With fuel crisis, Turkana residents ponder the oil under their feet
Tanks at Ngamia 8, in Lokichar, Turkana County. The discovery of crude oil in 2012 in the area had brought joy and hope for a town stalked by hunger and thirst.
For Eliud Ekeru, a resident of Lokichar in Turkana County, news of the discovery of crude oil in 2012 brought joy and hope for a town stalked by hunger and thirst.
In his imagination, Mr Ekeru, a teacher by profession, would own a vibrant fuel station and an accommodation facility to complement his earnings.
From his savings, he first established a guest house that he named Black Gold Kileja. It is adjacent to the Kitale-Lodwar road and its main customers are employees of Tullow Oil and contracted companies involved in exploration activities.
“I was not alone, as the discovery of oil attracted both locals and non-local investors who scrambled for the once idle and rocky land with more accommodation and conference facilities, modern malls, shops, hotels and entertainment joints as there was increased money in circulation," he says.
The scaling down of petroleum activities in 2018, poor roads and disruption from locals who would occasionally protest to demand better security have hurt businesses in Lokichar. Some have closed down, and traders have relocated to other towns like Lodwar and Kalokol.
"The situation hampered my dream of establishing a fuel station. The future is still bleak as we don't know when crude oil from Turkana will be refined and fuel pumped in the existing stations," Mr Ekeru said.
With the two-year experimental Early Oil Pilot Scheme project, with Tullow managing to export only 240,000 barrels of oil to ChemChina for Sh1.2 billion ($12 million), locals complained that they did not benefit.
In the current countrywide fuel crisis, Lokichar is not an exception.
Petrol costs Sh300 per litre, with some people sourcing it from Kitale.
Residents do not see the benefit of 2.85 billion barrels of oil discovered in the South Lokichar Basin, as there are no plans to exploit them commercially.
"If the government was keen to ensure that Turkana benefits from the discovered oil, it could have set up an oil refinery facility in Turkana, or better still make use of the Changamwe refinery that ceased refining crude oil in 2013 and was converted into a storage facility for crude oil from Turkana," Mr Ekeru said.
Former Petroleum Cabinet secretary John Munyes, in 2020, accused local leaders and the Turkana County government of interfering with the oil project.
He said at the time that the State needed to acquire land to develop a central processing facility, as well as a pipeline, railway and road under the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) project.
He singled out Turkana County as the only one along the Lapsset corridor that was lagging behind.
He said that the nod from local leaders was critical in unlocking benefits such as water, which would have been channelled to Turkana South and Turkana East sub-counties through a pipeline from the Turkwel Dam in West Pokot County.
"Besides water being used to facilitate enhanced production of crude oil, it will address water scarcity in the two sub-counties and adequately support food production through irrigation," the former CS said then.
He noted that the project would serve national interests and when completed would see Turkana contribute to the exchequer, just like other regions.
The Turkana County government wants a direct role in the ongoing land acquisition process for infrastructure development and petroleum activities.
County officials claimed that Lapsset and National Land Commission officials had sidelined the devolved unit though it is the custodian of the community land to be acquired.
"Critical stakeholders like the county government have not been fully engaged to ensure the process is smooth and embraced by affected locals, who are generally misinformed,” said Natural Resources executive Flemings Losikiria.
He said many locals are sceptical about embracing a compulsory land acquisition process for petroleum activities because of misinformation.
Locals, he said, fear losing their land and being displaced from their homes without compensation.
He said a public awareness campaign is needed to combat misinformation about the project.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Mining wants to acquire land for an 820km crude oil pipeline from Lokichar to Lamu as a key component of the Sh2.5 trillion Lapsset corridor project, which Kenya is banking on to enter the commercialisation phase of crude oil production.
Ministry officer El Samma Ndegwa said the devolved unit has always been made aware of the process since its inception.
Locals are pushing for urgent registration of their community land so that they can benefit from it through compensation under the Lapsset and petroleum projects.
The NLC wants to acquire 15,686 acres for the South Lokichar Basin oil project, and 50,948 acres for Lapsset and other activities.
The Turkana Empowerment Advocacy Group notes that as it is, locals whose land is classified as community land have little power, because they operate under customary law and have no formal legal documents to claim their land rights.
Founder Johnbaraka Erika argues that if NLC acquires the land before it is registered, locals will miss out on compensation, which will be channelled to the county government as the custodian of the land.
Mr Erika says that recognising, protecting and registering community land will enhance the tenure security and safeguard the livelihoods of indigenous communities.
"Through individual compensation from duly registered and acquired land, there will be visible improved livelihoods, economic growth and sustainable natural resources management," he told the Nation.
He said the community land question is critical for livelihoods and economic development for pastoralists and called for meaningful engagement among all stakeholders, including elders and the county government.
Mr Erika said that once locals have their claims for their land rights documented and are issued with title deeds, the grabbing of community land by rich individuals would be curbed.
Elders under the Esanyanait Assembly say the moment community land is titled and legally recognised, locals will benefit directly from land-based natural resources or from land itself through compensation from investors.
Mr Ekeru, the Lokichar businessman, and other investors with accommodation facilities, whose main customers used to be security guards, drivers and Tullow Oil suppliers and its contracted companies, can't recall the last time their rooms were fully booked.
"Though my rooms rent for Sh500, I can record only two customers in a week. Movement within the town is hectic due to the fuel crisis," Mr Ekeru said.
