i TRANS BORDER CONFLICT BETWEEN THE TURKANA AND POKOT IN KAINUK AND ALALE DIVISIONS, KENYA: 1995-2013 ESTHER LOKWEI LOKIYO C50/CTY/PT/20462/2010 A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIRMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN PEACE AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT OF KENYATTA UNIVERSITY NOVEMBER, 2014 ii DECLARATION This Thesis is my original work and has not been presented for the award of a degree in any other university. All other scholarly sources from relevant studies have been duly acknowledged. Signature.............................................. Date................................. Esther Lokwei Lokiyo (C50/CTY/PT/20462/2010) We confirm that the work reported on this thesis was carried out by the candidate under our supervision. Signature.............................................. Date................................. Dr. Francis K. Mulu Department of History, Archaeology and Political Studies Signature.............................................. Date................................. Dr. Pius Kakai Department of History, Archaeology and Political Studies iii DEDICATION To my late mother Leah Aareng Kamais without whom I would not have been whom I am, and my children who have had to sacrifice time and pleasure to allow me to study. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would not have been completed were it not for the assistance from various people to whom I am greatly indebted. I am grateful to my supervisors, Dr. Pius Kakai and Dr. Francis K. Mulu for the guidance and positive criticisms that they gave me. I am also indebted to Dr. Kennedy A. Mkutu for his tireless effort in accepting to guide me in the initial stages of proposal writing, without you I would not have come this far, may God bless you immensely. I also give special thanks to Fr. Jacob Lolelea Natade for many hours he gave to shape the literature review and methodology, which gave meaning to this work. Special thanks also go to all the lecturers in the Department of History, Archaeology and Political Studies of Kenyatta University; for teaching me, shaping my thinking and eventual conception of this work. Thank you for all the constructive criticisms that shaped this work. I acknowledge the support I got from my research assistants and all the respondents in Turkana South and Pokot North districts during data collection, may God bless you abundantly. I am also grateful to Fr. Paul Areman for teaching me how to analyze data scientifically, and present it in bar graphs and pie charts. May God bless you. I am also thankful to Sandra, Nicole, Michelle, Janerose and Mona, all of whom are my source of inspiration to study more. Without you, this work would have no meaning for me. I want to thank you for your patience and words of encouragement during the rigorous hours of study I spent away from you. To all the people who made a contribution to this work in one way or another, but have not been mentioned here, I am truly grateful to you. Thank you all and may God bless you greatly. v TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE…………………………………………………...........………...i DECLARATION…………………………………………………….......……ii DEDICATION..................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..............................................................................iv TABLE OF CONTENTS..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ........ ..... ..... ..... ...v LIST OF FIGURES..... ..... ...... ........................................................................ix OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS…………………………..…......x ABREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS……………………..…………….....xii ABSTRACT......................... ........ .................................................................xiv CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................. 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background to the study ............................................................................. 1 1.2 Statement of the problem ............................................................................ 7 1.3 Objectives of the Study ............................................................................... 9 1.4 Research questions ...................................................................................... 9 1.5 Research Assumptions .............................................................................. 10 1.6 Justification and ssignificance of the study .............................................. 10 1.7 Scope ......................................................................................................... 14 1.8 Limitations of the study ............................................................................ 16 1.9. Review of related literature.......................................................................11 1.10 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................... 38 1.11 Conceptual framework .......................................................................... 47 1.12 Research methodology ............................................................................ 50 1.12.1 Research Design....................................................................................37 1.12.2 Categories of Analysis…………………………………………..…….38 1.12.3 Site of study: The Turkana people ....................................................... 52 1.12.4 Study population…………………………………………………..…..39 1.12.5 Sampling techniques and sample size .................................................. 60 1.12.6 Research Instruments ........................................................................... 61 vi Questionnaires................................................................................................. 61 Interview guide schedules ............................................................................... 62 1.12.7 Validity and reliability of instruments ................................................. 62 1.12.8 Data collection procedures ................................................................... 63 1.12.9 Data Analysis and Presentation ........................................................... 64 1.13 Data management and ethical consideration ........................................... 64 2.0 CHAPTER TWO .....................................................................................66 DYNAMICS AND TRENDS SUSTAINING THE CONFLICT BETWEEN TURKANA AND POKOT ..............................................................................49 2.1 Overview ................................................................................................... 49 2.2 Ecology ..................................................................................................... 66 2.3 Livelihoods ................................................................................................71 2.4 Ethnography .............................................................................................. 83 2.5 Raiding ...................................................................................................... 88 2.6 Proliferation of Small arms ....................................................................... 93 2.7 Peace building ......................................................................................... 102 2.8 Governance ............................................................................................. 109 2.9 Politics..................................................................................................... 116 3.0 CHAPTER THREE ...............................................................................127 THE ROLE OF LOCAL ACTORS IN SUSTAINING THE CONFLICT....127 3.1 Overview ...……......………………………...….......................................91 4.0 CHAPTER FOUR: EFFECTS OF CONFLICT ON THE TURKANA AND POKOT.................................................................................................147 4.1 Overview ..................................................................................................147 4.1.1 Economic outcomes ............................................................................. 149 4.1.2 Diminishing livestock numbers .......................................................... 149 4.1.3 Deepening contest over scarce natural resources ................................. 151 4.1.4. Food insecurity.................................................................................... 153 4.1.5. Inadequate service provision............................................................... 154 4.1.6 Aid dependency ................................................................................... 156 vii 34.1.7 Destruction and displacement ............................................................ 158 4.1.8 Loss of human lives ............................................................................. 161 4.1.9 Insecurity.............................................................................................. 163 4.2.0 Political outcomes ................................................................................ 164 4.2.1 Erosion of government’s legitimacy .................................................... 164 4.2.2 Increased gender-based violence ......................................................... 166 4.2.3 Erosion of social ties between communities ........................................ 168 4.3.0 Social outcomes ................................................................................... 169 4.3.1 Health issues ........................................................................................ 169 4.3.1 Shifting social structures ...................................................................... 172 4.3.2 Out migration ....................................................................................... 174 4.4.0 Environmental outcomes ..................................................................... 175 4.4.1 Destruction of environment ................................................................. 175 Summary ....................................................................................................... 177 5.0 CHAPTER FIVE ...................................................................................178 5.1 Overview……………………………………………………………….129 MITIGATION EFFORTS BY GOVERNMENT AND PEACE...................179 STAKEHOLDERS TO END THE CONFLICT ...........................................179 5.2 Government’s mitigation efforts towards the conflict between the Turkana and Pokot ...................................................................................................... 179 5.3 Mitigation strategies by NGOs, CBOs, FBOs to stop conflict between the Turkana and Pokot ........................................................................................ 190 5.4 Current interventions by GoK and NGOs, CBOs &FBOs ..................... 198 Summary ....................................................................................................... 200 6.0 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .204 6.1 Overview ................................................................................................. 204 6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................ 216 Summary ....................................................................................................... 219 5.3 Areas of possible research ...................................................................... 222 REFERENCES ..............................................................................................223 viii APPENDIX 1 ................................................................................................ 232 APPENDIX II: RESEARCH INSTRUMENT ............................................. 233 Questionnaire .................................................................................................233 SECTION 1: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION .......................................233 SECTION II: DYNAMICS AND TRENDS CONTRIBUTING TO SUSTENANCE OF THE PROTRACTED VIOLENT ETHNIC CONFLICT BETWEEN THE POKOT AND TURKANA. ..............................................233 SECTION III: THE ROLE OF LOCAL ACTORS IN SUSTAINING THE VIOLENT ETHNIC CONFLICT BETWEEN TURKANA AND POKOT. 234 SECTION IV: WHY INTERVENTIONS BY GOVERNMENT, NGOs, CBOs AND FBOs HAVE NOT PRODUCED THE DESIRED RESULTS. ...........234 APPENDIX III: STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS|FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS ............................................................................................. 235 SECTION 1: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION OF THE INTERVIEWED ........................................................................................................................235 SECTION II: DYNAMICS AND TRENDS CONTRIBUTING TO SUSTENANCE OF THE PROTRACTED VIOLENT ETHNIC CONFLICT BETWEEN THE POKOT AND TURKANA. ..............................................235 SECTION III: THE ROLE OF LOCAL ACTORS IN SUSTAINING THE VIOLENT ETHNIC CONFLICT BETWEEN TURKANA AND POKOT. 236 SECTION IV: WHY INTERVENTIONS BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, NGOs, CBOs AND FBOs HAVE NOT PRODUCED THE DESIRED RESULTS. .....................................................................................................236 APPENDIX IV: RESEARCH PERMIT ....................................................... 238 APPENDIX V: RESEARCH PERMIT ........................................................ 239 APPENDIX VI: LIST OF INTERVIEWEES|RESPONDENTS...................240 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Conceptual framework………………………………........………..48 Figure 2: Location of the study areas in Kenya ……………………..........….54 Figure 3: Study area-Pokot North…………………………………...........….58 Figure 4: Climatic changes as a cause that sustains conflict………...........….69 Figure 5: Changes in pastoral livelihoods that sustain conflict………............72 Figure 6: Changes/dynamics in pastoral livelihoods that sustain conflict …..79 Figure7: Ethnographic/cultural influence on conflict………………......……85 Figure 8: Triggers and sustainers of conflict…………………………............90 Figure 9: Proliferation of small arms through international borders……...….94 Figure 10: Small arms proliferation into Turkana and Pokot regions ….........97 Figure 11: Peace activities acting to sustain conflict………………….........103 Figure 12: Governance issues contributing to sustenance of conflict………110 Figure 13: Politics as a factor sustaining conflict……………………...........117 Figure 14: The role of local actors in conflict………………………........…128 Figure 15: Effects of conflict on the Turkana and Pokot communities……..148 Figure 16: Economic outcomes-diminishing livestock numbers…………...150 Figure 17: Economic outcomes-others…………………………...............…152 Figure 18: Number of raids, deaths and injuries during raids in Turkana South 1995- 2014……………………….……………………………….................162 Figure 19: Political outcomes………………………………………….........166 Figure 20: Social outcomes…………………………………...….................171 Figure 21: Mitigation efforts by the GoK to end the conflict……...............182 Figure 22: NGOs, CBOs, FBOs working in the conflict areas……….....