Bloody Clash Looms in Kitui As Farmers, Pastroralists Compete for Dwindling Resources

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Phillip Muasya

7 June 2011

A bloody conflict over pasture and water looms large in Kitui County between pastoralists from North Eastern Province and local residents. This follows the move by the herders to drive thousands of their livestock into parts of Kitui County.

The residents claim that the herders of Somali, Orma, Borana and Galla communities intentionally allow their livestock to stray into private farms thus occasioning untold destruction to crops and other plants.

Besides, the livestock compete for limited resources with the locals’ animals hence straining the relationship between the involved communities. One of the areas that has seen uncontrolled influx of the pastoralists’ livestock is Mutha location in Mutomo district. Here the herders from the neigbouring Tana River County have invaded the area and literally taken it over with tens of thousands of cows, goats, sheep and donkeys. At Kalambani village at the heart of Mutha location, the number of Somalis is said to double that of the locals.

There is an estimated 7,000 heads of camels in this area, some coming from as far as Elwak in North Eastern province. For the past two months, the pastoralists have pitched camp at Kalambani market where they have established makeshift houses and manyattas. They have also established shops, hotels and at least one chemist where they buy chemicals for their livestock.

When the Star visited the area, we found hordes of Somalis and Boranas decked in their shukas resting in groups as large herds of camels, goats and sheep grazed along Thua River that cuts across the village.

The locals are up in arms over the invaders whom they insist should be driven back to their places of origin before a serious and tragic fight erupts. Musyimi Kisovi of Ithamba Nzou village in Mutha location says he has been a victim of the marauding livestock. “My own farm of sorghum is now bare; everything was consumed overnight by camels. I reported the incident to the area chief but no action was taken against the herders,” he says, adding that the camels eat everything on their wake.

Kisovi says that few incidents of fighting have been reported between the locals and the herders. He says that a man named Kyeva Ndevu was hospitalised at Mutomo Mission Hospital for a week after he was clobbered by Somali men when he forced them to drive their animals out of his farm.

His sentiments are shared by Elizabeth David, whose farm of cassava, pumpkins and cowpeas was cleared by the livestock. “I now have to beg for food yet a few days ago, my crops were doing well. We also live in fear since these people are armed with machetes and daggers and you never know what they might do next,” she says.

The mother of five says that young children are afraid of going to school for fear of the ‘ugly’ camels. “The children cannot go to school freely since they have never seen camels before. The animals make weird noises which is really terrifying to the young kids,” she says. Elizabeth also tells of an incident where an aged woman is nursing a serious bite on her arm after she engaged in a scuffle with a Somali girl whose goats had strayed to her farm.

The residents say that tension is high and it is only a matter of time before fatalities are reported. Kisovi says that there is fear of livestock theft that could ignite conflict. “Imagine your five or 10 goats mixing with theirs, how would you identify them among their hundreds? The situation here is dire and we really need help,” he says.

Despite repeated complaints to the provincial administration, the residents say no action has been taken, leaving them with a feeling that the officers have been compromised by the herders. At Kalambani market, we found Samson King’ondu, the area headman. From the look on his face, the old man was distressed by the invaders. “Our own livestock are going to start dying because of diminishing water and pasture. We also fear transmission of diseases in our region from the foreign livestock,” King’ondu observes. The old man is categorical that the herders must leave because they have refused to co-operate with the locals and they are a threat to the area security. “These people do not integrate with the locals and we do not understand their language, yet they have forced themselves to live among us,” he says. “You go to sleep only to wake up and find strange people having planted themselves in your farm and compound brandishing swords with hundreds of livestock. You never know what other weapons they might have, we want the government to intervene and drive them away.”

The area chief Solomon Musya, who was away when we visited, bears the brunt of the locals accusations for doing nothing to forestall normalcy and peace in the area. Three public barazas he has called to broker peace between the Kambas and the herders have borne no fruits even after giving ultimatums to the pastoralists to vacate the area.

