
Women group discussants regarded the provision of
education as a fundamental need of the community.
Education facilities have become private in the
district; this has substantially limited access to large
portions of the population. The unaffordable
monthly fees often prevent families from sending
their children to school, with significant social and
economic implications:
School fees are high, and many people can’t afford them.
For this reason, the majority of our children today are
joining fighting groups or are in the streets.37
Health
Various participants also mentioned the need for
increased access to functional health services and
medicines in the district. Governance providers
reported that a single public hospital was present in
Baidoa, and was unable to cater for the needs of the
whole population due to the lack of medical supply
and of qualified doctors. Discussants from the youth
group further reiterated the need for better-trained
medical personnel:
The area lacks qualified doctors and most of the
emergency cases are referred to Mogadishu, increasing the
36 Governance Providers, Op. cit. 37 Justice Providers, Op. cit.
chances of patients passing away due to bad road or flight
conditions.38
While the area features an additional private clinic,
this was inaccessible to many due to the high fees for
treatment. Participants in the women’s FGD also
specifically drew attention to the need for mother
and child care clinics in the area:
Health facilities are very poor and we lack mother and
child care centres, and a high number of our pregnant
women die due to pregnancy or birth complications.39
Further enquiry was made among those aware of the
presence of the local council regarding their
awareness of the channels of communication
between the community and the local government.
The Baidoa mayor reported that the local
administration was involved in frequent face-to-face
discussions with community members, as the 10
village representatives, who have been nominated to
ensure power-sharing among clans, gather the
population for discussion. The mayor would himself
carry out consultations with village heads several
times a week to ensure that a track of updates and
feedback was maintained. A little less than one in
every ten (9%) respondents who acknowledged the
local council also stated that they were aware of
channels of communication between the Council and
community. However, the majority (74%) claimed
that they were unaware of such channels, and
approaching two in every ten (17%) were uncertain
about whether they knew of any channels of
communication with the local council (Fig. 47).
38 Youth, Op. cit. 39 Women, Op. cit.
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Figure 47: Respondents' awareness of channels of communication
Among the respondents who were aware of the
council, those from Hawl-wadaag presented the
highest proportion of those who were also aware of
the channels of communication with the local
council, with 14% of the relevant sample responding
affirmatively to the question. The Bardale and
Horseed subdivisions followed, with about one in
every ten (10% and 9% respectively) respondents
being aware of communication channels. Only 5% of
Isha residents who acknowledged the council’s
presence were aware of such channels, whereas
none among IDP respondents were (Figure 48).
Figure 48: Respondents' awareness of channels of communication by subdivision
Of the total sample, only 8% of respondents reported
having participated in consultative meetings
between the government and the community within
the 12-month period prior to the assessment (Fig.
49).
Figure 49: Respondents' participation in local governance consultations (last 12 months)
Within subdivisions, Hawl-wadaag had the highest
proportion of respondents who had participated in
such meetings, with 12% of respondents in that
subdivision confirming they had attended local
government consultations. IDPs and Horseed
residents followed with 8% each, whereas only 5% of
respondents from Bardale and Isha had participated
in consultative meetings (Fig. 50).
Figure 50: Respondents' participation in local governance consultations by subdivision (last 12 months)
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Among respondents who had confirmed their recent
participation in local government consultative
meetings (n=18), those who participated in two and
three meetings each made up one-third (33%) of this
group. The remaining one-third was equally
distributed between those who participated in one
and more than three meetings over the year prior to
the assessment (17% each). See Figure 51.