….191 Figure 23: Mitigation efforts to end the conflict by NGOs,CBOs,FBOs…...194 x OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS Arum rum: This is a Turkana word used to refer to a group of villagers living together for security reasons. Karacuna (Youth) Karacuna are adolescent boys, and young men who are primarily responsible for the provision of security and protection for their communities. They are also in charge of securing their communities’ livelihood in times of food scarcity, including the herding of livestock. Livestock Livestock in this study refers to all types of domestic animals kept by pastoralists for their livelihood such as cattle, goats, camel, donkeys, and sheep. Menarche Menarche is used here to refer to the onset of adolescence in young males graduating from being young boys of age 12 to young men of age 15 years. The boys are usually circumcised to graduate them to young men ready to take up adult roles in society according to the Pokot. Ngimurok Ngimurok are medicine men in Turkana who are believed to have supernatural powers and supervise rituals and sacrificial ceremonies in the Turkana community. Ngimurok are consulted before and after a raid and work closely with kraal leaders. xi Pastoralism and Nomadism Pastoralism practiced by majority of the Turkana and Pokot ethnic groups is mainly nomadic transhumance, which is characterized by mobility, communal land ownership, large and diverse herd sizes, and herd separation and splitting. Nomadism refers to the extent of spatial movement of pastoralists. Protracted violent ethnic conflict Protracted violent ethnic conflict in this study refers to a conflict situation characterized by prolonged and often violent struggle by communal groups for such basic needs as security, recognition, acceptance, fair access to political institutions, and economic participation. Riam Riam This is a Turkana word used to mean a meeting. It is used repeatedly to show its importance. Violent ethnic conflict Ethnic violence (also known as ethnic terrorism or ethnically-motivated terrorism) refers to violence expressly motivated by ethnic hatred and ethnic conflict . It is commonly related to political violence, and most often the terms are interchangeable. xii ABREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ADP: Area Development Programme ACF: Australian Conservation Foundation ASAL: Arid and Semi-arid Lands AU-IBAR: Africa Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources AVRP: Armed Violence Reduction and Prevention CAPE: Community based Animal Health and Participatory Epidemiology CBO: Community Based Organization CEWARN: Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism Unit CJPC: Catholic Peace and Justice Commission CSO: Civil Society Organization DC: District Commissioner DENIVA: Development Network of Indigenous Voluntary Association DFID: Department for International Development D O: District Officer FBO: Faith Based Organization FGD: Focus group discussion GoU: Government of Uganda HPG: Humanitarian Policy Group HRW: Human Rights Watch IGAD: Intergovernmental Authority on Development ITDG-EA: Intermediate Technology Development Group of Eastern Africa KANU: Kenya African National Union xiii KAUFO: Katakwi Urafiki Foundation KDA: Karamoja Development Agency KISP: Karamoja Initiative for Sustainable Peace KNBS: Kenya National Bureau of Standards KPR: Kenya Police Reservists MP: Member of Parliament NGO: Non-Governmental Organization OXFAM GB: Oxfam Great Britain PSC: Protracted social conflict SALW: Small Arms and Light Weapons SNV: Netherlands Development Organization UNDP: United Nations Development Programme UPDF: Uganda People’s Defense Forces USAID: United States Agency for International Development UN: United Nations xiv ABSTRACT Many pastoralist communities around the globe are experiencing conflicts, while the Sahel region and East Africa show sustained levels of inter-pastoral violent conflicts with associated potential impacts on their livelihoods. In the case of the Turkana- Pokot cross border violence, conflict is now a norm. Despite disarmament and rearming communities through the Kenya Police Reservists (KPR), peace building meetings, prosecuting perpetrators, declaring illicit firearms surrender amnesties and establishing peace committees, insecurity in the region continue to prevail. This work had three objectives: first, examine the trends and dynamics responsible for sustaining the protracted ethnic conflict between the Turkana and Pokot; secondly, investigate the role played by various local actors in its sustenance and thirdly to interrogate why various interventions by the government of Kenya and other peace actors have failed. The study period covered 1995 to 2013. The researcher used Protracted Social Conflict (PSC) theory by Edward Azar (1990): “the denial of basic human needs to a large portion of the population initiated instances of protracted social violence”. There are four pre-conditions isolated by Azar; communal content, deprivation of human needs, governance and the state’s role and international linkages. Data was collected through random/probability and non-random/non-probability sampling techniques. Under random/probability sampling; cluster and stratified sampling were used while under non-random/non-probability; purposive sampling was used. From the two regions, the targeted population was 494 participants. Research instruments used in data collection were questionnaires, interview guides and Focus Group Discussions (FGD). Data analysis was done manually and presented in tables and graphs. The questionnaires, interview guides and FGDs were qualitatively analyzed and the findings included conflict perpetrated by changes in climate, livelihoods, ethnography, raiding motives, and proliferation of small arms, governance issues, politics and some activities by some NGOs, CBOs and FBOs. Local actors such as elders, women, karacuna, ngimurok, chiefs, businessmen, politicians and activities by some NGOs, CBOs and FBOs sustained this conflict. Government, NGOs, CBOs and FBOs interventions failed in mitigation efforts due to poor conflict resolution strategies caused by factors which are not in tandem with the local perceptions, beliefs, expectations and needs of the affected communities. It was recommended that the governments of Kenya and Uganda adopt a regional approach to effectively address the problem of small arms and light weapons in the region. The government of Kenya together with NGOs, CBOs and FBOs, expand educational facilities in these two regions, as well as sensitize the two communities on the effects of conflict on development so as to curb the spread across borders to the neighbouring countries. The two communities should come up with traditional strategies that conform to their beliefs systems and practices that can be used to mitigate the prevailing conflicts. These two communities used to intermarry, hold traditional ceremonies together and borrow customs from each other; they need to continue remarrying as a way of coming together to strengthen their relations. 1 1.0 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study This chapter is an exposition of the reality of conflict as experienced from four levels; global, regional, sub-regional and local perspectives according to the various primary and secondary literatures reviewed. These levels of conflicts may have transformed in nature and frequency throughout time due to emerging issues in the world social system. The researcher in this study focused on the bloody violent ethnic conflict between the Pokot of Alale division in Pokot North and the Turkana of Kainuk division in Turkana South, Rift valley province. The work started with an introduction of what pastoralism is and how it had caused conflict in these two communities, statement of the problem, justification, research questions and objectives of the study are outlined here. Literature review, a conceptual framework, theoretical framework and methodology used in this study form the last part of the chapter. Pastoralists occupy nearly 21 countries across the African continent (Schilling, Opiyo and Scheffran, 2012:1). Pastoralism is a major economic production strategy in which people raise herds of animals, mostly in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs). ASALs cover about 80% of Kenya's landmass and support about a third of the country's human population and 70% of the national livestock herd. An estimated 13 million cattle, 25 million goats, 14.9 million 2 sheep, 1.7 million donkeys and 2.9 million camels are found in Kenya's ASALs (KNBS, 2010). Pastoralism in Kenya contributes approximately 12% to the country’s gross domestic product (FAO 2005), with livestock sector providing an estimated 90% of all employment opportunities and more than 95% of household incomes in ASALs (Kiambe and Guliye, 2011:1-8). According to Azarya (1996:2), pastoralism refers to an economy that is based on raising livestock, which could be undertaken by sedentary or nomadic groups. Pastoralists include those who earn part of their living from livestock and livestock products. They include those who are still connected to pastoralist culture, even if livestock does not provide their main source of income (Humanitarian policy group 2009: 2). Pastoralism in all its forms is more than just a mode of production. It involves a certain mode of social organization and cultural patterns and practices (Markakis, 2004:4). Nomadism on the other hand refers to the extent of spatial movement of pastoralists; therefore, pastoral production is conceptually different from the extent of residential mobility. Livestock possession plays multiple social, economic and religious roles in pastoral livelihoods, such as providing a regular source of food in form of milk, meat and blood for household members, cash income to pay for cereals, education, health care and other services. In pastoral communities, livestock is also essential for payment of dowry, compensation of injured parties during 3 raids, symbol of prosperity and prestige, store of wealth and security against drought, disease and other calamities. Livestock is therefore a fundamental form of pastoral capital, besides functioning as a means of production, storage, transport and transfer of food and wealth (Behnke, 2008:45-79). As pastoralism revolves around livestock, the conflicts are predominantly about livestock and related productive assets namely; water, land and pasture. These resources closely tie conflicts to the violent and theft of livestock, referred to as raiding, which are both a contributing factor and an articulation of conflict. Mwangi (2006:81-91) argues that raiding leads to distrust between communities which is a pre-requisite for conflict, and Schilling et al, (2012:13) seems to support this argument by explaining that communities use raiding to articulate their hostility toward enemy communities. Eaton (2008: 244) and Schilling et al, (2012: 1) note the complexity and frequency of the pastoral border conflicts between the Turkana and Pokot. The frequency has changed from the competition over scarce resources, ethnic or communal animosity, inadequately met human needs, colonial policies of divide and rule, to conflict entrepreneurs who profit from wars, and poor governance (Kratli and Swift, 2003; Mwaniki, Leleruk,Mbuchi and Mwei, 2007:57;Eaton, 2008:243; Greiner, 2013: 231). In Kenya, semi arid and arid lands constitute 439,000 km2 of land mass which is equivalent to 80% of Kenya’s total land mass. Gray (2000:404), points out that there is a direct link 4 between globally changing conditions, natural resources, livelihoods, insecurity, and conflict in Karamoja. Erratic weather patterns and recurrent droughts have negatively impacted the availability of resources. Frequent crop failure has led to food insecurity in the region and according to a report by IGAD CEWARN (2004: 5) this has resulted in increased incidents of raids, and increased competition over water and pasture. Droughts have also led to the loss of animals, encouraging raids and counter raids. This argument is supported by Schilling et al (2012:7) who confirmed that the Turkana raid because of hunger and drought while the Pokot raid to pay bride price and accumulation of wealth. The Turkana and Pokot are both pastoralists inhabiting the extreme North Rift region with historic conflict and clashes over animals, pasture and protracted violent ethnic oriented conflict (McCabe 2004:90). According to Mwaniki et al (2007:19) this area is characterized by high poverty levels and illiteracy, with life expectancy ranging from 57 years among the Turkana to 66 among the Pokot. Moreover, Mwaniki et al (2007:19; Goldsmith, Ahmed and Babiker 2007:39; Greiner, 2013:224) argue that cattle rustling bears a histo-cultural face among these communities, pointing out that since 1992, the activity has become commercialized. 5 Schilling et al (2012:7) seem to support this argument and explain that the motivation of raiders to engage in conflict/small raids is further increased by the development of commercialization of raided livestock. Kratli and Swift (2003:46) define commercialization as ‘an aspect of the wider integration of pastoralists within a market economy’. Commercialized raiding according to Mkutu (2007b:35; Akabwai & Ateyo, 2007: 25ff.; Eaton, 2010:106-122) is facilitated by improved access to markets, rising demand for meat as part of strong growth of urban population and improved road infrastructure reaching pastoral regions. This form of raiding is undertaken with the explicit intention of selling livestock for immediate profit instead of restocking own herds (Mkutu 2010:87-105). This has encouraged raiding to be constant and continuous conflict between the Turkana and Pokot. Porous borders, the enormous size of Turkana County and the fact that it shares borders with three countries, exposes the residents to a lot of conflicts (ITDG-EA &AU-IBAR, 2003:31; Goldsmith et al., 2007:36;). The Turkana are in conflict with the Merille and Nyangatom from Ethiopia, Toposa and the Dodoth from Sudan and some groups of the Karimojong of Uganda. This is due to Turkana’s proximity to international borders, which are long, remote and porous. Kenya’s western border with Uganda which runs from Busia in the south to Turkana in the north is 933km long and has only three official crossing points. 6 Pastoralists routinely cross from one side to the other, while sometimes straddle the border (Mkutu, 2007:48). Turkana is a challenge to administration due to its remoteness and poor infrastructure, which curtail external investments (Mkutu and Wandera, 2013:25). In a recent government survey Turkana ranked as the country’s poorest county with 94.3% people living in poverty, while 92% of Pokot live in poverty (Omari, 2011:2). Pastoralist issues are not adequately articulated in national strategy and no policy on conflict management is in place (Mkutu, 2009:353) although strong customary governance institutions exist (Knighton, 2005b:21; Kenya, 2010b). Peace work has been identified as sustaining conflict in the two communities and is now big business along the Kenya-Uganda border. Eaton (2008:243) gives an account of how peace meetings have become almost as much a part of people’s lives in the North Rift as the incessant cattle raids. Some NGOs focus on peace meetings that have been viewed as having no genuine impact and sometimes causing even more tension and violence (Eaton 2008b:244ff). Their interventions lack cohesion, coordination, and networking, due to competition for funding among the different agencies (IGAD-CEWARN, 2004: 6; USAID FEWS NET, 2005:6). More pragmatically, the organizations behind these meetings have realized that their service targets are impossible to achieve while the insecurity continues (Eaton, 2008: 243). 7 The discovery of ‘gun power’ has seen the region selectively advance on the recent gun varieties in the market and most unfortunately, sometimes the access to more sophisticated weapons similar to the ones held by state security forces, which characteristically ought to possess and monopolize all tools of force and violence in its area of jurisdiction (Bollig and Osterle, 2007:24; Mkutu, 2011:35; Mkutu and Wandera, 2013:35). Since 1990s, researchers have emphasized the changing nature of cattle rustling (Hendrickson, Armon and Mearns, 1998:185-99) and attempts to explain this point to the increased proliferation of sophisticated automatic rifles such as AK 47 (McCabe 2004:90; Mkutu, 2007a:51). These changing dynamics and trends necessitated this researcher to take a research into this conflict to find out the dynamics and trends that sustained the conflict, the local actors that sustained it and the possible reasons why the government and other peace actors had failed in peace efforts to mitigate this conflict. 1.2 Statement of the problem Various researchers have tried to take different approaches to study the Turkana-Pokot border and other related pastoral conflicts visa viz ecology (Dyson and Dyson,1980:15-61; Touliman, 1994:95-115;Scheffran, Brzoska, Kominek, Link and Schilling, 2012:869-71), commercialization (Hendrickson, Armon and Mearns, 1998:185-99; Fleisher, 2002:131-49; Kratli and Swift, 2003:38), ethnography (Gray, 2000:404;Gray et al., 2003:185-99; Greiner, 2013:219); peace building (Eaton, 2008:245), Small arms (McCabe, 2004:90; 8 Mkutu, 2008), and raiding (Schilling et al., 2012:7). But none of these studies have been able to pinpoint the real nerve that sustains this conflict or what should be done to stop this violent and bloody butchering of innocent people from both communities. This made this researcher to develop an interest in the nature of this kind of study. Various organs such as the Kenya government, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs),Community Based organizations (CBOs), Faith Based Organizations(FBOs) and independent peace representatives have made several efforts in bringing peace in the region (Eaton, 2008:243-244). Despite disarmament and arming communities through the Kenya Police Reservists (KPR) (Mkutu and Wandera, 2013:11), peace building meetings, prosecuting perpetrators, declaring illicit firearms surrender amnesties and establishing peace committees, insecurity and violent conflict in the region continue to prevail (Mkutu, 2010:87-105). Despite the existence of literature on conflict between the Turkana and Pokot, there lacks an explanation as to why this conflict is protracted for years, which are the various organs helping to sustain the conflict, and why mitigation efforts by the government and other stakeholders seem to have failed. This study therefore, sought to examine the trends and dynamics that are responsible for sustaining the protracted ethnic conflict between the Turkana and Pokot communities in Kainuk and Alale divisions respectively. And 9 specifically to investigate the role played by various local community representatives in its sustenance and lastly to interrogate why various interventions by the government of Kenya and other peace organs have failed to produce the intended results. The period of study was between 1995 and 2013. 