Herders on the run for 20 years in Kenya’s wild north districts

They’ve been on the run for more than 20 years. And this year alone, they’ve been at it since March. At each other’s throats, that is.

Michael Lepose, 64, is seated next to his mud-wall hut holding a small container of snuff. After sniffing it, he sneezes and glances at the rising sun. The morning gives him no hope.

The old man shifts his eyes and stares at his four children leaning on the wall of the hut beside him. Mzee Lepose shakes his head in sympathy. He has no idea what they will eat for lunch.

The old man lives in a polythene hovel with his wife and 16 children. Seven out of the children belong to relatives who died during the tribal clashes in Laikipia West District early this year.

There was no one else to take care of the orphans. He took the responsibility, but due to adversity in the camp, things are slowly getting out of his hand.

Let children

“We hardly get food here. The water we use is very dirty. Now I have 16 children to feed. Sometimes we adults sleep hungry and let our children eat the little food that is available in the house,” he says.

And Emmanuel Lebeneyo, 70, walks close to where his neighbour, Mzee Lepose, is sitting. His shoulders are a little drooped, and he moves with the limp of an exhausted man.

He is coming to see whether his neighbour has some food to share as they always do. Unfortunately there is none today.

The families of the two men are among thousands of others displaced after tribal clashes erupted in Laikipia and parts of Samburu more than two months ago.

Mzee Lepose says that they fled from Ol Moran in Laikipia West and sought refuge near Suguta Marmar centre in Samburu West District, 200 kilometres from Rumuruti town.

“Our children are not attending school. We are suffering so much. The clashes have rendered us homeless and hungry. We lost all our livestock during the raid,” adds Mzee Lepose, stretching his hand to show an injury he sustained when the raiders attacked his homestead.

Mzee Lepose lost all his 58 cows and a couple of other animals to livestock thieves. Mzee Lebeneyo is left with only two goats and three sheep. It is not uncommon for families in this camp-ground of Logorate to go hungry for days. The prevailing famine in the whole Samburu region has made things worst for them.

Says Mzee Lebeneyo: “We usually go to Suguta centre to beg for food. The little we get we share amongst ourselves.

“We are pleading with the Government to provide us with food, water and to have our stolen livestock returned. Without livestock, there is no life for us, we are going to die. We also want to go back to our homes in Laikipia.”

Laikipia is one region in northern Kenya that has been embroiled in conflict for decades. The area frequently experiences clashes between pastoralists and cultivators or between groups of pastoralists who cross the borders of their districts during dry seasons in search of water and pasture for their treasured livestock.

Rumuruti-Maralal

Laikipia is one of the largest regions in northern Kenya and has enjoyed only a few days of peace in the last 20 years. Whenever a raid happens between the herders, those who lose their livestock are said to organise a counter-attack to recover their livestock or to restock their herds.

The frequent tribal conflicts mean there is hardly any the security along Rumuruti-Maralal road.

The violence that rocked the district in March resulted in the death of nearly 30 people and the displacement of more than 8,000 others.

According to the residents, the conflict between the Tugen, Pokot, Turkana pastoralists and the Kikuyu farmers was sparked by an incident in which a Turkana cattle rustler was killed. As a result, many children in the region are now out of school.

“I think the most important thing,” says Mr Benjamin Lengapiani, a primary school teacher in Suguta, “is for the Government to set aside some money to ensure the children of these displaced people get back to school from next term. More boarding schools are needed here so that in case of an attack learning is not disrupted.”

However, politician Joseph Lekolua, attributes the Laikipia violence to the sensitive issue of land between the ranchers and herders.

“Land is the major cause of all these problems we are experiencing. Private land covers more than 500,000 acres and therefore leave the pastoralists to compete for limited land, which is hardly enough for their livestock to graze on.

“That is why they are fighting. In fact, the future even portends great danger. Unless the Government tackles the land issue in Laikipia, harmony will remain elusive in this area,” he says.

A visit to the large camp site outside the Suguta Marmar centre shows hundreds of families sitting next to their polythene hovels, contemplating their next move.

Due to an acute shortage, women and children walk for tens of kilometres in search of water.

On their part, old men sit under cactus trees clutching their walking sticks and chatting in low tones, wondering whether they will see another day.