Figure 51: Frequency of participation in local governance consultations (last 12 months)
3.3.3.1. Election vs. Nomination
When survey respondents were asked whether they
regarded having elected representatives in the local
council as important, an overwhelming majority
(86%) responded that they did. Only 6% of the
sample did not give opinion was on the issue,
whereas the remaining 8% regarded the election of
representatives as unimportant (Fig. 52). Participants
across most FGDs similarly expressed their
preferences for the election of local council
representatives.40 This, they claimed, would on one
hand ensure increased participation of the
population, favouring the administration’s
accountability and transparency and, on the other
hand, increase the likelihood of qualified individuals
taking up the posts:
If you are elected you are accountable to those who elected you, and
you have a fixed term, meaning that if you fail, you lose your
chance and you may not be elected again.41
40 Governance Providers, Op. cit.; Youth, Op. cit.; Women, Op. cit.; Justice Providers, Op. cit.; IDPs, Op. cit.
Despite also being in favour of electing
representatives, participants in the justice providers’
FGD drew attention to the danger of clan dynamics
and nepotism being perpetuated behind the façade
of the apparent democratisation of local
administration:
The biggest problems today are nepotism and tribalism,
and every clan seems to like to elect their worst person,
trying to convince people they can do better and are
qualified.42
Figure 52: Respondents' opinions regarding the importance of elected representatives
When disaggregated by gender, it was observed that
almost equal percentages of both male and female
respondents (86% and 85% respectivley) felt that it
was important to elect local representatives (Fig. 53).
41 Youth, Op. cit. 42 Justice Providers, Op. cit.
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2015
Figure 53: Respondents opinion regarding the importance of elected representatives by gender
3.3.3.2. Local Council’s challenges
Group discussants highlighted that Baidoa’s local
administration faced several challenges which
limited its capacity to improve the delivery of
services to the population. Insecurity was identified
as a major cause of limited service delivery,
preventing the local government from successfully
operating, due to threats from powerful armed
groups.43 The existence of clan ties also affected
service provision, as bureaucrats were often involved
in internal disputes, and were more concerned with
the preservation of clan privilege than with the
egalitarian distribution of services across the
district’s population44: “Clan allegiances are stronger than
the local authorities.’’45 On this issue, governance
providers involved in FGDs explicitly explained that:
Especially at the district-level, each authority is
representing a clan, so most of the time, wherever we
[governance providers] are, we each try to promote our
clan interests.46
Participants moreover highlighted how the need to
preserve clan power-sharing and limited availability
of financial resources affected the quality of human
43 Traditional Elder and Religious Leaders, Op. cit. 44 Women, Op. cit. 45 Traditional Elder and Religious Leaders, Op. cit. 46 Governance Provider’s, Op. cit. 47 Traditional Elder and Religious Leaders, Op. cit.; Youth, Op. cit.
capital employed, thus affecting the standard of
work performed by the local administration:47
Bureaucrats often lack the skills and experience to
maintain the delivery of services. Most of us [governance
providers] have come to power as the result of power-
sharing clan mechanisms, and those who have better
experience lack the chance to participate, better serve
their communities, and facilitate good governance.48
3.3.3. Perception of the Local Council
Discussants expressed negative opinions regarding
the performance of the local council. Their responses
ranged from claims that there had been no
performance which they could assess: “Their
performance is zero;”49 ‘’I would not say there has been any
[performance];’’50 to claims that it had been of very low
quality: “Their performances is very low.”51 Only participants
in the governance providers’ FGD claimed that the
performance of the local administration was to be
regarded as satisfactory considering the security
constraints within which the institution was obliged
to operate: “Our performance is very good considering that our
administration is working in a condition of widespread
insecurity.’’52 The group moreover reiterated their
determination to continue to deliver better services
to the population.
Survey participants were also asked to express the
level of confidence they held in the local council.
Confirming the opinions expressed by group
discussants, approximately one-third (33%) of the
sample expressed positive opinions - comprised of a
marginal minority (3%) reported having ‘very high’
confidence in the council and 30% having ‘fairly high’
levels of confidence. Almost one-half of the sample
(47%) expressed low levels of confidence towards
the local council, with two in every ten (22%)
respondents claiming they held ‘fairly low’ levels of
confidence in the council, and one-quarter (25%)
48 Governance Providers, Op. cit. 49 Justice Providers, Op. cit. 50 IDPs, Op. cit. 51 Youth, Op. cit. 52 Governance Providers, Op. cit.