1.3 Objectives of the Study 1. To identify the dynamics and trends that sustain the protracted social conflict between Turkana and Pokot communities. 2. To examine the role of local community actors involved in this conflict. 3. To interrogate why mitigation efforts by the government of Kenya and other peace stakeholders have failed. 1.4 Research questions This study was guided by the following research questions: 1. What are the dynamics and trends that are responsible for sustenance of the protracted violent ethnic conflict between the Pokot and Turkana Communities? 2. What is the role of the local community representatives in the conflict between the Turkana and Pokot? 3. Why have the Kenya government and other peace stakeholders failed in conflict mitigation between these two communities? 10 1.5 Research Assumptions 1. There exist dynamics and trends that are responsible for sustenance of the protracted violent ethnic conflict between the Pokot and the Turkana of Alale and Kainuk respectively. 2. There are existing representatives in the local community who play a major role in the escalation and sustenance of the ethnic conflict between the Turkana and the Pokot in recent years. 3. There are existing challenges that have made the Kenya government and other peace stakeholders to fail in conflict mitigation efforts between these two communities. 1.6 Justification and significance of the study The protracted conflict between the Turkana and Pokot is of interest to the researcher because of its transformed nature and its escalation in recent years. Travelling along the Pokot-Turkana boundary was extremely dangerous, and any peace which had once existed was completely forgotten (Eaton, 2008:244). Bollig (1993; 176-84), asserts that about two decades ago, Pokot raids did not aim at expanding their territory and administrative borders, hence did not constitute issues of conflict. Raids were interpreted as driven by ideals of male prestige, high bride prices and the influx of modern arms. Bollig and Osterle (2007: 23-51) suggest that Pokot rustling had no intrinsic politicized dimension until late 1990s. 11 From then on, raiding gradually changed and warriors from Pokot were involved, alongside warriors from other pastoral groups, in attacks on other groups. This change in the frequency and nature of conflicts was a justification for the researcher to try to find out what happened in the 1990s that made the Pokot and the Turkana to engage in more frequent and deadly raids against each other. Cattle raiding in Pokot region escalated after 1960s because Kenya’s post independence government lacked proper mechanisms of adequately handling these conflicts (Mwajefa, 2001:45). From then onwards, cattle raiding assumed a more violent and destructive character, which has greatly contributed to the fragile security situation in the present day Pokot North district. This was a motivation for the researcher to pick the years 1995 to 2013, since this was the time pastoralist conflicts escalated and other political conflicts were also experienced in Kenya. The fact that other ethnic conflicts in the country are triggered either before or after election periods and do not last forever, after intervention by the government and other peace organs is a motivation for the researcher to study this pastoral conflict that seems to have no end and the government and other peace actors seem to be fatigued. The conflict between the two communities has since transformed into a commercial activity due to the changing 12 dynamics and trends in the recent years. This justified the choice of years 1995 to 2013. The conflict with the Turkana who live in the north of East Pokot is among the oldest conflicts in northern Kenya (McCabe, 2004:90). A new wave of conflict escalated in 1995 when Turkana tried to occupy part of Pokot country (Bollig and Osterle, 2007:26). Since then, the conflict has turned more and more openly into a boundary dispute that in 2012, involved mutual (from both sides) killings and large scale displacements on an almost daily basis (Andae and Bii, 2012). Schilling et al (2012:6) also confirms that the Turkana and Pokot ethnic communities have been on a conflict path for so many decades that they are unable to recall a year when they went without raiding and conflict. The conflict has escalated in recent years. This argument is in line with other studies which have reported an increased conflict between the Turkana and the Pokot as well as other communities in north-western Kenya (McCabe, 2004:91; de Vries, Leslie and McCabe,2006:1-25; Omolo, 2010:81-102; UNDP 2011). In 2013, in the month of March just before elections, the Turkana and the Pokot clashed at Lokapel in Katilu in Turkana south due to a boundary dispute. All these explanations and the continued escalation and frequency of violence were a justification for the researcher to include the year 2013 in this study. 13 It is also noted that the highest livestock populations in Kenya are held by the Turkana and Pokot pastoralists of north-western Kenya (GoK, 2010:12). But the protracted conflicts cannot allow them to benefit from this resource. This factor that has hindered these two pastoral communities from trading with each other and benefitting from their livelihood, which is livestock was a justification for this study. Many scholars have written on the Turkana and Pokot ethnic conflict, but all try to give a cause-effect relationship. This study broke away from that past tradition and tried to find out how these causes have changed the conflict over time, by examining the dynamics and trends that have changed the face of the conflict thereby sustaining it, the role of local organs in transforming the conflict; and lastly interrogating why mitigation efforts by the government and other peace stakeholders have failed. This study does not only add to the cumulative information in the field of conflict and peace building modalities but also demonstrates how local peace building structures can be used to mitigate any protracted conflict. To do so it traces the trends and dynamics that have sustained the conflict, and points out the real actors that perpetrate it and advocates for lasting solutions by emphasizing on home-grown solutions and exploring traditional conflict resolution strategies by encouraging use of community based approaches together with modern conflict resolution mechanisms to bring to minimum 14 levels, the trends and frequency of conflicts in these two communities. The findings of this study contribute to understanding the dynamics of the security problem between the two communities and inform how the devolved system of government in the two counties can handle this ever changing phenomenon. The study is also a significant source of reference to policy-makers in creating a comprehensive security policy to address issues of insecurity in pastoral areas in Kenya, to handle challenges such as reducing ethnic tensions, promoting human rights, address historical injustices of land ownership and the marginalization of pastoral areas, all enshrined in Vision 2030 under the flagship of “Human rights, Managing diversity and Consolidation of National Unity”. This research work contributes to the already rich field of peace studies and provides gaps for future research for other researchers in the area of peace studies. Various recommendations have been made based on the findings of this study, which can provide further research for other scholars. 1.7 Scope The study traces the escalation and transformation of the conflict between the Turkana and the Pokot between 1995 and 2013. The study will use across- sectional design in data collection and the Protracted Social Conflict (PSC) theory by Edward Azar. The choice of years 1995-2013 has been made due to 15 the fact that in the late 1990s and around 2000 local patterns of conflict among pastoralists in the North Rift were influenced by national or regional politics in other parts of Kenya (Greiner, 2013:218). In order to mobilize the government for their own causes, local leaders had to find out which degree of ethnicization had become usual and subsequently legitimate elsewhere (Schlee, 2010:7). Bollig and Osterle (2007:23-51) explain that the Pokot rustling had no intrinsic politicized dimension until the late 1990s. From then, raiding gradually changed and warriors from Pokot were involved alongside warriors from other pastoral groups, in attacks on agricultural settlers in Laikipia (Greiner, 2013:.224; Schlee, 2010:8). A cross-sectional design of data collection was ideal here because it helped to gather lot information through a stratified way of dealing with a cross-section of people who hold vital information in the two areas of study. The choice of PSC theory in this study was appropriate since this theory situated the study in the right context. This theory helped to explain the discontentment of communal groups due to deprivation of human needs, communal content as seen in the two groups trying to protect their identity, property and lives by revenging against the rival community and using arms they get through the porous borders, thereby authenticating the applicability of the international linkages pre-condition in PSC. 16 1.8 Limitations of the study Kainuk in Turkana South is found along the hotly contested border between the two communities. The fear of being attacked on the way hindered the researcher from collecting enough data. This also applied to areas in Pokot North such as Kasei, Kacheliba and Alale where the respondents displayed suspicion and hostility. These challenges were overcome by use of research assistants who used local languages to translate the research questions and also explained the purpose of the research. The nature of the information on raids and cattle theft which is usually sensitive and confidential due to its repercussions impeded access to the right information. The respondents feared to give away sensitive information on raids and injured victims fearing repercussions. The researcher also faced language barrier problems in communication but this was overcome by use of research assistants. Pokot North district is a difficult terrain with very steep hills and valleys, places like Kasei being hard to access due to poor roads. The distance from Nairobi where the researcher was travelling from was just too far and the road to Alale through Kacheliba was in a sorry state. The case in Kainuk was different since most of the areas under study such as Kakong, Lokapel, Kainuk and Nakwamoru were accessible. This was overcome by hiring a four wheel drive vehicle to access these areas. Time and financial constraints also impeded travelling to all the intended areas; hence the data 17 collected might not be all representative. This was solved by collecting as much data as possible in a short time and using the available resources for the intended purpose. The records on raids at the Police station in Lodwar town in Turkana and Kapenguria in West Pokot Counties respectively could not be accessed due to poor record keeping. This study made use of primary data from questionnaires, interview schedules and oral interviews conducted on focus group discussions. Most of the participants were illiterate and so could clearly recount events but could not remember the actual dates, the study therefore made use of chronology of events employed as much as possible where accurate dating was not possible. 1.9. Review of related literature In the global perspective conservative estimates indicate that at least 740,000 men, women, youth and children die globally each year as a result of armed violence, most of them in low- and medium-income settings (Krause, Muggah, Wenmann, 2008:2). The majority of these deaths occur in situations other than war, though armed conflicts continue to generate a high incidence of casualties. Approaches to prevent and reduce these deaths and related suffering are becoming increasingly important on the international agenda. The UN General Assembly (2008) and the United Nations (UN) Secretary General (2009) highlighted the relationships between armed violence and 18 under-development and various high-level diplomatic processes are drawing more attention to promising solutions. In spite of the global preoccupation with the costs and consequences of armed violence, comparatively little evidence exists about how to stem its risks and effects. Virtually no information is available on armed violence reduction and prevention (AVRP) interventions, much less their effectiveness (OECD 2011). Conflict is not localized to a particular social set up but the notion has its global, international, national and regional perspectives. According to Nye (2011: ) there has been global conflict since the beginning of the twentieth century to this twenty-first century arising from global trade and finances, global governance and the information revolution. For this reason global actors have also resolved to end global conflict through global cooperation by establishing world order, globalization and international relations. The World War I, II and cold war placed the world into global conflict as a result of emerging conflicts among great powers to the rise of globalization and states’ interdependence. This twenty-first century has also experienced the rise of global terrorism and the war on terror Similarly, Welch (2011:) notes global conflict and cooperation signals two changes, first conflict paves way for resolving world disputes, secondly there’s concern for decreasing inter-states conflicts and increasing global cooperation. 