African Journal of Empirical Research
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Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by Intervention Forces in Central African Republic
Get PDFSexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) continues to undermine UN operations thereby affecting the efficacy of these interventions. This study investigating the extent of “allegations of SEA by intervention force with reference to UN intervention in contemporary African conflicts: A Case of Central Africa Republic (CAR).” This was a library-based research that relied on secondary data. Data was obtained from books, e-books, journals, UN publications and websites. The collected data was analysed thematically so as to establish the extent of allegations of sea by intervention force in CAR. The findings show that UN interventions force in CAR is faced with a myriad of challenges that affect its mandate execution. Much as there has been some positive output in MINUSCA operations, these successes have been shadowed by some of these challenges. SEA has been widespread in Central African Republic, though some of the allegations date before the UN intervention, the wide perception of the populace is that the UN forces are to blame. From the study it can also be concluded that the UN has its hands tied and has not been able to effectively enforce investigations by the TCCs since this a responsibility of the T/PCCs. Given the fact that the UN always faces a challenge of raising troops for PKOs it does not want to lose this ability further by blacklisting TCCs who fail to complete such investigations and punish the offenders. The system wide measures put in place in support of the ‘Zero tolerance” policy has not been effective. Since the study has established that SEA is a real challenge facing PKOs, there should also be effort to make sure that each country takes direct responsibility for the crimes perpetuated by their contingents and failure to complete investigations and conclude such cases should be enforced by strict penalties including banning from participation in PKOs
Alcohol and Drug Abuse as Ecological Predictors of Risk Taking Behaviour among Secondary School Students in Kajiado North Sub-County, Kajiado County, Kenya
Get PDFThis article is on alcohol and drug abuse as predictors of risk taking behaviour among secondary school students in Kajiado North Sub-County. The area has numerous drug and alcohol ecological factors that could influence the behaviour of adolescents. Since the area is home to a lot of the working population of the adjacent Nairobi City County, people from various backgrounds have immigrated there. As such, the societal values held by the inhabitants of the area are not easy to define. In this context, adolescents are prone to indulge in drug and alcohol abuse that could impact their lives negatively. This is particulars o since it alcohol and drug abuse encourages unprotected sex among students and by extension abortion, gang behaviour as students look for money to sustain the risky behaviours among others. The arguments of this article are guided by the ecological Systems Theory. Information is obtained from a descriptive survey of 267 students and 15 principals that was I undertook in 2017. The sample was obtained using stratified proportionate sampling and total population sampling techniques in the 15 public secondary schools in Kajiado North Sub-County. Data from students was collected using questionnaires while the principals were interviewed. The findings show that alcohol and drug abuse risk-taking behaviour in adolescents are higher in the wake of poor family stability, negative peer influence, breakdown of societal values and weak government measures. As such, it is recommended that it is important to ensure that cohesiveness in the families is encouraged so as to reduce alcohol and drug abuse behaviours among students. Teachers should also be at the forefront for checking alcohol and drug abuse in schools so as to protect the spread of risky taking behaviours among peers. Members of the society who sell alcohol to students should be identified and punished as per the existing law. The government should strengthen its programs (in schools and in the mass media) to guide students on the dangers associated with alcohol and drug abuse among students. This article is organized into Introduction, Literature Review and discussions
Teachers\u27 And Parents\u27 Preparedness to Support Virtual Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kenya
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic led to the abrupt closing of schools all over the world. As a result, virtual learning became an alternative to classroom teaching. Administering virtual learning has become a challenge for both parents and teachers who must ensure their children\u27s education continuity. This study aimed to look into the experiences of virtual learning during COVID-19. A descriptive qualitative study was designed to investigate teachers\u27 and parents\u27 preparedness to support remote learning to gain insight into real-life experiences. A purposeful sampling technique was used to obtain data from target respondents. The findings indicate their sentiments were on virtual learning. The results show that both teachers and parents were not well prepared to support virtual learning during the COVID-19 lockdown. This issue affects all schools: public 8-4-4 schools, private 8-4-4 schools, international schools, and private schools. The results point to a weak support system for virtual education in Kenyan schools during COVID-19 outbreak affecting virtual learning delivery in the country. There is thus a need to enhance the capacity of teachers to offer virtual learning. It is also recommended that the teacher\u27s college curriculum encompasses virtual learning courses for upcoming teachers. Parents should also be encouraged to support virtual learning by procuring computers and other communication devices for their children. Parents without the requisite skills in virtual learning should be encouraged to seek training to offer direct support and supervision of their children as they study at home. Development actors such as not-for-profit organizations should be encouraged to implement projects to strengthen access to virtual learning in schools
Multi Agency Response to International Terrorism in Kenya: A Comparison of Dusit D2 and Westgate Terror Attacks
Get PDFThis study set out to assess responses to international terrorism in Kenya. This stems out of the fact that the terrorism menace has had been a major security challenge facing the country. The study draws a comparison of the Dusit D2 and Westgate terror attacks. Data was collected from a purposive sample of academics as well as serving and retired diplomats, senior police officers and military personnel. Primary data was collected from the respondents using interviews. The findings show that the West gate shopping mall in 2013 and the DusitD2 Hotel attack in January 2019 are replete with major differences. A critical comparison between both attacks shows an immense difference in the response to the terrorist attacks in Westgate Mall and Dust D2. In both cases, there was prior intelligence of the looming attack. However, there was no clear policy framework on intelligence sharing between the various security agencies in Westgate. Additionally, policies on timely multiagency deployment were disjointed in Westgate but improved in Dusit D2. Although the friendly fire was recorded in Westgate, this was not the case in Westgate. There was also a lack of clear policies on hierarchical coordination between different security agencies in Westgate Mall as opposed to Dusit D2. The law had also been more enhanced with the domestication of the 2012 Prevention of Terrorism Act and the creation of the institutions enshrined therein during the Dusit D2 attack. Accountability mechanisms for security agencies had also been improved during the Dusit D2 attack as opposed to Westgate Mall attack where there were cases of indiscipline and looting by state security personnel. Coordination between government officials and security agencies was also smoother in the Dusit D2 attack. Although the terrorists could communicate for some time between themselves and their command center and share publicity information, this was not the case with Dusit D2 where such communication was curtailed immediately. In both attacks though, communication between victims and outside help was poor and unreliable, and false information was passed. This was more prone and documented in the Dusit D2 attack. It is recommended that multiagency response teams should constantly review their operation guidelines and standard operating procedures so as to deal with the ever-changing sophistication in terrorist attacks. The government should put in place ways aimed at checking disparities in capabilities and equipment among various tactical and intelligence teams in Kenya for a uniform response to terrorism. There is a need for multinational frameworks for undertaking financing and creation of joint information infrastructure for security agencies so as to reign in on international terrorism in the East African Region. Training should also be synchronized across security agencies
Environment-Conflict Nexus: The Relevance of Thomas Homer-Dixons Environmental Conflict Theory in Africa
Get PDFUsing practical examples, the paper examines the relevance of Thomas Homer-Dixons Environmental Conflict Theory within an African context. It outlines that Homer-Dixon’s Environmental Conflict Theory is to some extent valid, but it suffers significant shortfalls that make its applicability and generalizability questionable. The paper has shown that the abundance of resources in Africa contributes more to violent conflicts than their scarcity. Resources in Africa are vast, and so are environmental conflicts. The paper underscores factors that aggravate environmental conflicts such as depletion, degradation, social cleavages, population growth and environmental scarcity and recommend solutions on how they can be redressed