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reporting ‘very low’ confidence. Those who did not
know how to respond to the question made up a
noticeable minority (20%). See Figure 54.
Figure 54: Respondents' level of confidence in Local council
There were divergencies in the level of confidence of
the local council by gender. Females were slightly
more favourable towards the local council than
males (35% vs. 31%). Correspondingly, male
respondents had less confidence in the council than
their female counterparts (50% vs. 44%), while
similar percentages (20% each) expressed no opinion
regarding their confidence in the council (Fig. 55).
Figure 55: Respondents' level of confidence in the local council by gender
When asked about variations in the performance of
the local council over the previous year, the majority
(51%) of respondents who were aware of the
presence of the council reported that there had been
no change. Those who saw an improvement, and
respondents who perceived a decline in the council’s
performance were fairly equally represented and
respectively made up 11% and 10% of the sample.
However, more than one-quarter of the respondents
(28%) did not give an opinion regarding the change
in the council’s performance (Fig. 56).
Figure 56: Respondents' perception as to the performance of the local council: yearly trend
The disaggregation of data along gender lines
revealed minimal differences in males’ and females’
perception of the comparative performance of the
local council. Males were more likely than their
female counterparts to report that no change had
occurred (54% as opposed to 49%) and slightly less
likely not to know how to assess recent changes (26%
males vs. 30% females). Comparable portions of
approximately one in ten male and female
participants reported the improvement (10% males
vs. 12% females) and the decline (11% males vs. 9%
females) of the local council’s performance (Fig. 57).
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Figure 57: Respondents' perception as to the performance of the local council: yearly trend by gender
Substantial differences emerged following the
organisation of data according to respondents’
subdivision. Those who had detected an
improvement in the performance of the council were
mainly represented among respondents from Hawl-
wadaag, where they made up one-quarter (25%) of
respondents from that subdivision, and in near equal
proportions among Bardale and Horseed residents
(10% and 11% respectively). Only a marginal 2% of
respondents from Isha detected a recent
improvement in the council’s performance, and none
among members of the IDP community did so.
Residents from the IDPs were most likely to report
that there had been no change in the performance of
the council (71%), while close to one-half of
respondents in the other subdivisions shared this
opinion. None of the respondents in the Isha
subdivision reported a decline over the year prior to
assessment. However, 17% of respondents from the
Horseed subdivision, along with similar portions of
13% each from Hawl-wadaag and the IDPs, as well as
12% of those from Bardale felt that there had been a
decline during this period (Fig. 58).
Figure 58: Respondents' perception as to the performance of the local council: yearly trend by subdivision
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4. CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE
4.1. Experience of Conflict and
Violence
This section presents an overview of respondents’
account of their experiences with conflict and
violence, the root causes of such incidents, and the
overall perception of safety in the area.
Respondents who reported awareness of clan or
group conflict taking place over the 12-month period
preceding the assessment made up 12% (n=28) of
the sample. The vast majority (87%) of respondents,
however, were not aware of any conflict of the kind
having taken place, whereas a minor portion (2%) of
the sample provided no response on the matter (Fig.
59).
Figure 59: Account of awareness of conflict between clans or groups
Awareness of conflict was slightly higher among men
than among women, with 14% of the male
respondents confirming that they were aware of
53 Youth, Op. cit.
recent conflict, as opposed to 9% of the participating
females (Fig. 60).
Figure 60: Account of awareness of conflict between clans or groups by gender
Within subdivisions, almost two in every ten (19%)
survey participants from Horseed reported being
aware of conflict, followed by respondents from IDPs
(13%), from Isha (12%), from Bardale (10%) and from
Hawl-wadaag (8%). Only respondents from Horseed
and IDPs did not respond to the question, and
amounted to 6% and 8% of the respective samples,
as shown in Figure 61.