19 While the bulk of scholarly and global attention was focusing on understanding “the wars that mattered” (interstate wars), the conflict landscape around the world was gradually assuming a very different profile. Contemporary armed conflicts conspicuously lack definitive battles, decisive campaigns and formal endings. They typically last for decades and very rarely do they involve regular armies on both sides (Van Creveld 1991). This means conflict occurs amidst deplorable socio-economic conditions such as high unemployment, heavy dependence on external resources, a decline in domestic production and physical destruction coupled with interruptions in normal trade and taxation mechanisms. These factors force parties in conflict to finance themselves either through plunder and black market or external assistance by Diaspora communities, support from neighboring governments or illegal trade in arms, drugs or valuable commodities. This corresponds with Azar’s (1990:11) concept of international linkages, as well as the worrying fact that the new wars were becoming a preserve of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). In Africa civil wars have raged in a number of countries namely: Sudan, Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Somalia and Liberia, to name some of the prominent ones (Mulu, 2008:6). Although these wars are usually portrayed in the western media as caused by tribalism, this is often a simplification of complex realities. Africa is home to a 20 large percentage of the world’s conflicts. In contrast to the late 1960s and 1970s, when most war related civilian casualties occurred in Asia, the majority of war-related deaths worldwide now occur in Africa (UNICEF, 1990:194). The nature of these conflicts reveals several characteristics. First, many African conflicts are intrastate rather than interstate. In the last forty years, Africa has seen many inter- and intra-ethnic conflicts, which have resulted in loss of lives and property, internal displacement of people, movement of millions of refugees, and general destabilization. In more recent years especially the last decade of the 20th and 1st decade of the 21st century, Africa has witnessed a number of violent intrastate conflicts that have resulted in the diversion of a significant portion of resources. This includes official development assistance, away from development to emergency and has been a major impediment to development. The more recent examples include Sudan, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda and Angola (Mulu, 2008:6). The political landscape in Africa is at one level, informed by the effects of the armed struggle against colonialism, partial resolution of pre-and post-colonial conflicts and institutional and structural weakness of the state, private sector and civil society. The armed struggles in Zimbabwe, Angola, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for instance were particularly devastating but the political settlements that were negotiated to end these wars 21 have not holistically resolved the deeper issues at stake. Preventing the recurrence of these conflicts has therefore been elusive (Mulu,2008:9-10). The West African Region has been a theatre of resource conflicts involving farmers and mobile pastoralists. Due to environmental degradation, resource scarcity, demographic change and political instability, the region perhaps demonstrates elements of the coming anarchy (Kaplan, 1994: Quam, 1996: Gray, 2000:408.FAO, 2004 :). Farmer-pastoralist conflict is one of the key manifestations of this anarchy and this is deeply rooted in the history, ecology and political economy of the region. Livestock is the primary means of livelihood for 12million people in West Africa (Nura, 1996: FAO, 2004). Over 70 million people in the same region also depend on livestock and livestock- related enterprises for their livelihood (Nura, 1982, 1983, McDowell and De Haan, 1986: Nua, 1996). The pastoralists in this region operate within an expansive geography, oscillating between their major base in the semi-arid north during the rainy season, and the wetter south during the dry season. Throughout West and Central Africa, the nomads and semi-nomadic pastoralists move within and across countries principally in search of pasture and water for their herds, and in the process, contact with settled crop farmers is inevitable. Pastoralists have to move across, and graze on farmlands that belong to crop farmers (USAID, FEWS NET 2005:24, Knighton 2005b:20f). Thus, Pastoralists and crop farmers are intertwined, sharing land, water, fodder and 22 other resources. As a result, there are several problems bordering on the relationship between farmers and pastoralists, foremost of which is the perennial conflict over resource use. It has been a recurring social problem for many decades but ‘in recent years, the activities of pastoralists who move with arms usually in large groups and who commit intentional crop damage has added another dimension to the conflict (USAID FEWS NET, 2005:27ff). The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in West Africa were two historical periods characterized by the contest for power, conflict and open warfare between various nationalities and groups, particularly between the pastoral Fulbe and other sedentary groups of the sub-region (Webb, 1995: Hussein, 1998). The relationship between herders and farmers were occasionally strained, particularly as a result of the early southward movement of herders into sedentary zones before the harvests were complete. Some of the factors that have been advanced to explain the preponderance of the conflict between farmers and pastoralists in West Africa include growing pressure on natural resources, caused by human population increase, the growth in population of herds, and the extension of cultivated areas (UNDP,2009: Markakis, 2004:9f). Sub-regionally, the Karamoja region of Uganda in East Africa has been riddled by pastoral conflicts. Before the people of Karamoja region acquired small arms, they used spears, bows, arrows, self-produced arms, and single 23 shot rifles for hunting and raiding (Mirzeler &Young, 2000:411;Oxfam, 2004:36; Mkutu, 2007a:48). The traders of Arab and Ethiopian origin bartered guns for ivory during the pre-colonial period. When the colonialists arrived their governments responded ruthlessly to the trade in guns and created animosity between the state and the Karimojong. Most post-colonial governments have not been different in their handling of the guns in the region. According to GoU and international donors, the proliferation of small arms is the source of increased lethal violence (Gray, 2000: 407). Small arms and ammunition continuously flow in from Southern Sudan and Northern Kenya (Mirzeler & Young 2000:422; Bevan 2008:47). During the 1960s and 1970s the Karimojong who had surrendered a few guns to the colonial government started fabricating guns because they were dissatisfied with the way colonial government was protecting them from the better armed Turkana and Toposa pastoralists of Kenya and Sudan respectively. Following the Collapse of Iddi Amin’s regime in 1979, the national army abandoned the military barracks in Moroto town (Bevan, 2008:48ff: Mirzeler&Young, 2000:424: Mkutu, 2007a:47). The Karimojong broke into the barracks armoury and looted all the guns and ammunitions (Quam, 1996: Gray, 2000:408:Mkutu, 2007a:51). This ushered in a new social, economic and political landscape in Karamoja and cattle raiding would never be the 24 same again as groups turned against each other and the neighbouring regions (Gray et al,2003:S14). Since then, arms race in the region has been on the rise. Most of the arms and ammunition today come through the porous Uganda- Sudan border in Kabong district. The current estimates of guns in the region are put at between 30,000 and 40,000. In the mid to late 1980s, major political changes, the growing trade of small arms and ammunition, periods of repeated and prolonged droughts, and the spread of livestock diseases led to intensified raids of pastoral groups from Karamoja into the neighbouring regions of Iteso, Lango and Acholi (Stites & Akabwai 2009:417). As a consequence, numbers of cattle in the neighbouring areas have diminished. Whereas movements into the neighboring districts offers opportunity for the herders to survive the dry season, the neighboring districts often try to bar the pastoralists from coming into their territories (ITDG-EA&AU-IBAR,2003:1). But caught between a rock and hard place the pastoralists have always forced their way into these districts. In appreciation of their situation, the government has allowed the pastoralists to move into the neighboring districts on condition that they do not use arms (Mkutu, 2007a:57- 61). Yet they have often been accused of violating this policy by carrying and using guns. They have also been accused of intimidation, armed assault, and even committing murders in the neighboring areas (Ochieng, 2000: Akelem, 2000). 25 Although the Karamoja region is generally dry, it is wetter than the adjacent areas of northwestern Kenya and southern Sudan, which areas are also inhabited by pastoralist groups. Thus, pastoralists from the drier areas search for grass and water for their herds from adjacent areas in Uganda during periods of scarcity. Prior to crossing they form alliances. The Turkana for instance often form alliances with the Jie group of Kotido and Matheniko of Moroto districts of Uganda with whom they have cordial relations. The Turkana assist the Jie to raid groups such as the Dodoth and the Bokora of Moroto district. Because the Jie consider these “enemy communities”, the Turkana have been drawn into this hostile relationship by virtue of their relationship with the Jie. On the other hand, the Dodoth are allies of the Toposa of Sudan and by virtue of their relationship with the Dodoth, are also enemies of the Jie and Turkana. The Toposa are the main suppliers of arms and ammunition for the Dodoth, from South Sudan. Similarly, the Turkana are known to bring with them some guns that they sell to their Jie allies (Oxfam,2004:34; USAID FEWS NET,2005:11). Whereas these allies are seen as avenues for sharing water and pasture, and protecting and raiding cattle, they also play out in the wider geopolitics in the greater Horn of Africa region as avenues for arms trafficking (Quam, 1996;Mkutu,2007a:67f;Bevan 2008:470). Policies that seek to address pastoral 26 conflicts in these regions should therefore take into consideration the dynamics of the inter- and intra-community relations among the different pastoralist groups in the region. In Kenya, Northern Kenya has become an arena of excessively violent interactions between various local groups and external power groups such as army units and police patrols (Bollig and Osterle, 2007:23). The character of these conflicts is fairly uniform: usually violent interactions begin with livestock raids by one side, followed by counter raids led by the other side. Due to the escalation of raiding the government is frequently forced to step in with the police and/ or army units. Livestock raiding among northern Kenya’s pastoralists has changed profoundly in the last decades. Fought with modern weaponry and often extreme violence, raiding is increasingly enmeshed in politicized claims over administrative boundaries, struggles for exclusive access to land, and attempts to establish or safeguard an ethnically homogenous electoral base. These conflicts are part of Kenya’s troubled politics of decentralization and as such they must be viewed in the context of wider political developments in the country (Greiner, 2013:216). In the past, violent interaction rarely resulted in drawn-out battles, but rather constituted skirmishes and sudden attacks. But during the 1990s the 27 performance of violent conflicts changed completely. Extremely violent clashes with many casualties and acts of ethnic cleansing added to the “traditional” patterns of cattle rustling and raiding. Gray et al. (2003:3) argue that the escalation of warfare ‘represents the single greatest threat to (pastoralists’) biobehavioural resilience and ultimately may have profound evolutionary costs in terms of pastoralists’ survival. While Osterle and Bollig (2003:109-143) argue that inter-group violence in northern Kenya is deeply embedded in local cultures and is thoroughly modern at the same time, the situation seems to have changed with time. Since the 19960s guns have been of crucial importance in the region. During 1960s and 1970s most battles were still fought with simple rifles, in the 1980s and 1990s automatic guns like AK-47 and the G-3 have replaced earlier rifles. The AK-47 has recently been referred to as a ‘change agent’ because of its crucial role in changing the household economy, the gerontocratic order and the belief system of pastoralists linkages to international arms markets are as important for the understanding of conflicts as local concepts of honour and ideas of violence are. Edward Azar seems to share this view when he states that, the formation of domestic social and political institutions and their impact on the role of the state are greatly influenced by the pattern of linkage within the international system (Azar, 1990:7-8). For instance, many states are dependent on an 28 external supply of armaments. To overcome the dominance of the international economy, the country in question must work hard to build institutions that can ease global dependency and stimulate domestic economic growth. Mwaniki et al (2007:17) argue that the main sources of conflict especially in the North Rift region include resource scarcity at 29.8%, inadequacy of socio- economic investment in the region at 29%, political incitement at 19.9%, gun- culture at 11.8%, ethnic animosity and others at 6.9%. But they do not show how these sources sustain and prolong the conflict between the Turkana and Pokot. The researcher in this study sought to find out the role of local actors in sustaining the conflict, factors which sustained it and why government and other peace organs had failed in mitigation effort towards this conflict. Eaton (2008:89-110) and Moru (2010) explain that the Turkana and the Pokot pastoralist communities have used raiding and violence to restock herds, expand grazing lands, gain access to water and pasture resources and increase social status for more than 9000 years. Nevertheless, in recent years, due to the proliferation of modern small arms, commercialization of livestock raiding, dispute over land tenure rights, banditry and perdition, the cultural practice has become a widespread, sophisticated, more violent, and destructive activity among pastoral communities in northern Kenya Mkutu (2006:47-70); Kumssa, Jones and Williams (2009:1008-1020) ; Leff (2009:188-203) ; Omolo (2010:81-102) ; Mahmoud (2011:146-168) ; Njiru (2012:513-627). 29 All these writers give various reasons to explain conflict between the two communities, but none of them critically examines why this conflict is prolonged and sustained for decades. It is this gap that the researcher in this study sought to fill. Culturally, livestock raiding often involved small scale manageable violence and theft of the best livestock or replacement of animals lost during periods of droughts and diseases (Mkutu, 2007a:48). Loss of human lives was rare, and when this occurred, compensation in the form of livestock was paid to the victims or their families in case of death (Bollig and Osterle, 2007:25; Schilling et al 2007:2). Gray, Sundal, Wiebusch, Little and Leslie, (2003:S3- 30); McCabe (2004: 89); Schilling et al (2012:1) portray raiding as a maladaptive cultural institution in which the value of cattle is placed above that of human beings and in attempting to preserve their cultural identity, pastoralists undermine their biological survival. Intergroup relations changed profoundly due to escalation of violence and young men usually the owners of the automatic weapons or at least the people having the skill to deal with them, acted independently and out of control of elders (Tornay, 1976:97-117; CEWARN, 2004:6; Jabs, 2007:149f; Stites and Akabwai, 2007a:4f; Mkutu, 2007a: 62; Bollig and Swift, 2007:45). The researcher in this study agrees with other scholars who hold that raiding has 30 become more arbitrary and more deadly since the 1950s as supported by the findings from this study. The proliferation of modern automatic weapons is well documented as having had a negative effect on the scale and impact of armed violence in pastoral communities (Mirzeler & Young, 2000:411;Gray, 2000: 408; Gray et al., 2003:S3-S30; Mkutu, 2006:47-70;Mkutu, 2007a:51; Eaton, 2008a:103ff). These publications show how local concepts and beliefs are affected and transformed by the current abundance of modern arms and the escalation of violence in many pastoral settings in East Africa. The proliferation of small arms is the source of increased lethal violence and crimes (Gray, 2000:407). Small arms and ammunition continue to flow from South Sudan into Northern Kenya (Mkutu, 2007a:57-61; Bevan, 2008:48ff). Ownership of small arms has eroded customary methods of dealing with matters of justice or deputes resolution mechanisms by empowering young men who no longer respect the elders in the two communities (Mirzeler & Young, 2000:424; IGAD-CEWARN, 2004:6; Bevan, 2008:47). As much as these scholars show the abundance of small arms as increasing violence in Turkana and Pokot, they do not argue for arms resulting in the prolonged and protracted conflict between the two communities. This justified the researcher’s interest in taking a study into this conflict, in order to find out how small arms have led to the frequency and protracted nature of the conflict. 