The Extent to which Community Policing and Nyumba Kumi Initiatives by the NPS Contribute to the Early Warning and Resolution of Resource Conflicts in Lamu County

Resource conflicts continue to pose significant security challenges, often escalating into violent confrontations that threaten livelihoods and stability. Effective resolution of such conflicts requires proactive engagement, collaboration with stakeholders and strategic interventions to mitigate tensions. This study examined the extent to which community policing and nyumba kumi initiatives by the NPS contribute to the early warning and resolution of resource conflicts in Lamu County. Conflict transformation and organizational legitimacy theories were utilized and it used a convergent parallel mixed?methods research design. It was undertaken in Lamu with all the adult residents as the target population. A multistage sampling was utilized of purposive sampling and random sampling to get the target population into four homogenous groups: Senior police officers, Junior police officers, the Local community members, the Village and Nyumba Kumi elders. Questionnaire and interview guides were used to collect data. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically. Numerical data was examined by summary statistics of proportions, averages and pie diagrams. The study found six community policing and nyumba kumi initiatives by the NPS for early warning and resolution of resource conflicts: improved level of trust between police and public that enhances resource conflict management, increased frequency of joint security meetings between NPS and community improves early warning and resolution of resource conflicts, enhanced level of citizen participation in community policing activities expands early warning of resource conflicts, perceived reduction in resource-related conflicts and incidents, not enough resources and institutional support for community policing and nyumba kumi initiatives to lessen the resource tensions and conflicts. The study concluded: the NPS has successfully developed the social infrastructure for peace but has failed to provide the material infrastructure necessary to sustain it. The study recommends: that the NPS moves from individual heroism to institutional reliability for sustainability of the initiatives.