Participants across various Focus Group Discussions
reported that no clan or group conflict had taken
place in the area over the past year, but some
mentioned that although the city of Baidoa had itself
been safe, conflict involving armed forces and
militias had taken place within the wider district:
Baidoa and its surroundings have been stable in the past
12 months, but the bordering areas such as Daynuunay
where the Somali military is based have experienced
clashes between Al-Shabaab and Somali armed forces.53
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Figure 61: Account of awareness of conflict between clans or groups by subdivision
A large majority (90%) of respondents had not
witnessed any conflict between clans or groups in
the last twelve months (Fig. 62).
Figure 62: Account of witnessing conflict between clans or groups
Along gender lines, men were more likely than
women to have witnessed conflict, with 12% of men
as opposed to 7% of females stating that they had
witnessed conflict in the past year (Fig. 63).
Figure 63: Account of witnessing conflict between clans or groups by gender
Direct experience with conflict was highest among
residents of the Horseed subdivision and among
IDPs, where 17% and 13% respectively of
respondents in these subdivisions had been direct
witnesses of clan or group conflict. Less than one in
ten respondents from all remaining subdivisions also
reported that they had observed conflict during the
year preceding the assessment, making up 7%, 8%
and 8% of respondents from Bardale, Isha and Hawl-
wadaag respectively (Fig. 64).
Figure 64: Account of witnessing conflict between clans or groups by subdivision
Furthermore, of the respondents who had reported
observing conflict, one-quarter (25%) had witnessed
four or more group or clan conflicts over the year
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prior to the assessment. About one-quarter (26%)
and almost one-third (30%) of respondents had
witnessed one and two conflicts respectively, and
17% had witnessed three (Fig. 65).
Figure 65: Number of conflicts witnessed (last 12 months)
When further enquiry was made as to how many of
the witnessed conflicts had led to violence, over two
thirds (68%) of the concerned respondents declared
that only one conflict had escalated into violence
(Fig. 66). Crime was also prevalent in the area;
reacting to the question of the crime record in the
district, the Police Commissioner spoke of an average
of 30 cases per week.54
Figure 66: Number of conflicts leading to violence
54 Police Commissioner, Op. cit.
4.2. Dynamics of Conflict and
Violence
Survey respondents identified a variety of different
reasons as the basis of the conflicts they had recently
witnessed. Competition over resources and family
disputes were each mentioned by about one-third of
the concerned observers (35% and 30%
respectively), similar portions of one-quarter each
mentioned revenge and the lack of justice (26% and
22%) as a likely cause, and 17% each identified
power/cultural struggle and youth violence as a
potential reason. About one in every ten of the
concerned respondents also understood conflict as
the outcome of rape or business disputes (9% each).
A minor portion (4%) of the sample in question also
mentioned crime as a possible trigger for clan or
group conflict(s) that they had witnessed (Fig. 67). In
line with the quantitative findings, participants in
focus group discussions also regarded resource-
related disputes as the main cause of conflict in the
area. Moreover, they mentioned the presence of
armed militias and the high incidence of unexplained
killings as additional causes of violence and conflict.55
Figure 67: Causes of conflict within the last 12 months
Resource-related disputes
Individuals across most group discussions regarded
competition over resources, especially in rural areas,
55 Youth, Op. cit.
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as the main trigger of conflict or violence.56 The
challenges faced by the population to secure
livelihood opportunities contributed to the
prominence of land-related disputes of various kinds
across the district:
Most violence in our community is due to land-related
disputes, whether concerning settlement, grazing or
farming land. The communities surrounding the town are
mainly pastoral communities, and most arguments occur
during the dry season, when everyone is seeking to secure
subsistence means for their families. 57
Land-related disputes have substantially increased
since the collapse of the Somali central government,
because land regulation, formerly under
governmental control, was no longer successfully
enforced.58 The disputes which arose may by
consequence be hard to settle due to the existence
of contradicting documents establishing ownership:
”The cases are very complex, and often both parties have certificates
of ownership with a plot number, a signature and a stamp.’’59
Discussants have also drawn attention to the fact
that land disputes constituted ‘’… a fundamental cause of
conflict and clashes among clans,’’ 60 and have in the past
escalated to violence causing the loss of many
human lives.61
Revenge
Both survey respondents and group discussants
regarded revenge mechanisms as central to the
proliferation of violence and conflict in the district.62
According to participants in the youth focus group
discussions, killings were remembered by clans for
several years, and members of the perpetrator’s clan
may be unexpectedly killed for compensation.