31 From early 1990s up till now(2013), commercialized livestock raiding in which wealthy businessmen, politicians, traders and local people pursue economic objectives has interfered with pastoral livelihoods and contributed to conflicts among pastoral communities ( Kratli and Swift, 1999:17; Gray et al., 2003: S21f; Mkutu, 2007b:35; Akabwai and Ateyo, 2007:25ff; Eaton, 2010:106-122; Mkutu, 2010:87-105; Kaimba, Njehia and Guliye, 2011:1-18). Local businessmen and even politicians reportedly funded raids in order to sell cattle to the black market to places as far away as South Africa and Saudi Arabia (Mkutu, 2003:45-49). Stolen cattle are also used to supply large towns which have grown in population through rural to urban migration. Other than analyzing the changed nature of cattle raids from the traditional to contemporary forms where commercialization fuels violent conflict, these scholars have not shown how commercialization has led to this conflict being protracted and sustained for decades. The scholars also have not held the businessmen responsible for sustaining cattle raiding and prolonging the conflict. The researcher in this study attempted to establish whether businessmen who buy stolen cattle are actually the real actors who sustained the conflict between the Pokot and the Turkana. Resource scarcity is one of the leading causes of conflict among pastoralists manifested in the competition for limited natural resources such as pasture, 32 water and land and that the struggle for temporary access to these resources leads to conflict (Mwaniki et al., 2007:36; Goldsmith, Ahmed and Babiker, 2007:37; Greiner, 2013:219). The patterns of raiding in northern Kenya have been enmeshed in politicized claims over administrative boundaries, struggles for exclusive access to land, and even attempts to establish or safeguard an ethnically homogenous electoral basis. Violence in pastoralist areas is intimately linked to recent political developments in Kenya at large, the current political and administrative restructuring as well as ongoing land reforms which have created windows of opportunity for violent renegotiation of territorial claims in the pastoralist areas in Kenya’s arid north (Markakis, 2004:9f; UNDP,:2007:8; Greiner, 2013:218). The forgoing arguments are supported by Azar (1990:11), who cited governance and the state’s role as the critical factor in the satisfaction or frustrations of individual and identity groups. Azar (1990:11) states that most states which experience protracted social conflicts tend to be characterized by incompetent, parochial, fragile, and authoritarian governments that fail to satisfy basic human needs. It is said that governments, expected to be unbiased and impartial, tend to be dominated by the leading identity groups or those that have been able to monopolize power within a country or territorial entity. The researcher sought to find out whether governance issues have resulted in the neglect of Turkana and Pokot regions by the government, thereby leading to prolonged conflict and destitution in these communities. 33 In the past, the Turkana were marginalized by colonial governments, weak governance and the absence of security have compounded the poor security picture (Knighton, 2002:25; Mkutu and Wandera, 2013:25). Turkana is a challenge to administrators due to its remoteness and poor infrastructure, which curtail external investments and is ranked as the poorest county with 94.3% of people living in poverty during a recent government survey (Omari, 2011). Pastoralist issues are not adequately articulated in national strategy and no policy on conflict management is in place, although strong customary governance institutions exist (Mirzeler & Young, 2000: 427; IGAD- CEWARN, 2004:5; UN OCHA, 2008:3; WHO 2009:2; Iyodu, 2009:15; Kenya, 2010b). In Kacheliba in Pokot North, forceful disarmament was carried out in September 2008, and despite this exercise, insecurity was still rampant in the region, with road ambushes and cattle raids still persisting (Hulme and Fukudu, 2009:67). Government intervention on pastoral conflict in the past and presently, has often taken a very heavy handed approach, characterized by military operations with security personnel brutally punishing the whole community as culprits (CEWARN, 2007). As a result the two communities seem to have found ways to evade and elude government interventions of trying to improve security in these two regions. The researcher therefore sought to find out whether the above arguments have led to this conflict being sustained and 34 prolonged for decades. This research work was carried out to ascertain the above arguments by the residents of these two communities. The result has been resentment and mistrust on the part of the innocent people against the government (Gray, 2000:412; Knighton, 2002:21f; Makoloo, 2005; Mkutu, 2007a:67; HRW, 2007:36ff; Akabwai &Ateyo, 2007:30ff; Bevan 2008:55-63; Bevan, 2008:58f; Stites and Akabwai 2009:13f). These explanations conform to Azar’s (1990:7-8) theory: pre-condition of deprivation of needs, that states; all individuals aim at fulfilling their needs through their collective identity group. Needs deprivation therefore, leads to increased grievances, which individuals express collectively and distinguishes between different forms of needs such as political access needs, security needs and acceptance needs. Political access needs concern the effective participation of individuals in political, economic, and decision- making institutions, while security needs refer to the material needs for physical security, nutrition and housing, and acceptance needs point to the need for “distinctive identity” and its social recognition. These arguments only support what causes violence between communities, but no research has explained how these causes have sustained this conflict. The researcher aimed to confirm whether perceived community deprivation of 35 needs had led to prolonged frequent and constant conflict between the two communities. According to Niamir-Fuller (1999:36); Halderman et al., (2002:27) and IGAD-CEWARN, (2004:5), there is a direct link between globally changing climatic conditions, natural resources, livelihood insecurity and conflict in Karamoja. Frequent crop failure has led to food insecurity in the region. This is viewed to have resulted in increased incidents of cattle raids, and increased competition over water and pasture, and droughts have led to the loss of animals, encouraging raids and counter raids. This scenario provides a double edged impact, firstly, the affected communities must get stock and progress with their economic life and in most cases, invading their neighbours or enemies becomes the best alternative to solve the emerging economic dilemma. Secondly, large groups are left idle after losing their herds, providing time and space for war or revenge planning. Lack of economic activity provides an opportunity for raids, which with time becomes an economic activity of certain entities (Mwaniki et al., 2007:35). This literature does not link prolonged adverse climatic changes to prolonged raids and violent conflict between these two communities. This research work aimed at finding out whether worsening ecological/climatic conditions were responsible for the prolonged violent conflict between the Turkana and Pokot. 36 Political disorders in neighbouring countries have encouraged the formation of alliances that mount attacks on weakened communities (Goldsmith et al., 2007:40). The Greater Horn of Africa is characterized by several violent conflicts that destabilize pastoral communities and contribute to the escalation of conflicts. A flourishing trade in small arms and ammunition is prevalent in the whole region (Mirzeler & Young 2000:422; ITDG-EA, &AU-IBAR 2003:1; Bevan 2008:47). The fall of governments in Uganda in late 1970s and early 1980s for example led to excessive armament of the Karimojong against the Turkana who were initially better armed. The tendency is that communities will seek to test the newly acquired strength through raids against their neighbours (Kipury 2008:45). Sudden and localized access to arms can change the balance of power across borders or even between different groups and result in an escalation of raids (Swift and Kratli, 1999:17; Mkutu, 2000:42; Chesos, 2001:34; Kenya 2007:89). These arguments are shared by Azar (1990:11), who points out that those international linkages, through “political- economic relations of economic dependency within the international economic system, and the network of political- military linkages constituting regional and global patterns of clientele and cross-border interests. Modern states, particularly weaker ones, like those often involved in protracted social conflict, tend to be more 37 influenced by outside connections both economically and politically within the wider global community. The formation of domestic social and political institutions and their impact on the role of the state are greatly influenced by the pattern of linkage within the international system (Azar, 1990: 11). For instance, many states are dependent on an external supply of armaments. Protracted Social Conflict (PSC) theory suggests that several of the current conflicts around the world and especially in underdeveloped parts of the world are characterized by a blurred demarcation between internal and external sources and actors. The researcher sought to establish whether the international relationships between Kenya and other countries had led to the sustenance of the pastoral conflicts along those international borders. Violent conflicts often contribute to a concentration of power in the hands of political leaders (World, Bank, 2003:82). Some politicians may economically benefit from raiding and thefts, and utilize their improved material status to gain more political influence. In general, conflict is often used as a moral justification for political repression and forcible state interventions (Mkutu, 2007b:53). The political marginalization of the region is also conveyed in weak or absent government institutions and the disregard of customary structures of authority 38 and justice. This explanation does not show how politics has led to the concentration of power in the hands of the individuals. It does not also show how politicians are involved in cattle rustling. This research work aimed to establish whether politicians play a role in influencing prolonged and sustained cattle raids and conflict between the two communities. 1.10 Theoretical Framework Several explanations have been provided as to what causes conflict at different levels. However, there exists a theory that explains contemporary conflict and assists to situate it in the social and international context. This work mainly used Edward Azar’s (1990) theory of Protracted Social Conflict (PSC) as explained by Ramsbotham, (2005: 14). This is because it assists to explain the social roots of conflicts and failure of governance at the local level which then causes prolonged and violent conflicts. Edward Azar, offered one of the first analytical attempts to comprehensively analyze and explain the protracted nature of intra-state conflicts (Ramsbotham, 2005:15). Influenced by the persistent conflicts in his native Lebanon and countries like Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Northern Ireland, Israel, Ethiopia, Sudan and Nigeria, Azar developed a framework for the analysis of such conflicts which he called Protracted Social Conflict (PSC) and defined it as: “the prolonged and often violent struggle by communal groups for such basic needs as security, recognition and acceptance, fair access to political institutions and 39 economic participation (Azar, 1990:12). Azar argued that the denial of basic human needs to a large portion of the population initiated instances of protracted social violence. There are four pre-conditions that are isolated by Azar as predominant sources of PSC. These are: communal content, deprivation of human needs, governance and the state’s role, and international linkages (Azar 1990:12). Communal content according to Azar (1990) in PSC situations is communal identity based on race, religion, and ethnic group or cultural ties which is very important because these identities are then used to solicit basic needs. In many multi-ethnic societies, states emerge which are dominated by a single communal group. This communal group or coalition of groups ignores the needs of other communal groups, thereby straining the social fabric and eventually breeding fragmentation and protracted social conflict (Azar, 1990:7). He also cited the, “disarticulation between the state and society as a whole”, as a source of violence within society. This pre-condition also involves the reliance that many people have on their social groups, because of government in areas that experience PSC are often unable, incapable or unwilling to provide basic human necessities to the population, individuals turn to social groups for stability. 40 The resultant disconnection of society and the state can be linked to the colonial legacy, which “artificially imposed European ideas of territorial statehood” onto a multitude of community groups. This results in the domination of certain identity groups over others. The dominant group isolates itself from the needs of other groups, leading to an even bigger separation between groups even within an ethnicity (Azar 1990: 7-8). Deprivation of needs as a second pre-condition contends that all individuals aim at fulfilling their needs through their collective identity group. Needs deprivation therefore, leads to increased grievances, which individuals express collectively. Azar distinguishes between different forms of needs such as political access needs, security needs and acceptance needs. Political access needs have to do with the effective participation of individuals in political, economic, and decision- making institutions, while security needs refer to the material needs for physical security, nutrition and housing, and acceptance needs point to the need for “distinctive identity” and its social recognition. Azar’s concept of human needs denotes the idea of inequalities, which means that the dominant social group “satisfies” its political access, security and acceptance needs at the expense of the needs of social (excluded) groups. As a result, the social groups that are dissatisfied are frustrated and feel (more and more) marginalized and excluded from the social, economic and political 41 participation (Azar 1990:7-8) Governance and state’ role is a third argument where Azar states; “With governments being “endowed with the authority to govern and use force where necessary to regulate society, to protect citizens, and to provide collective goods,” (Ramsbotham, 2005:84-87), Azar cited governance and the state’s role as the critical factor in the satisfaction or frustrations of individual and identity groups. Azar (1990:11) states that most states which experience protracted social conflict tend to be characterized by incompetent, parochial, fragile, and authoritarian governments that fail to satisfy basic human needs. It is said that governments, expected to be unbiased and impartial, tend to be dominated by the leading identity groups or those that have been able to monopolize power within a country or territorial entity. Azar argues that: whereas in Western liberal theory, the state is an aggregate of individuals entrusted to govern effectively and to act as an impartial arbiter of conflicts among the constituent parts; treating all members of the political community as legally equal citizens, this is not empirically what happens in most parts of the world, particularly in never and less stable states where political authority tend to be monopolized by the dominant identity group or a coalition of hegemonic groups which use the state to maximize their interests at the expense of others. 