Meet village peacemaker who caught Uhuru’s eye, twice

Ordinarily, when most teachers retire, the temptation to venture into activities like subsistence farming and retail business is irresistible.

Many others try their luck in politics. But it was different for Mr Samuel Bosire when his retirement was due.

He decided to offer services to his community, which had been bogged down by years of ethnic hostilities and violence.

Aged 70, the former primary school headteacher has been active in peace building and conflict resolution.

To add a feather to his cap, he is pursuing a Master’s Degree at Kisii University.

Mr Bosire retired in 2014 but he has not given up his quest for knowledge. He earned his undergraduate degree in peace and conflict at the peak of his teaching career and is currently undertaking a Master’s degree course in the same field.

Due to his determination to see a cohesive society, he has been recognised and feted twice by the Head of State.

Over the years, cattle theft caused physical confrontations between the Abagusii and Kipsigis communities living along the Nyamira-Bomet border.

The climax of the violence was in 2007/08, a scenario fuelled by the disputed presidential election results.

Scores of people lost their lives while others were left with gunshot and arrow wounds. Many others lost property.

Peace accord

To bring the hostilities to an end, members of the two communities signed a peace accord at Chebilat, a common border town.

Mr Bosire was at the front line in the initiative. The historic move saw the end of perennial clashes that left casualties and destruction of property.  

Mr Bosire is the Secretary-General of the Gusii Council of Elders and has played a key role in the peace accord.

President Uhuru Kenyatta feted him first in 2016 as a hero (shujaa) and in 2019 bestowed on him the Head of State Commendation.  

Historically, Chebilat has been an epicentre of tribal violence between the Kisii and Kipsigis communities. 

The town lies on the Borabu (Nyamira) and Sotik (Bomet) border in the former Nyanza and Rift Valley province.

But it was not a walk in the park for Mr Bosire to convince his fellow clansmen to ditch fighting.

"It is like telling our community to unite now. Because of politics, unity of purpose is not well coordinated and this has been our greatest challenge as Abagusii Council of Elders," said Mr Bosire. 

Mr Bosire says his desire is to have the young generation listen to elders. 

"We need to lead them in ethics, moral values, upholding culture and generally serve as a guide for the young leaders," said Mr Bosire. 

He says bitter wars involving the two communities claimed lives and property.

Cattle rustling

"Cattle rustling was always the trigger for the war and this is the first thing that we decided to sort out and bring to an end ethnic conflicts. We isolated cattle thieves from the community and made sure they were dealt with in accordance with the law," said Mr Bosire.

Residents had also fought over land.

Disputes often spiraled into a huge conflict pitting rival communities.

"We also agreed to share churches, schools and markets along the border," said Mr Bosire.

The Abagusii Council of Elders Chairman James Matundura, who is a member of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Steering Committee, and Mr Bosire represented the Gusii community in the peace accord.

"Chebilat was the epicentre of post-election violence. The 2007/08 post-poll chaos was the worst and we, elders from both Kipsigis and Kisii, decided to end the tribal clashes," recalls Mr Bosire.

But the retired teacher said putting the Abagusii community together and prevailing upon them to end perennial conflicts was not easy.

After retiring in 2004, Mr Bosire embarked on his peace mission.

His efforts have since paid off because Kisii and Nyamira are among the most peaceful counties to live and invest in.

He says peace ambassadors have since been formed from the ward, sub-county to county level. 

The council serves Kisii and Nyamira counties.