Discussants in the women’s group have confirmed
the risk community members faced due to clan
revenge, claiming that, “As a man you may not be able to
56 Youth, Op. cit.; Governance Providers, Op. cit. 57 Youth, Op. cit. 58 Traditional Elders and Religious Leaders, Op. cit. 59 Religious Leaders, Op. cit. 60 Governance Providers, Op. cit. 61 Businessman, Op. cit. 62 Youth, Op. cit.
travel to other districts or regions because of the fear of revenge and
assassination by other clans.’’63
Militias and armed forces
The presence of armed groups and militia was
regarded as a direct trigger of violence and as an
obstacle to the socioeconomic welfare of the
population in Baidoa. Al- Shabaab, involved both in
an ideological and economic struggle, was
mentioned by all discussants as a main threat to
residents’ wellbeing. The group was involved in
promoting its political objectives by targeting
opponents and dissidents, who operate both
internally and externally: ”This radical group, Al-Shabaab,
is a key actor of violence, [at times] killing people…just because of
diverging ideologies.’’64 Discussants explained the
prominence of Al-Shabaab and other militias as a
consequence of the economic situation in the
district, as widespread poverty and high
unemployment encouraged some of the youth to
join militias to ensure financial revenues.65 Favoured
by the proliferation of arms in the area, groups
organise frequent roadblocks and illegal checkpoints,
murders and other crimes, including armed
robberies.66 Beyond having direct effects on the
victims, militia operations also affected the district’s
economy, as business opportunities were hindered
through restricted mobility. For instance, the
transportation of merchandise outside town had
become remarkably expensive, due to the need to
pay bribes at illegal checkpoints.67 Moreover,
farming has widely been abandoned, as leaving the
centre to reach the fields implies exposing oneself to
insecurity.68
The biggest challenge is restricted mobility and the
inability to go and from, due to the fear of Al-Shabaab
63 Women, Op. cit. 64 Traditional Elder, Key Informant Interview, 24th May 2015 65 Governance Providers, Op. cit. 66 Women, Op. cit. 67 Businessman, Op. cit.; Traditional Elder, Op. cit. 68 Traditional Elder and Religious Leaders, Op. cit.
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or other militias who” commit crimes such as murder and
rape.69
This has fundamental repercussions on the economic
welfare of the community, as the majority of the
population historically depended on farming
activities to secure livelihoods.
In addition to unregistered militias, governmental
armed forces were also regarded by discussants as
contributing to the violence in the district. Beyond
their involvement in countering Al-Shabaab and
other militias, the armed forces were also reported
to abuse their power by requesting bribes at
checkpoints and carrying out robberies:
Government forces are central to conflict, and at times,
instead of stopping the conflict, they would violate civil
rights, for instance through big robberies. Khat retailers
are especially targeted, through the use of force.70
Mysterious killings
Unexplained killings have also become a prominent
form of violence in the area. Group discussants
reported a recent increase in night murders targeting
members of civil society, journalists or political
leaders, either taking place at the victims’ own
houses or in front of the mosques.71 No group had
yet claimed responsibility for the acts, and for this
reason this type of violence could neither be easily
prevented, nor punished.72
One in ten (10%) survey respondents also reported
having witnessed crime or violence against someone
outside their homestead, as shown in Figure 68.
69 Traditional Elder, Op. cit. 70 Ibid
Figure 68: Account of witnessing crime or violence outside the homestead
The disaggregation of data along gender lines
highlights that men were more likely than women to
have witnessed crime or violence against someone
outside the homestead. Approximately 14% of the
male sample confirmed witnessing such events, as
opposed to 6% of the female sample, as illustrated in
Figure 69.