42 The monopolizing of power by dominant individuals and groups and the limiting of access to other groups precipitates a “crisis of legitimacy” so that “regime type and the level of legitimacy” come to be seen as “important linkage” variables between needs and PSC (Azar 1990:11-12). Azar notes how PSCs tend to be concentrated in developing countries “which are typically characterized by rapid population growth and limited resource base” and also have restricted “political capacity” often linked to a colonial legacy of weak participatory institutions, a hierarchical tradition of imposed bureaucratic rule from metropolitan centres, and inherited instruments of political repression: “In most protracted social conflict-laden countries, political capacity is limited by a rigid or fragile authority structure which prevents the state from responding to and meeting the needs of various constituents.” This creates a “crisis of legitimacy” in the governance of these countries. The last argument put forward by Azar is the international linkages which involves, “political- economic relations of economic dependency within the international economic system, and the network of political- military linkages constituting regional and global patterns of clientele and cross-border interests. Modern states, particularly weaker ones, like those often involved in protracted social conflict, tend to be more influenced by outside connections 43 both economically and politically within the wider global community. The formation of domestic social and political institutions and their impact on the role of the state are greatly influenced by the pattern of linkage within the international system (Azar, 1990: 11). For instance, many states are dependent on an external supply of armaments. PSC theory suggests that several of the current conflicts around the world and especially in underdeveloped parts of the world are characterized by a blurred demarcation between internal and external sources and actors. Moreover, there are multiple causal factors and dynamics, reflected in changing goals, actors and targets. Finally these conflicts do not show a clear starting and terminating points (Azar, 1990:6). Given the fact that the cross border of Turkana and Pokot exhibits this kind of conflict, Azar’s PSC theory is relevant here. The PSC is different from Kenneth Waltz (1959) theory which gives the differences between system, state and the individual. Azar’s PSC theory is relevant to this study since the related literature reviewed shows that the Turkana and Pokot suffer from changes in ecological conditions that exacerbate raids, livelihoods, cultural nature of raids to commercialization, the intensity and frequency of conflict due to raiding, impact of small arms on the conflict, the failure of peace building modalities to curb the menace, poor governance and the impact of politics on the conflict which has ended up prolonging and sustaining it. 44 Critics to Azar’s PSC Reinmann (2000:36-37) used a gender analysis approach to critique Azar’s PSC theory. She used the three fold understanding of gender analysis as; Social construction, Social change and Historical variability to critique Azar’s theory. Reiman states that in terms of Social construction, Azar has a rather static & fixed idea of identity and human needs. His (Azar’s) notion of identity remains unable to theorize the social construction of identity including shifting and multiple identities like masculinities and femininities and their connection with violence in most PSC. Also Azar’s idea of a historical and universal understanding of human needs makes it difficult to discuss historical variability and social change. Moreover, in line Azar’s overall gender- neutral if not gender-blind discourse, all the four clusters have to take the public-private split for granted and as natural and given. Azar’s four clusters neglect the underlying gender-specific if not gender clusters of PSC such as increasing domestic violence, gender-specific needs, grievances and gender related interests, the changing division of labour and the changing and multiple notions of femininity and masculinity during the course of a PSC. Reiman explains that these four features make Azar’s model of PSC rather unconducive to theorize about gender (2000:37). But Reiman while critiquing Azar’s PSC picked some positive aspects of the theory and argues for it. For 45 example she notes that the gender analysis showed how Azar’s work offers some promising gender-sensitive entry-point to conflict analysis and conflict resolution. She also argues that Azar puts centre stage the very multiplicity of conflict sources, actors and issues to explain the very complexity of agents and sources of PSCs. This is similar to using gender as an analytical category. Azar aims at unpacking & opening up given social structures by opening analytical space to discuss social change and historical variability. Azar also puts centre-stage open and hidden power inequalities and power asymmetries and explicitly addresses the link of needs dissatisfaction and hierarchical power structures. This makes Azar’s four clusters rather conducive to theorize about gender as hierarchical, hidden power structure. Azar prioritized the underlying concerns of the conflict parties involved such as needs, grievances, fears and identity. Azar did this by unpacking state- centric and state-based approaches to conflict management. Azar also stresses throughout his work the necessity of a historical approach in any conflict analysis to understand and explain the conflict’s multiple factors, agents and process. Given the fact that the cross border of Turkana and Pokot exhibits the kind of Azar’s PSC conflict, this theory is relevant to this study. This relevance is evident in the related literature reviewed which showed how the Turkana and Pokot suffer from changes in ecological conditions that exacerbate raids, 46 changes in livelihoods, change in cultural nature of raids to commercialization, change in the intensity and frequency of conflict due to raiding patterns, impact of proliferation of small arms on the conflict, the failure of peace building modalities to curb the menace, governance issues and the impact of the changes in politics on the conflict which has ended up prolonging and sustaining it. The data collected in the field also showed the relationship between the theory (PSC) and the causes and consequences of the conflict under study throughout time. Azar (1990:12) explains that the prolonged and often violent struggle by communal groups for such basic needs as security, recognition and acceptance, fair access to political institutions and economic participation led to agitation by the affected groups. This explanation resonates with why the Turkana and the Pokot fight each other as was reported by respondents on both sides. The findings showed the communal content where the Turkana and the Pokot communities relied on their warriors for protection and identity of their communities from external aggression, to meet their security needs. The two communities recognized their warriors as championing their rights, fighting for their recognition, thereby filling the vacuum left by the government. The two communities also recognized that exacerbating violence as brave and ready to defend the community. Such individuals were held high in the community and sometimes elected during the general elections to represent the 47 electorate in the National Parliament. Thus fulfilling their political recognition needs. The PSC therefore was relevant to this study. This was noted by Greiner (2013:224), when he argued that not only the Pokot but the Samburu also have understood that there is a way to tell the government “to tell the current land owners to evacuate and surrender the farms to the locals”. This corresponds to the first pre-condition of Azar, the communal content. The PSC therefore is relevant to this study as was discussed in the results of the study. 1.11 Conceptual framework The most direct dynamics and trends contributing to the sustenance of the protracted violent ethnic conflict between the Turkana and Pokot are changes in; ecology, changing livelihoods, ethnography, raiding, small arms, the role of peace actors, governance and politics. 48 Figure 1: Conceptual framework Independent Variables Ecological Livelihoods Ethnographic changes Changes in raiding Small arms Role of NGOs,CBOs,FBOs Governance issues Politics A variable that cause change is called an independent variable and in this study it is represented by changes in the following elements: Protracted Ethnic conflict GoK policies, programs & security interventions Role of NGOs, CBOs & FBOs Dependent variables Extraneous variables 49 Independent variables: 1) Dynamics and trends protracting this conflict: i) Ecological changes ii) Livelihood changes iii) Ethnographical/cultural changes in raiding iv) Changing motives of raiding (commercialization) v) Proliferation of small arms vi) Role of peace actors vii) Governance issues viii) Political interference The outcome variables are called dependent variables which in this study is the protracted conflict which is an outcome of the changes independent variables above. Dependent variables i) Protracted conflict The unmeasured variables affecting the cause and effect relationship are called extraneous variables. Several other factors operating in a real life situation may affect changes in the dependent variable. These factors not measured in the study may increase or decrease the magnitude or strength of the relationship between independent and dependent variables. In this study the extraneous variables were; 50 Extraneous variables i) Government policies and programmes ii) Government security interventions iii) Role of NGOs, CBOs and FBOs 1.12.0 Research methodology A research methodology refers to procedures and techniques that help the researcher to accurately carry out a study without bias. It involves description of research design, targeted population, and the area of study, sampling designs, description of research instruments and data collection and analysis procedures. All the data derived from answers to questionnaires, interview schedules and focus group discussions were analyzed descriptively and presented in a narrative form, and graphs, pie charts and tables were used for illustrations. 1.12.1 Research Design Thyer (1993) states that a traditional research design is a blue print or detailed plan for how a research study is to be completed, operationalizing variables so they can be measured, selecting a sample of interest to study, collecting data to be used as a basis for testing hypothesis and analyzing the results. A research design therefore is a procedural plan that is adopted by the researcher to answer questions validly, objectively, accurately and economically. 51 The study used a cross-sectional study design. This study design was suitable for this study because it aimed at finding out the prevalence and changes of conflict between the Pokot and the Turkana, by taking a cross-section of the population. The researcher did this by taking a cross-sectional of both the study population and the time of investigation. The cross-section of the population was chosen from DCCs, ACCs, Chiefs, NGOs, CBOs and FBOs and the time of investigation was between 1995 and 2013. Interview guides were used to gather data from a cross-section of youth leaders, men, women, village elders, medicine men (Ngimurok), businessmen and politicians. Focus group discussions were also carried out to gather more information from a cross-section of groups of women, men and the youth. This formed the primary data for this study. Government documents obtained from police stations, hospitals and Census materials from statistics officers provided the secondary data that was needed to enhance this research. Secondary data was obtained from scholarly work from published books, unpublished theses, periodicals, seminar papers and dissertations which were mainly sourced from Kenyatta university library, University of Nairobi library, the Catholic university library and the Kenya National Archives and police and medical reports from the two districts dating from 1995 to 2013. Data analysis and interpretations were done qualitatively. 52 1.12.2 Categories of Analysis The researcher organized data by categorizing and labeling it in groups of questionnaires for DCCs, ACCs, Chiefs, NGOs, CBOs and FBOs and interview guides for politicians, youth leaders, women and men leaders, businessmen, Ngimurok (seers) and focus group discussions for clusters of men, women and the youth. The labeled and grouped data was coded with answers for specific questions. The data was analyzed using descriptive narratives and illustrations presented in form of tables and graphs. 1.12.3 Site of study: The Turkana peopl Turkana County is predominantly arid and semi-arid area and receives very low and variable rainfall that varies from 150mm to 200mm in the central areas to over 400mm in the south. The county occupies most of the north- western part of Kenya. The topography consists of low-lying central plains which is 600m on average that are close to hills and mountains of 1800 to 3100m high ( Goldsmith et al, 2007:34) . There are numerous ephemeral streams but Turkwell and Kerio are the two main rivers (Edmund, 1991:25). Goldsmith et al. (2007:35) state that Turkana community largely occupies the area, which is the biggest in Kenya (refer to figure 2 below). It covers approximately 77,000 sq.km, the county is named after the predominantly Turkana ethnic group and bordered by the countries of South Sudan and Ethiopia to the north, Uganda to the West and to the south 53 by West Pokot and Baringo Counties of Kenya (Goldsmith et al,2007:35). There are approximately 445,069 males and 410,330 females, and the total population is 855,399 according to the 2009 Population and Housing Census (KNBS, 2010). Turkana County is a hardship area within the larger pastoral region of northern Kenya. 54 Map of Turkana and Pokot Figure 2: Location of the study areas in Kenya N Source: Schilling et al 2012 55 The pastoral areas of South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are characterized by conflicts such as cross border cattle rustling, banditry and ethnic rivalry. The porous and inadequately policed borders facilitate cross- border conflicts. Most of the conflicts are related to the inability to access livestock, pasture and water (Mkutu, 2011:46). The search for these resources necessitates movements, which brings the different communities into contact with each other. Such encounters could turn into conflicts as each group guards its territory and seeks supremacy over others (Schilling et al 2012:2)(refer to figure 2). Pastoral Pokot According to the census carried out in 2009 the Pokot area has 254,827 males and 257,863 females and the total population is 512,690 and inhabit the semi- arid plains of north of Lake Baringo (East Baringo district), West Pokot and Pokot North, 2009 Population and Housing Census (KNBS, 2010). They are mainly subsistence farmers, keeping mixed herds of cattle, camels and small stock of goats and sheep. Pokot herders protect themselves against various risks of a drought prone environment by means of mobility, herd diversification, dispersal of livestock property and widespread exchange networks (Osterle and Bollig, 2007:24). Due to pressure on local economy (demographic growth, herd decline, 56 degradation) the traditional economy has changed since the late 1980s: young men have taken up trading, women have gone for ten cent jobs (such as brewing, collecting and selling firewood, charcoal burning) and many households have started small scale agriculture. The social organization is based on patrilineal descent groups, age and generation-sets and extended personal networks (Peristiany 1951:41; Schneider 1953:45; Bollig 1998:28). Most of the local problems are solved using the traditional governance system. In the 1990s a young educated elite started to establish it in the growing centers as businessmen, politicians and local development workers who now wield great influences. Whereas the power of elders waned, parallel authority structures emerged for example the AK-47 has recently been referred to as “a change agent” because of its crucial role in changing the household economy, the gerontocratic order and the “belief system of pastoralists (Osterle and Bollig 2003:176-184). The surrounding pastoral groups like the Turkana and Samburu are organized in similar ways. The Pokot are found in the western North Rift region of Kenya (Mwaniki et al., 2007:29), but of interest to us are those living in Pokot North district in Alale division (refer to figure 3 below). For purposes of the Kenyan census the Pokot are placed in the Kalenjin group, which consists of nine ethnic groups of people who share ancestry and history (KNBS, 2010). The nomadic 57 life of the Pokot has allowed them to come into contact with numerous different people throughout history. This interaction made it possible for the Pokot to incorporate social customs, some including intermarriage with other communities. Many Pokot customs seem to be borrowed from the Turkana and Karimojong neighbors, for example naming of children, oxen, the use of ‘emuron to bless or sanction raids, use of body tattoos to shed blood after killing among others (Osterle and Bollig, 2003:178). The Pokot community is governed by a series of age-sets. Group membership is determined through the age at which one undergoes initiation. For young men this is done at around the age of twelve and at the onset of menarche (Mwaniki et al., 2007:30). Bollig (1990:73-90) points out that intra-ethnic conflict management amongst the Pokot is characterized mainly by peaceful strategies. Physical violence is only permitted in certain highly ritualized contexts but inter-group conflicts are exceedingly violent. While the colonial regime had succeeded in keeping inter-group violence at low levels for some decades, inter-group raiding flared up once again in the late 1950s. 58 Figure 3: Study area-Pokot North Source: CBS census 2009 59 1.12.4 Study population The study area was Pokot North-Alale division, but comparative studies were also done in Kasei, Kacheliba and Amakuriat) and in Turkana South-Kainuk division, studies were also carried out in Kakong, Nakwamoru and Lokapel which are within the division. This is because this is a border line where the Turkana and Pokot live close to each other and a corridor where the conflict between the two is most intense with respect to the level of perceived insecurity and a number of reported raiding incidences and attacked homesteads (Schelling et al., 2012:11). A total of 247 respondents were targeted in Pokot North and the same number was targeted for Turkana South, bringing the total of interviewees to 498. This number was broken down as follows; a minimum of 1 respondent was drawn from each of the following: National Coordination and Interior government from each district 3( DC, DO, Chief), NGOs (4), CBOs (1), FBO (3), Women representative (1), member of parliament (1), member of county assembly (1), village elders (15), village headmen (15), women elder (1), youth leader (1), Businessmen (10 ), Traders (10 ), Market chairmen(5), Herdsmen (25), Emuron (3 ), focused group discussions (30 ) interviewed in each district in 5 different groups, being equally distributed in the two target areas. 