Armed Conflict and Socio-Economic Development of Persons in Internally Displaced Camps in Abia Sub-County, Alebtong District, Uganda

ABSTRACT 

The study sought to examine armed conflict and socio-economic development of persons in internally displaced camps in Abia Sub-County, Alebtong District, Uganda. The study objectives were; to identify the causes of armed conflict in Uganda, to examine the extent of socio-economic development of persons in Abia IDP camp and to establish the effects of armed conflict on socio economic development of persons in IDPs in Uganda. The study applied an explanatory research design to reflect aspects of perception, feelings, experiences, facts and emotional feelings of the study respondents in finding out the influence of armed conflict on the lives of internally displaced persons in Abia IDP Camp. This was because the research questions that were generated necessitate observing explanatory, descriptive and analytical aspects of the research. The study population involved 58 participants where 10 Abia IDP Camp officials, 5 UN officials, 10 Government officials (Ministry of Immigration) and 35 internally displaced persons. A sample size of 50 respondents was determined through purposive and random sampling methods. Data was collected from primary and secondary sources using questionnaires and interviews. After collecting data, the researcher organized well-answered questionnaire, data was edited and sorted for the next stage. The data was presented in tabular form, pie charts and bar graphs with frequencies and percentages. The study findings revealed that the sample constituted of 50 respondents of which 66% were females and the 34% remaining were males. This implies that females are the majority. This implies that the most respondents were women due to the societal beliefs that they are the ones who are mostly affected by armed conflicts in the community for instance they raped and sexually abused during such situations hence contributing to poor socio economic development. The study concludes that clanism is the main cause of the violent conflict in Uganda. Clan pride and the culture of taking revenge against any member of the perpetrators clan (i.e., collective punishment) are not only causes of traditional clan wars but the cause of the recent violent conflict. For s~me theorists, pride or prestige is considered a type of resource, albeit not a quantifiable one. There are numerous examples that show how clan pride motivated conflicts. The study recommends that violations against the civilian population are often considered as non gender-specific and are therefore monitored and dealt with in similar ways. However, civilians — men and women, adults and children are invariably not treated similarly. It is therefore necessary to increase understanding of how security is different for men and women, girls and boys, in each situation, in order to learn of violations against specific groups.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION H

APPROVAL

DEDICATION iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT V

TABLE OF CONTENTS Vi

LIST OF TABLES ix

LIST OF ACRONYMS! ABBREVIATIONS x

ABSTRACT X~

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction 1

1.1 Background of the Study 1

1.1.1 Historical Perspective 1

1.1.2 Theoretical Perspective 3

1.1.3 Conceptual Perspective 4

1.1.4 Contextual Perspective 6

1.2 Statement of the Problem 7

1.3 Objectives of the Study 8

1.3.1 General Objective 8

1.3.2 Specific Objectives 8

1.4 Research Questions 8

1.5 Scope of the Study 9

1.5.1 Geographical Scope 9

1.5.2 Content Scope 9

1.5.3 Time Scope 9

1.6 Significance of the Study 9

1.7 Conceptual Framework showing armed conflict and socio-economic development 10

CHAPTER TWO .11

LITERATURE REVIEW 11

2.0 Introduction 11

2.1 Theoretical framework 11

2.2 The causes of armed conflict in Uganda 12

2.2 The extent of socio-economic development of persons in Abia IDP camp 13

2.3 The effects of armed conflict on socio-econornic development of persons in IDPs 14

2.4 Research Gap 16

CHAPTER THREE 17

METHODOLOGY 17

3.0 Introduction 17

3.1 Research Design 7

3.2 Study Population 17

3.3 Sample Size 18

3.4 Sample Procedure 19

3.5 Sources of Data 19

3.5.1 Primary Data 19

3.5.2 Secondary Data 19

3.6 Research Instruments 19

3.6.1 Interviews 19

3.6.2 Questionnaires 20

3.7 Data Processing 20

3.8 Data Analysis 20

3.9 Ethical Consideration 20

CHAPTER FOUR 21

PRESENTATIONS, TNTEPRETATIONS AND ANALYSIS OF DATA 21

4.0 Introduction 21

4.1 Demographic characteristics of respondents 21

4.1.1 Gender of Respondents 21

4.1.2 Age of the respondents 22

4.1.3 Marital Status of the Respondents 22

4.1.4 Education Levels of the Respondents 23

4.2 Findings on Armed Conflict in Uganda 25

4.3 Findings on Socio-Economic Development of Persons 31

CHAPTER FIVE 36

SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 36

5.0 Introduction 36

5.1 Summary of the discussions 36

5.1.1 Demographic characteristics of respondents 36

5.1.2 Armed Conflict in Uganda 37

5.1.3 Socio-Economic Development of Persons 38

5.2 Conclusion 40

5.2.1 The causes of armed conflict in Uganda 40

5.2.2 The extent of socio~economic development of persons in Abia IDP camp 40

5.2.3 The effects of armed conflict on socio-economic development of persons in IDPs in Uganda 42

5.3 Recommendations 43

5.4 Suggested areas for future study 45

REFERENCES 46

APPENDICES 48

APPENDIX A: QUESTION~NAIRE 48

APPENDIX B: TIME FRAME 51

APPENDIX C: STUDY BUDGET 52