Figure 69: Account of witnessing crime or violence outside the homestead by gender
Some differences also emerged when organising
data according to respondents’ subdivision.
Members of the IDP community were most likely to
have witnessed crime or violence against someone
71 Governance Providers, Op. cit. 72 Youth, Op. cit.
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outside their homestead (17%). They were followed
by residents of the Isha, Hawl-wadaag (12% each)
and Horseed (8%) subdivisions. The least
represented group was that of residents of the
Bardale subdivision, of which only 6% confirmed
having observed crime or crime against someone
outside their homestead (Fig. 70).
Figure 70: Account of witnessing crime or violence outside the homestead by subdivision
When asked about which group they considered to
be the most vulnerable to violence, participants
across all group discussions unanimously mentioned
children, women, the elders (including traditional
and religious leaders), and the disabled. They
claimed members of such groups would be
particularly affected by violence as they faced
substantial challenges in attempting to flee and
relocate elsewhere to seek refuge.73
4.2.1. Conflict Resolution
Following the collapse of the central government,
the role of elders in conflict resolution became
prominent. The elders employed Alternative Dispute
Resolution (ADR) techniques and historic precedents
when resolving disputes between clans.74 The role of
the local administration had been reduced to
facilitation of the negotiations while elders took the
73 Women, Op. cit. 74 Business Person, Op. cit. 75 Governance Providers, Op. cit.
lead since they were likely to be perceived as neutral
and impartial by the conflicting parties.75
In recognition of the role of elders in conflict
resolution, they became a cornerstone for the State
building initiatives in the region as argued by the
women:
Elders are central in resolving conflicts arising within the
community. They [elders] have now become a
fundamental institution for peacebuilding and State
building.”76
Elders not only resolve conflicts but sometimes try to
transform the conflict and to restore the trust
between the parties using traditional approaches
such as intermarriage between the clans of the
conflicting parties:
In some cases we try to increase collaboration between the
clans through intermarriage, or to give the victim’s
family a girl in order not to not recall the past and the
accidents, and to ensure the families or clans are
connected to each other.77
4.3. Perception of safety
Approximately one-half of the sampled respondents
(48%) described the safety situation in their district
as ‘rather safe’. An additional 14% considered the
district to be ‘very safe’, resulting in majority (62%)
of survey participants expressing overall positive
feelings towards the safety situation they
experienced. On the other hand, a little less than one
in four (38%) respondents expressed an overall
negative judgement of the safety situation, with 30%
of the sample regarding their district as ‘rather
unsafe’ and 8% as ‘very unsafe’. Only 1% of the
sample claimed they did not know how to assess the
situation (Fig. 71).
76 Women, Op. cit. 77 Traditional Elder, Op. cit.
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Figure 71: Perception of safety
The disaggregation of data along gender lines
highlights that women were more likely than men to
perceive the district as being safe, with 68% of the
female sample stating that they felt safe or very safe
in the area, as opposed to 56% of the male sample.
More specifically, among female respondents the
majority (52%) characterised the district as ‘rather
safe’, whereas 44% of the male sample shared a
similar opinion. In addition, 16% of females
described it as ‘very safe’, while 12% of males did so.
On the other hand, while 34% of male respondents
regarded the district as ‘rather unsafe’, and 10% as
‘very unsafe’, smaller portions of 25% and 5%
respectively of the female sample did so (Fig. 72).
Figure 72: Perception of safety by gender
Attention to respondents’ subdivision highlights
important variations in their perceptions of safety.
Respondents from Bardale and from the IDP
community expressed the least favourable
perception of the level of safety in the district, with
almost two thirds of respondents in each of these
areas (65% and 63% respectively) reporting that they
felt ‘very unsafe’ or ‘rather unsafe.’ More specifically,
none among IDP respondents described the district
as ‘very safe’, and the portion of respondents
regarding the district as ‘very unsafe’ was the highest
of all subdivisions, making up 17% of IDP
respondents. Bardale also featured a significant
minority (13%) of respondents describing the district
as ‘very unsafe’, while the majority of its population
(52%) regarded the district as ‘rather unsafe.’ Within
the other subdivisions, the majority of respondents
regarded the situation as ‘rather safe,’ amounting to
56% of residents from Horseed, 62% from Hawl-
wadaag and 53% from Isha. Respondents from Isha
were most optimistic about the safety conditions,
with 90% of respondents expressing positive feelings
towards safety in the area, including 37% who
characterised the situation as ‘very safe’ (Fig. 73).