60 1.12.5 Sampling techniques and sample size The researcher used random/probability sampling and the non-random/non- probability sampling technique. Under random/probability sampling, the researcher selected participants for the study using two techniques of sampling outlined as cluster and stratified sampling, in order to gather as much as possible and diverse data. The researcher used cluster sampling to gather as much information from groups of targeted men, youth, and women of the two districts, by use of focus group discussion (FGD). The researcher also used stratified sampling to collect information from selected youth, women, ward representatives, businessmen and traders, and raiders/herdsmen through interview guides. Using non-random/non- probability sampling, the researcher used purposive sampling to collect information from DCCs, ACCs, Chiefs, NGOs, CBOs, FBOs, and Ngimurok (seers) by use of questionnaires. Ngimurok play the role of the local medicine men (Knighton, 2002:25: Mkutu, 2007b:41) who supervise rituals and sacrificial ceremonies of their community. Ngimurok are consulted before and after a raid and work closely with Kraal leaders and hold a key role in affairs related to raiding (Jabs, 2008:1513). They are also viewed as potential mobilizers of the Karacuna to engage in commercial raiding (USAID FEWS NET, 2005). 61 1.12.6 Research Instruments The researcher collected data using structured interview guides, questions designed for focus group discussion and questionnaires (refer to appendix II). Data was collected using qualitative method. Interviews were used to gather informants’ feelings, experiences, opinions and knowledge about conflict in their regions. Secondary data was collected from scholarly work such as published books, unpublished theses, periodicals, seminar papers and dissertations and were mainly sourced from Kenyatta university library, University of Nairobi library, the Catholic university library, the Kenya National Archives, police and medical reports from the two districts dating from 1995 to 2013. Questionnaires The researcher used questionnaires because they enabled individual participants (DCs, DOs, Chiefs, NGOs, CBOs and FBOs) to respond freely in providing their own answers to the questions asked (refer to Appendix III). This instrument was useful because the individual participants had adequate time to think and come up with well thought out answers. Questionnaires facilitated collection of large data samples which was expected to be dependable and reliable in providing answers to the three research questions. 62 Interview guide schedules The interview guides were used to gather data from the targeted population which has the responsibility; experience and authority of security mandate in the respective districts (refer to appendix III). The researcher used this instrument in face to face dialogue with the participants, to gather more information through exploratory skills, understanding, feelings and emotions of opinion leaders, politicians, youth, women and men leaders, businessmen and Ngimurok /seer in the two regions of study. The researcher also used observation method to get more information. Questions were structured in the same way as those of the questionnaire. 1.12.7 Validity and reliability of instruments Validity of research instruments The researcher developed the questionnaires and interview guides to be administered as the main research instrument of measure. Reliability of instruments The research instruments were subjected to a pilot study using subjecting a sample of 20 people to a pre-test for reliability in Marakwet which also faces cattle rustling but in a different locality. The results gave evidence of the instruments being reliable as this helped to adjust any questionnaires and interview guides that were unclear. 63 1.12.8 Data collection procedures The researcher used qualitative method of data collection by employing two research assistants in each research area. Before proceeding for data collection, the researcher obtained a letter of introduction from Kenyatta University then proceeded to the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST) to process a research permit and moved to the field armed with a self introductory for data collection (refer to appendix IV and V). While in the field the two research assistants helped in administering questionnaires in the two research areas, translating the questions into the local languages that the respondents could understand. They administered questionnaires to the stratified group of selected respondents and recorded down all answers. They also administered structured interview questions to respondents and recorded the answers provided. The research assistants also helped in identification of respondents which formed focus discussion group. This they did through the help of the local chiefs, kraal leaders, youth, women and men leaders who were conversant with these respondents. Together with the researcher, they engaged the participants of the focus group discussion in already designed questions. The interactions, feelings, experiences and emotions expressed y the participants of focus group discussion were recorded by writing down in narrative form. 64 1.12.9 Data Analysis and Presentation Qualitative data analysis technique was used to analyze data by organizing, categorizing and labeling it in groups of questionnaires, interview guides and answers from focus group discussions. The narratives given by the old men and women who could not remember the years, but could relate events chronologically, were also recorded in written form. All the 20 questionnaires were considered duly filled and 470 interview guides and focus group discussion schedules were done as described in target population above. About 8 questionnaires, 7 interview guides and 4 focus group discussion documents were considered spoilt because the answers given were incomprehensible. Therefore, they were not used in data analysis of this study. The labeled and grouped data was coded with answers for specific questions. The researcher answered the three objectives of this data using descriptive data, while supporting the narratives by use of bar graphs, tables and pie charts data presentation for illustrations. 1.13 Data management and ethical consideration The researcher ensured the privacy of the participants in data collection, presentation and reporting by ensuring confidentiality, and no names are mentioned in the final report. All the respondents in this study were given an incentive to cover for the period they were engaged in answering questions. 65 They were also allowed to leave if they felt so. The researcher was present throughout the interviews and prepared the interviewees psychologically and made them feel at ease in the process of the interview by explaining the purpose of the study, that everybody’s opinion mattered and that all answers were going to be treated with respect and confidentiality. No participant was forced to give an answer or none was compelled to explain further a situation if they felt uncomfortable. Answers obtained were all voluntary and treated with respect. The different opinions expressed by different participants were treated with respect. All participants were requested to speak, one at a time, when chosen and to respect each other’s opinion. The participants were also told the researcher was not going to mention names in the final report for confidential reasons. 66 2.0 CHAPTER TWO DYNAMICS AND TRENDS SUSTAINING THE CONFLICT BETWEEN TURKANA AND POKOT 2.1 Overview This chapter is an exposition of the reality of the dynamics and trends that have made the pastoralist conflict between the Turkana and Pokot to be sustained and protracted as undertaken by this researcher between the years 1995 and 2013. The objective of the researcher in this section was to identify and discuss the dynamics and trends that have sustained the protracted ethnic conflict between the people of Turkana South (Kainuk division) and Pokot North (Alale division). The researcher focused on the bloody violent ethnic conflict between these two communities particularly in (Pokot North) - Alale, Konyao, Kacheliba, and Kasei. In Turkana South the researcher focused on Kainuk division, taking a keen interest in Katilu, Nakwamoru, Juluk, Kaputir, Kakong and Lokapel. The choice of these areas was based on the fact that they are found on the border of the two sub counties, and it is where the conflict is more intense and frequent. The findings of the study are as follows: 2.2 Ecology According to a report by IGAD CEWARN, (2004:5) there is a direct link between globally changing climatic conditions, natural resources, livelihood insecurity and conflict in Karamoja. Erratic weather patterns and recurrent 67 droughts have negatively impacted the availability of resources. Frequent crop failure has led to food insecurity in the region. This is viewed to have resulted in increased incidents of cattle raids, and increased competition over water and pasture, and droughts have led to the loss of animals, encouraging raids and counter raids. Lack of economic activity provides an opportunity for raids, which with time becomes an economic activity of certain entities (Mwaniki et al., 2007:35). Schilling et al (2012:7) confirms the importance of livestock and natural resources as important elements of the conflict between the Turkana and the Pokot. The Turkana and Pokot engage in the same conflict for various reasons. In Turkana a majority of raiders do so because of hunger and drought as their primary and secondary motives for engaging in livestock raiding. Greiner (2013:219) argues that pastoralist areas are characterized by scarcity of pasture and water and that the struggle for temporary access to these resources leads to conflict. This literature does not link prolonged adverse climatic changes to prolonged raids and violent conflict between these two communities. This research work aimed at finding out whether worsening ecological/climatic conditions were responsible for the prolonged violent conflict between the Turkana and Pokot. The findings of the current study shown in figure 4 below established that lack of rainfall in the region as explained by 70% of the respondents from Turkana South caused the conflict between the two communities. A FGD group 68 composed of about 30 old women and men in Kainuk narrated to the researcher how the drought of “napei kopo” (drought of one tin), referring to the amount of maize each person got from relief agency ration, lasted longer than expected. During that drought the Turkana lost almost all the livestock they had and had to move to town centers where they congregated in camps where they could be reached easily by the relief agencies. Here they got food, water and medication as they recovered from the ravages of famine and drought. The explanation given refers to the drought of 1992-1994 in Turkana. The findings further showed that 65% of the respondents from Pokot North felt that climatic changes were responsible for the trigger of conflict and its sustenance. The residents of Pokot North explained that they did not suffer drought and famine as much as the Turkana, but on certain occasions they have had to endure severe droughts such as the one of 1999-2002. From a FGD with a group comprising 30 old women and men in Konyao, 65% reported that severe droughts in the past had driven them to seek for food, 69 Figure 4: Climatic changes as a cause that sustains conflict. Lack of rainfall in the region 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 Turkana south Pokot North Turkana South Pokot North Source: Data from the field water and pasture in Karamoja, Uganda. They sometimes clashed with pastoralists of this area due to the stringent rules of that country. But in most cases, they moved their livestock towards the border with the Turkana, where they encountered numerous attacks. After the droughts, they would sometimes move back home where they would strategize on how to raid the Turkana since they knew the routes well and exact locations where to get the livestock easily. The residents of both regions explained to the researcher that communities always sought to restock after devastating droughts and that they were most likely to raid communities with whom they had sour relations or the ones that 70 were weak in terms of self-defense in relation to weapon strength. One respondent called Lonyiala, from FGD at Konyao in Pokot North stated that it was possible to predict such incidences but the state machinery would in most cases wait to react after the harm was done rather than be proactive. He further argued that this was seen by the local community as neglect and an indicator of marginalization because predictable incidences in other agricultural sectors were more likely to attract attention than pastoralism. One respondent called Ekaale Silale in Kainuk reported that there had been a trend in the area when weather conditions deteriorated to an extent that the there was no rain for at least two to three years. At such times the community experienced drought and famine for longer periods. Most of the livestock would be moved to wetter parts of Pokot North and Moroto in Uganda in search of water and pasture. There, they would come into contact with the host community who in certain circumstances would not be welcoming. Clashes would occur and the Turkana community would lose more livestock. Back home the Turkana community would be ravaged by drought and famine, and at the same time, facing violence in the land of the enemy. The participant lamented that sometimes they thought the gods seemed to forget them. This pattern of drought and famine would repeat itself for the next ten years before the weather conditions would change for better. 