DAR ES SALAAM July 6th (XINHUA) – The East African Community (EAC) launched on Monday a peace caravan aimed at promoting peaceful coexistence, good neighborly relations and the peaceful resolution of disputes between border communities through experiential learning from the practices of other border communities in the region.
According to a statement issued by the EAC headquarters in Arusha, northern Tanzania, the initiative, dubbed “Peace Caravan and Benchmarking Tour for Border Communities in Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan”, was launched in Namanga, on the border between Kenya and Tanzania.
The initiative was launched by the EAC Secretary Office in collaboration with Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan, and in partnership with the African Union Border Programme, the statement said, adding that this initiative also aims to sensitize border communities to other ongoing national, regional and continental initiatives to peacefully and sustainably resolve border issues as well as to learn from the experiences, lessons and practices of border communities where border disputes have been resolved peacefully and with success.
The seven-day caravan, which also involves representatives of the Atekar community, made up of Turkanas from Kenya, Toposas from South Sudan and Karamojongs from Uganda, started at Lodwar in Turkana County, Kenya, before heading toward the border at Namanga, via Eldoret to communicate and learn from the experiences of the Maasai community.
xinhua/abp JULY 23