Figure 73: Perception of safety by subdivision
When asked about the evolution of the condition of
safety over time, a quarter of respondents (25%)
claimed that the situation had deteriorated over the
year prior to the assessment. Over one-third of the
sample (35%) claimed instead that they perceived
safety as having increased, whereas 37% of
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respondents failed to identify any changes in the
situation over the previous 12 months (Fig. 74).
Figure 74: Perception of safety -yearly trend
Whereas respondents from the two genders were
equally represented in each of the possible choices
(Fig. 75), interesting differences emerged from the
disaggregation of data according to subdivisions. In
line with their negative feelings regarding the current
security situation, respondents from the IDP
community and from Bardale were the least likely
(8% and 12% respectively) to report improvements in
safety, and the most likely to detect a decrease in
safety over the year prior to the assessment (42%
and 41% respectively). Respondents from the Isha
subdivision, who had expressed the most favourable
opinion regarding the safety situation were also the
ones to report an increase in safety over the previous
year, with two thirds (66%) of the relevant sample
stating that the situation had improved (Fig. 76).
Figure 75: Perception of safety by gender-yearly trend
Figure 76: Perception of safety by subdivision-yearly trend
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5. CONCLUSION
The police served as the main security provider in
Baidoa, where the population involved in the
assessment identified them as the preferred entity
for dealing with both petty and serious crimes, and
for responding to crime and violence in general. The
police were reported to be easily accessible and fast
in their response, and many of the participants who
were aware of its presence reported residing in
relative proximity to the stations. Nonetheless,
several challenges undermined the work of this
security provider. The limited resources available
and culture of fear of reprisals from insurgents and
criminals was identified among the main factors
limiting the performance of the police. For instance,
it directly translated into lack of operations at night,
substantially affecting the security situation on the
territory, while limited vehicles affect the quality of
operations at all times. Moreover, poor
understanding of the different types of cases and
appropriate mechanisms for dealing with them,
prevented the police from operating at maximised
efficiency. Widespread corruption and poor
coordination with other security providers were
additional factors which required intervention to
ensure a better delivery of security services.
When it comes to the provision of justice, the district
has been characterised by an increased awareness of
the courts. However there were several factors that
presented obstacles in the public’s use of the formal
justice system, such as allegations of corruption,
heavy costs associated with using this provider, along
with the length of time it takes to see a resolution. As
the formal justice mechanisms are still establishing
themselves in the district, the public continue to
mainly rely and trust informal providers such as the
elders and religious leaders. The informal providers’
position is also partly associated with their
experience in the legal traditions of the Somali
community. On the other hand, a strong sense of
mistrust in the enforcement powers of the formal
providers and perception that the judicial sector is in
nascent stages of development has also influenced
the public’s scepticism and decreased their usage.
The local authority operates in the Baidoa territory
through a bureaucratic network comprising the
mayor and councillors who represent various clans.
According to the mayor, who participated in the
assessment as a key informant, several mechanisms
of communication and accountability are in place to
link the various administrative branches both
internally and with the population. However,
although participants in the assessment have
confirmed their awareness of the presence of the
local council, awareness of such mechanisms was
substantially lower. Only few participants reported
awareness of the services allegedly provided by the
local administration. Despite the local council being
responsible for town beautification efforts, the
provision of security services, sanitation, and other
services, participants were either unaware of or
unhappy with the delivery of such services. The levels
of confidence towards the local administration
expressed by participants were significantly low, and
emphasis was placed on the need for election of the
officials for increased accountability and improved
performance.
