SADC strengthens role of traditional leaders in conflict prevention

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has renewed its focus on grassroots peace-building by strengthening the capacity of traditional leaders to prevent and manage conflicts before they escalate.

This was highlighted at the opening of a two-week regional training of trainers programme in Lusaka yesterday, aimed at equipping facilitators with skills to support traditional leadership structures in conflict prevention, management and resolution.

Local Government and Rural Development Minister Gift Sialubalo officiated at the event and said the region continues to face a range of security challenges, including community-level disputes, political tensions, competition over resources and weakening social cohesion.

Mr Sialubalo said such challenges require responses that go beyond conventional security measures, noting that sustainable peace is best anchored at community level, where most disputes originate.

He said traditional leaders remain influential and trusted figures in many communities across the region and have historically played a key role as mediators and custodians of social order.

According to Mr Sialubalo, empowering chiefs, headpersons and elders enhances early response mechanisms, strengthens community resilience and reduces the risk of minor disputes escalating into wider conflicts.

He added that the initiative reflects the need for integrated peace efforts involving security institutions, civilians and community leaders working together to promote lasting peace.

Meanwhile, SADC Regional Peacekeeping Training Centre Deputy Commandant Colonel Coleen Mafika said the training programme aims to bridge the gap between formal peace frameworks and traditional conflict resolution mechanisms through closer cooperation.

The two-week training programme is scheduled to run from February 2 to February 13, 2026.