Tension is brewing in Kishushe, Taita Taveta County, after herders brought hundreds of camels to a local ranch under a deal with managers.
Members of the Kishushe Ranching Cooperative Society are protesting the decision to allow in more than 600 camels without consulting them.
Village elder Littleton Maghanga said they were concerned about hosting the camels because of previous violent incidents involving locals and herders.
Two years ago, farmers and herders clashed, leading to the death of a farmer in Sagalla.
The county security team had ordered camel herders to leave community land so as to ease tension in the region.
Mr Maghanga said the herders were a security threat to residents, who mainly depend on their farms for their livelihoods.
"We were not consulted, so we don't want to see these animals here. The owners should take back their camels," he said.
On Wednesday, residents, led by village elders, held a day-long meeting in the Kambunde area of Kishushe to discuss the way forward.
Donald Mwarenge, the chairperson of the ranch's supervisory board, asked the authorities to investigate.
Mr Mwarenge accused the ranch's management board, led by chairperson Alui Mbela, of high-handedness.
He said the supervisory board was left out of the agreement yet it is supposed to play a key role in such negotiations.
"A few people are running this ranch as if it is their personal property. We are against this decision because we were not involved," he said.
With the ongoing drought, he said, a conflict could erupt between residents and herders over water and pasture.
For his part, Mr Mbela said the agreement between the board and herders was reached in the presence of the county cooperative officer.
Kishushe residents drive out dozens of camels from the area. The presence of camels has raised tension in the area forcing residents to call on security agencies to intervene.
Photo credit: Lucy Mkanyika | Nation Media Group
He said the management agreed to a deal with the herders so that the ranch can earn money and pay its workers.
The ranch, he said, was in a financial crisis after an iron ore mining company failed to pay rates as agreed.
"Someone has been inciting the investor not to pay us. We have livestock and a farm where our workers are yet to be paid their salaries," he said.
The camel herders, he said, leased 10,000 acres of land for five years.
They will pay a monthly fee of Sh200 per camel. He also said the herders had agreed to donate 30 cows to the ranch as goodwill.
To prevent tension with the locals, he said, the ranch and the herders had agreed that the latter would not trespass on community land.
"We went to the county commissioner's office and she gave us the go-ahead on the condition that the herders will not create any tension by letting their animals graze on community land," he said.
Because of Covid-19 restrictions, he said, the ranch could not hold a meeting with its members.
"We have many members so we cannot be allowed to gather. We will do that when the government allows us to," he said.
The ranch managers have also leased 5,000 acres to Governor Granton Samboja.
The governor has, in turn, sued eight members of the ranch for encroaching on the leased land and has asked a Wundanyi court to evict them from the area.
