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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNR #4899/01 3210811
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 170811Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5521
INFO RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA PRIORITY 8937
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM PRIORITY 4970
RUEHDJ/AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI PRIORITY 4453
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA PRIORITY 1695
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 2064
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 2033
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA  PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS NAIROBI 004899 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM KE
SUBJECT: COWS VERSUS CROPS: GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO 
"ILLEGAL" PASTORALISTS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The recent government crack down on the 
influx of pastoralist migrants occupying privately-owned land 
in Laikipia is a short term solution to a very complex 
problem.  Scarce resources and poor management of them will 
continue to drive desperate pastoralists to seek much needed 
water and pasture wherever they can find it, inevitably 
bringing them into conflict with other communities.  A recent 
peace initiative following the government crackdown is cause 
for some hope, but it remains to be seen if the government 
will be able to dedicate the necessary attention and 
resources to develop a more-lasting solution to the 
underlying causes of the communal violence.  End Summary. 
 
Scarce Resources Drive Pastoralists South 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) The effects of drought have driven pastoralist 
communities, primarily Samburu and Pokot, southwards from 
their semi-arid grazing lands in the north of Kenya in search 
of water and pasture for their herds.  Large numbers of Pokot 
and Samburu herders have wandered into Laikipia district, 
where supplies of both are more abundant, creating escalating 
conflict with farmers and landowners.  The pastoralists have 
little experience with the concept of private property, as 
most of the land in their home districts is held commonly as 
trust land. 
 
¶3. (U) This land in Laikipia is predominantly owned by ethnic 
Kikuyu, the tribe which benefited the most from the 
post-colonial land distribution policies of the government of 
then President Kenyatta (an ethnic Kikuyu).  Much of the land 
is divided into large, privately-owned ranches, which the 
pastoralists perceive as being unoccupied, irrespective of 
ownership, and therefore available for grazing. 
Additionally, growing population pressure among the residents 
of Central Kenya (also primarily ethnic Kikuyu) to the south 
of Laikipia has resulted in an expansion of Kikuyu-cultivated 
land out to the margins of traditional settlements in 
Laikipia, bringing farmers into more frequent contact with 
pastoral migrations. 
 
Government Cracks Down, Speaker Objects 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) As the "invading" pastoralist herds caused damage to 
crops and land, land-owners appealed to the government to 
take action to protect their property rights.  In early 
October, the government began forcibly evicting pastoralists 
and their herds from the privately-owned land in the northern 
Laikipia district.  The government's tactics were 
heavy-handed, and pastoralists and their advocates fought 
back, organizing demonstrations against the evictions.  Even 
Speaker of Parliament Francis Ole Kaparo (a land-owner in the 
affected area and himself an ethnic Maasai) rose to the 
defense of his fellow pastoralists.  Kaparo accused the 
government of targeting the pastoralist communities for 
ill-treatment, even indiscriminately evicting pastoralists 
with legitimate land titles in the area.  He went so far as 
to threaten to resign from the government if the 
administration did not stop "harassing" pastoralist 
communities and properly address their grievances. 
 
¶5. (U) The Speaker's bold challenge to the government focused 
national attention on the situation and prompted President 
Kibaki to intervene to reduce tensions.  A meeting at State 
House between government officials and community leaders 
produced an agreement to evict only illegal grazers, allowing 
those with titles to remain, and dictated that such evictions 
should be carried out in a humane manner.  Recognizing that 
insecurity in the region contributes to the conflict, the 
leaders also proposed a meeting of pastoralist community 
leaders to discuss methods to reduce conflict between 
pastoralist communities. 
 
Silver-Linings: Peace Initiatives for the Region 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶6. (U) The national attention on the Laikipia conflict 
provided the much needed impetus to bring together 
communities to discuss broader conflict issues. 
Traditionally, the Samburu and Pokot communities clash over 
 
territorial control and grazing rights.  Conflict between 
these two communities escalates in times of scarcity, as they 
fight over dwindling access to water and grazing lands.  The 
drought-prone Samburu and Pokot districts of the Rift Valley 
have witnessed mounting conflict in the preceding months, 
with instances of cattle-raiding on both sides on the rise. 
This mounting insecurity disrupts traditional grazing 
patterns and forces herders to seek pastures farther afield 
from their homesteads, bringing them into potential conflict 
with the inhabitants of the land they occupy. 
 
¶7.  (U) In dealing with the Laikipia land-owners, however, 
the Samburu and Pokot made common cause.  In mid-October, 
Samburu and Pokot leaders who had gathered to discuss ways to 
resolve the long-standing conflicts between their communities 
agreed on a peace accord.  They agreed to expand dialogue 
through subsequent meetings, committed to avoid inflammatory 
rhetoric, and recognized certain disputed grazing rights. 
The agreement also contains several appeals to the 
government, primarily to open more grazing areas, extend road 
networks, and resettle displaced pastoralists. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment:  Though laudable, the Samburu-Pokot peace 
initiative will require the full support of local and 
national authorities to ensure that the resources necessary 
to achieve these ambitious plans are made available. 
Conflict between the pastoralists has a long, turbulent, and 
largely ignored history.  It took a well-respected 
politician's intervention and his threatened resignation to 
garner the requisite national attention to the problem. 
Merely forcing the invading herders from areas of potential 
conflict falls far short of addressing the underlying causes 
of the conflict.  While competition for scarce resources 
among pastoral communities is certain to continue given their 
reliance on the notoriously unreliable bounty of the land, 
the intensity of these conflicts can be mitigated by strong 
community leadership and sound government policies aimed at 
alleviating some of the exacerbating factors which contribute 
to instability in the region.  Judging by past performance, 
however, these may be in short supply. 
RANNEBERGER