At Thua River, the herders were scooping sand to find the rare water for their livestock while their women fetched water using donkeys to take to their manyattas. It was while here that a lorry full of regular police and their administration counterparts swooped in. The officers in their combat gear and led by Mutomo OCS Giffinelius Baraza rounded up the herders.

Brandishing his G3 rifle, the OCS told the herders their stay in the area was unwelcome and “you must go back to Tana River or wherever you came from.” He added, “We are tired of complaints against you people and you must leave.” However the herders appeared unperturbed by the officer’s rantings and continued watering their camels unmoved. It later emerged that it was a gimmick by the police after they got wind that the press was in the area to assess the situation.

The herders say that they are not leaving anytime soon following ravaging drought in NEP and Tana River County. The Star caught up with Kanyare Muhumed Bulle, who is highly respected among the pastoralists and acts as their spokesman.

“It is true that we have thousands of camels and other livestock here, we are fleeing a sweeping drought where we came from,” he said. “However we would want to live peacefully with our hosts, we don’t want a situation whereby our women are beaten up by the locals or our livestock injured,” he added.

Bulle, a retired KWS warden, said that at Elwak where he comes from, camels are being fed on porridge because of biting drought. “How then does the police come here and tell us to go back, do they want our livestock to die?” he posed.

Bulle, the owner of 100 camels, said that he has tried to preach peace and respect of private farms but acknowledged that some herders do not heed his call. He said that in some instances, they have compensated local farmers after their crops were destroyed. Bulle however blames the local politicians for inciting the locals to arm themselves with bows and arrows to kill the invading livestock.

“Such reckless statements are going to fan animosity and if they take that action, it will trigger a serious fight. The livestock are our way of life and there is no way we are going to watch them die out of hunger or being killed by people,” he remarked but denied claims that the herders are armed with illegal guns.

Mohamed Ali, owner of 300 camels, was a stressed man. One of his camels, whose cost he estimated at Sh120, 000 had been lying lonely in the bush for two weeks having been slashed severely with a machete on its right hind leg. During our visit, the animal was agonizing in the forest, the wound having festered and emitting a suffocating foul smell.

“These acts are very provocative, this animal has really suffered, I doubt if it will survive,” said Ali in a fledgling Kiswahili while propping the injured camel to stand in vain. Ali said that no amount of threats or intimidation from gun totting police officers or arrow wielding Kambas would force the herders back to their drought hit areas.

The residents are accusing area MP Isaac Muoki of abandoning them at their hour of need, saying that he is detached from the situation on the ground. “The MP has never been here since this problem started, this shows a leader who has neglected his people, we have left everything to God,” said Kivite Kailu, another resident.

The herder’s livestock have encroached inside Tsavo East National Park and South Kitui Game Reserve where they are causing untold destruction. At Mutha trading centre, the camels destroyed a newly built market by the county council of Kitui. The council clerk George Wambua estimated the destruction at Sh150, 000 after the marauding camels cut through the barbed wire.

Elsewhere in Mutito district, Somali herders believed to be fully armed are reported to be hiding at a forested Eengamba hills with thousands of their livestock. Recently Kitui OCPD Lillian Okembo visited the area where several herders were arrested and subsequently charged with encroachment and malicious destruction to property. During her visit, the police chief had to brave a cacophonous sound of gunfire from the hills as the Somali herders fired in the air in a clear case of stamping their presence.

Meanwhile, four camels are reported to have been killed by locals at Kaningo village in Tseikuru district where there is heightened tension. Two men are reported to have been beaten up by the herders and hospitalised. The herders are also alleged to have broken into a shop in Musavani market where they stole shop items mostly sugar and tea leaves. Three houses are also reported to have been torched by the herders in the same area.

Tseikuru DC Stephene Momanyi says that he has formed a peace committee between the herders and the locals to deliberate on ways of coexisting peacefully so that the tension does not degenerate into a bloody fight.

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