When it comes to instances of insecurity, Baidoa did
not witness any major group or clan conflicts in the
recent past. However, much like the rest of Somalia,
resource-related disputes were common over access
to grazing land. Family and revenge conflicts were
the most common issues. Reports of militias,
insurgents and criminals causing insecurity by
making it difficult for the public to get around the
district, to nearby farms, and other regions was
cause of concern. However, in spite of various crimes
and incidents of violence, the majority stated that
they felt safe; however, a significantly higher
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proportion noted that they felt rather safe as
opposed to very safe.
In order to address the concerns of the citizens and
improve the levels of trust and confidence in the
formal institutions, greater understanding regarding
the role of the government and its institutions is
required. This needs to be followed up by the
development and implementation of robust
administrative capabilities that can improve
transparency and efficiency.
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6. ANNEXES
6.1. Sample Size Formula
z2 (P) (1-P) (f)
e2
Where:
z= confidence interval (95%)
P= P-Value which assumed some security correlation within the cluster (0.3)
f= is the sample design effect (1.5)
e= the margin of error to be attained (+ or – 9%)
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6.2 Glossary of Terms
Access to Justice People’s ability to solve disputes and reach adequate remedies for grievances, using formal or traditional justice systems. The justice process has qualitative dimensions, and it should be in accordance with human rights principles and standards.
Civil case Non-criminal cases relating to civil wrongs and disputes between individuals, including generally property, business, personal domestic problems, divorces and such types where ones constitutional and personal rights are breached
Clan The clan is a system characterised by a chain of paternal ancestors reaching back to a perceived founding ancestor whose name all members of the clan share for identity
Conflict State of disharmony between incompatible persons, ideas, or interests
Criminal case An action, suit, or cause instituted to punish an infraction of the criminal laws of a country
District Safety Committee A representative body comprised of a broad cross section of civil society that acts in an advisory capacity to the local government in issues of community security and safety
Enforcement Relates to the implementation of orders, decisions and settlements emerging from formal or informal adjudication. Enforcement bodies include police and prisons, and administrative bodies in particular cases. Traditional systems may also have specific mechanisms of enforcement. Enforcement systems are the key to ensuring accountability and minimise impunity, thus preventing further injustices.
Formal Justice System A codified system of laws and court proceedings enforced by recognised actors of lawyers, police and justice officials The formal justice system involves civil and criminal justice and includes formal state-based justice institutions and procedures, such as police, prosecution, courts (religious and secular) and custodial measures.
Gender "Gender" refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.
Governance provider Formal institutions or Individuals that act, process, or possess the authority of governing
Informal Justice System Dispute resolution mechanisms falling outside the scope of the formal justice system. The term informal justice system is used here to draw a distinction between state-administered formal justice systems and non-state administered informal justice systems.
Justice Provider Formal or Informal Institutions or individuals that are responsible to provide fair and equitable treatment of all individuals under the law (customary, formal or Sharia)
Justice System Includes formal justice institutions and procedures, such as police, prosecution, courts and prisons, as well as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and other informal and traditional systems (e.g. a council of elders). The justice system includes coordination and other arrangements among its different components that influence overall outcomes on access to justice
Land/water disputes A state of debate or quarrel between/among persons, groups or communities over the property, the use, etc. of plots or swathes of land and water points
Local Authority Those invested with formal power, especially a government or body of government officials at district level
Petty Crimes Criminal offense that is less serious than a serious crime and generally punishable by a monetary fine, forfeiture or a jail term of up to a year, or a combination of both.
Security Provider Formal or informal Institutions or individuals that are responsible for the protection of persons, dwellings, communities or the nation from harm
Serious Crimes Criminal offense that is more serious than a petty crime and which can be punished by one or more years in prison
Violence The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, or deprivation
Xeer A customary law system that has evolved from a basis of clan relations, with some influence of Islamic law (Sharia), that employs mediation and negotiation through the use of traditional elders.
Youth Men and Women between the age of 15 and 30