71 2.3 Livelihoods The researcher set to find out whether there was a link between the changing livelihood patterns of the Turkana and Pokot pastoralists and the continued conflict that had escalated for years between them. According to Hass et al (1997:60) the simultaneous pull of cultural tradition and the push of contemporary factors have affected all groups. Male elders and opinion leaders generally play a key role in decision making. Traditional structures and methods of conflict resolution still provide an important starting point for developing peace and development strategies in the region even though not as vigorously as it were in the past. The youth on their part would argue that while they would be prepared to give their elders and the government time to reclaim the cattle or negotiate compensation, they would not wait forever. Hence they would take a retaliatory raid whenever it suited them. Elders would sometimes be pushed by the youth to sanction such raids if formal government processes produced no results. A series of livestock raids triggered major retaliatory responses by the affected group. This was a characteristic of conflict between the Turkana of Kainuk and the Pokot of Alale divisions. The youths would give various reasons for such attacks, naming poverty, hunger, and reduced livestock numbers, among others. While Butler and Gates (2012:23-34) see the population pressure, climate change and resource scarcity as the fundamental triggers of inter-ethnic 72 violence, many empirically based studies have rejected these arguments claiming that institutions and political calculations are decisive in directing people’s responses to these factors toward either conflict or cooperation. This study explored both culture and ethnography as forces which have shaped the conflict between these two communities. Figure 5: Changes in pastoral livelihoods that sustain conflict Source: Data from the field The study (figure 5, above ) established that poverty (85.7%) was a reason as to why conflict persisted for the Turkana, while 94.5% of the respondents in Pokot North felt poverty caused and sustained conflict. An interview with a youth leader called Ekaru Longolol in Kalemngorok reported that poverty caused by severe droughts and also raids from the Pokot had left the Turkana 73 instantly poor. This meant the community looked upon the young warriors to follow the livestock stolen by the Pokot to return them. This way the Turkana made many retaliatory attacks on the Pokot. Due to the changing and constant adverse weather conditions and numerous and constant raids from the Pokot, the Turkana had become poor, leading them to look for alternative sources of replenishing their stock. This had led to prolonged and sustained conflict between the two communities. But in Kacheliba in Pokot North, a kraal leader, Longoriapus, reported that the Pokot today considered raiding the enemy community as a way of increasing stock. The young men of the community made numerous raids on the Turkana, but contrary to raids in the old days, the young warriors sold all the livestock they stole from the Turkana. The respondent lamented that this had reduced the number of livestock held by both the Turkana and Pokot. But traditionally that was not the case because there was a constant and sure supply and counter raids on each of these two communities. This had ensured that the livestock stolen from one community could be returned to the same community in the next raid. This had changed in recent times due to commercialization of the stolen animals, thereby increasing incidences of clashes, hence the prolonged conflict. The people interviewed in Turkana south, gave lack of food (80%) as a reason for constant raiding and sustained conflict. In Kalemngorok in Turkana South, 74 the chief of Kainuk location, Sarah Lochodo reported that food deficits also caused conflict, so raiding incidences naturally increased as people attempted to cope during lean periods brought about by droughts. She explained that the Turkana do not necessarily slaughter their livestock for food, but only use milk and blood from the animals. It is usually on certain occasions that animals are slaughtered, for example during certain ceremonies. But when it did not rain for longer periods, it meant milk and blood was not available from the animals. This forced the Turkana to slaughter their animals, which meant they had to look for an alternative source to replenish their stock. Therefore raiding the community with which they had sour relations became an available option. Thus the Turkana raided the Pokot due to hunger. The chief also explained that the drought of 1990 to 1993 and 1999 to 2001 severely affected the people of Kalemngorok who moved their livestock to areas of Lorokon on the border of Pokot and Turkana. There, the Pokot found it easy to climb down from the neighbouring hills and attacked the vulnerable Turkana and took away everything. The Turkana moved back with fewer cattle and had to be given food relief by World Vision (K) in order to sustain them until the next rainy season. Raiding between the two communities had been happening from time immemorial, but the difference that year was that the Turkana from South 75 called those from North and west Turkana. Together, they raided Konyao, Kacheliba and Kasei in Pokot North, in three waves, attacking simultaneously. This new way of raiding confused the security forces who were ill prepared for such an attack. The FGD participants reported that the raiders eluded the security forces and came home to a rousing welcome from the women and the whole community. They brought home large herds of cattle to replenish their dwindling stock. From the explanations and the behavior of the FGD participants, it was evident that the Turkana community cherished raiding the neighbouring Pokot and would do that again if a chance presented itself. This kind of behavior encouraged conflict between the two communities, hence, the protracted ethnic conflict. It also emerged that the raiders were now employing new tactics in raiding in order to elude and evade the security forces. This shocking revelation was a departure from the traditional raiding where a few raiders could raid one area and troop back home with livestock from the neighbouring community. In Pokot North, 85.7% of the respondents agreed that lack of food caused frequent and sustained raids. In Alale, Lomeringole, a kraal leader narrated to this researcher that the drought of 1992 to 1995 just before a big rain (El Nino rains) forced some of them to move to Uganda where they encountered raids by the Karamoja, while others moved to the fertile areas along river Turkwell 76 in Turkana. Here, the Pokot carried out ambushes on Turkana women who went to collect firewood and wild berries. This was done to scare away the Turkana from the arable areas of Kaputir, Nakwamoru and Juluk. This limited the ability of Turkana women to collect berries, which were used to supplement food shortages in dry seasons. The women feared to be abducted, raped and killed. Lomeringole reported that in the old days, the Pokot warriors only raided the Turkana for prestige and payment of bride price. But today, the young warriors were attacking the Turkana constantly, pushing them into the interior, leaving behind large arable tracts of land, which they wanted to occupy. This was a new form of raiding and it complicated the conflict, hence sustaining it. Accumulation of wealth was also a motive given by the respondents and 65% of them agreed that the Turkana raid to replenish depleted stock, while in Pokot North 60% of the respondents thought that accumulation of wealth led to prolonged and sustained conflict between the two communities. A respondent in Amakuriat in Alale division, Thomas Macharpus, a businessman, reported that the livestock stolen from Turkana south was bought by the local businessmen. The livestock would be ferried in Lorries at night to markets away such as Dagoreti in Nairobi and Moroto in Uganda. He explained that this behavior was new in the area introduced by the young raiders who placed money above everything. Raiding had changed from 77 traditional behavior of stealing livestock from each other to selling of the raided animals to accumulate wealth. The young raiders had acquired a new lifestyle which needed money to sustain. The raiders engaged in drinking, buying watches and radios and all the fancy modern lifestyle. This kind of new change needed lots of money to sustain. The modern way of stealing and selling stolen cattle was foreign to the traditional Pokot. The businessmen also benefitted immensely from selling the stolen livestock which they bought cheaply but sold expensively. Many of these businessmen had bought more Lorries to ferry more stolen livestock to faraway markets. This resulted in some members of the community becoming extremely rich while others remained poorer. Thus conflict had changed from occurring once in a year to happening every week, many herds of cattle driven away frequently and the turnover of people being killed being high. Raiding had changed drastically and had become commercial, fuelling frequency in the number of raids occurring per a week. The respondent lamented that raiding between the two communities had changed to modern ways of stealing and killing many people in a short period. Conflict between the two communities had changed from traditional to commercial raiding, hence commercialization of raiding which is a new 78 phenomenon to the pastoralists of these two areas. This change had been introduced by the young raiders from both sides, trying to come up with new ideas to outwit the other. As figure 6 below shows, in Turkana South 70% of the respondents answered that scarcity of resources was responsible for most of the violence between these two communities and it was the reason why conflict was becoming frequent and deadly. A village elder in Katilu, Daniel Ejore, explained that weather conditions had changed for the worst since the 1990s. From 1990 to 1995, the drought and famine persisted in the whole of Turkana County until 1996 to 1998 when El Nino rains changed the situation. From 1999 to 2001, the weather conditions changed and drought and famine returned to ravage the Turkana. During this time the Turkana in T. South drove their livestock to Lorokon on the border of the two areas in search of water and pasture. The Pokot did not welcome the Turkana and so a fight ensured where the Turkana suffered many casualties. Since then there has been conflict between the two communities, along the river Turkwell where there is water and pasture throughout the year. Figure 6 below shows that 84% of the respondents in Pokot North felt that conflict between the two communities was as a result of scarcity of resources such as water and pasture and lack of food leading to hunger. Kanyakin, a 79 kraal leader in Kasei reported that conflict takes place along the River Turkwell which forms the border of these two communities. Figure 6: Changes/dynamics in pastoral livelihoods that sustain conflict Source: Data from the field The respondent also explained that the Pokot live mostly on hills and had no land for expansion. There has been expansionist behavior down from the hills towards the river Turkwell due to population pressure. The Turkana could not allow this downward movement and would rather die and not give up their land. The respondent explained that in 1992, the Pokot politicians requested the then president to allow them access the Turkwell River to use water and grazing grounds around it. Although the then president asked the Turkana to use the river with their neighbours, the Turkana have never been comfortable with this arrangement. 80 The respondent reported that there have been many clashes between the Turkana and the Pokot around Lorokon, Kainuk, Nakwamoru, Juluk, Lokapel and Katilu, all in Kainuk division. There has been a confusion of where the Turkwell Hydro power station belongs. This also has been a source of conflict between the two communities. This according to this respondent had led to the loss of many lives and changed the frequency of conflict between the two communities. The youth in Pokot North had resorted to using groups of 4 to 5 young warriors to attack mainly women from Turkana south tending to farms along river Turkwell. They killed and maimed them to send a message to anyone who dares to farm on that land. This was a new way of killing the enemy because culturally the Turkana did not kill women, children and the old when they attacked the enemy. The Pokot customs were also similar to the Turkana in that they only killed men of a warrior age. But the emergence of young warriors who do not respect the elders, rules and regulations governing the community but the gun, had changed conflict. These young warriors went on raids on their own and killed women, children and the old indiscriminately. The respondent sadly reported cases of pregnant women being killed, their bellies ripped open and babies removed from them crashed on hard surfaces. This was not culturally accepted, but the respondent 81 regrettably narrated that they got those complaints during peace meetings with the Turkana and Pokot. The fight over river Turkwell had changed the conflict from being purely raiding and counter raiding to a resource conflict. The Pokot neighbouring Turkana mainly live on the hills; hence have no land for expansion. It is therefore this expansionist behavior that has changed the conflict from the traditional raiding to frequent killing of Turkana farmers who have no livestock, but only depend on the river banks to eke a living. The respondent added that those areas claimed by the Pokot from the Turkana originally belonged to the Pokot, who abandoned them during droughts and famines many years ago. But they needed the land now due to population pressure. Therefore irrespective of official boundaries, they were going to fight for that land until they got it back. This kind of argument did not encourage peace at all; instead it fuelled the conflict more and more. Figure 6 above shows that 56% of the people interviewed in Turkana South attributed the protracted conflict between these two communities to unemployment among the youth, while 40% in Pokot North felt that unemployment caused idleness which led to constant raiding as a way of life. A respondent in Alale, Luke Lotukoi explained that many young people in Pokot North do not have formal education, which means they have no skills to gain employment. 82 The education facilities in the area are few and scattered; People did not know the value of education. Therefore, many youths were unemployed and the level of poverty was very high, leaving cattle rustling and raiding as the only source of livelihood. This was established in an interview with two Members of County Assembly and a Women representatives from the Pokot North community where it emerged that the causes of the conflict between Turkana and Pokot was inadequate resources for feeding, non-quarantined migration in search for pasture, vulnerability of animals, decline of animal produce, increase of human diseases, worsening starvation and revenge attacks. An MCA from Alale Ward, during this interview reported that most of the youths in the area just came from the kraals and were overage to join any kind of school. The only option was to enroll them informally in mechanic courses where they learnt on the job and driving school. He also helped them to learn carpentry, building and construction. Some of these youths had been committing petty crimes in Amakuriat, breaking into shops and even stealing chicken from homes. Others had resorted to banditry, stealing a goat here and selling it in a far away centre, ambushing vehicles on the way to Amakuriat. All these were new types of crime committed by these youths because of possessing a gun. 83 Another MCA in Katilu ward, Joseph Abei resported that the youths in the kraals avoided schools and had resorted to acquisition of modern weapons. They did this by following raiders, assisting them as spies, carrying language for them and also running errands while on a raid. After a successful raid, they would be paid with a goat or two. They used this to buy a gun, which is believed to change their lifestyle completely. The respondent narrated how the youths would go on a multiple of raids, selling all the stolen livestock and satisfying their new lifestyle by buying new watches, mobile phones, bicycles, motorbikes and engaging in excessive drinking. To sustain this new way of life the youths engaged in numerous raids in a short period thereby increasing fatalities and casualties on both sides. This sustained and prolonged the conflict between these two communities. The MCA lamented that with this changed nature of raiding, conflict was bound to continue for as long as the gun gave the power to the bearer to wreak havoc on the opponent. This explains the protracted nature of this conflict. 2.4 Ethnography In the 1970s, most writers based their analysis on either cultural or ecological variables. Sandra et al (2003:S3-S30) and McCabe (2004) argue for the importance of cultural factors associated with the traditional social structures of pastoralist societies and identified belief systems, identities, warrior ideals, prestige, and competition between age sets as drivers of violence. 84 Bollig and Osterle (2007:23) point out that while during the 1960s and 1970s most battles were fought with simple rifles, in the 1980s and 1990s automatic guns such as AK-47 and G3 replaced earlier rifles. The AK-47 has recently been referred to as a change agent because of its crucial role in changing the household economy, the gerontocratic order and the belief system of pastoralists. This has been the case in Kainuk and Alale divisions as was revealed by the study. The findings of this study as shown in figure 7 below indicate that 94% of the people interviewed in Turkana South felt that conflict was caused by the need to pay high bride price. This was high compared to findings in Pokot North during the same study which showed that 85% of the respondents felt that they needed to pay many cattle to marry and this had led to the prolonged and frequent conflict between the two communities. 85 Figure 7: Ethnographic/cultural influence on conflict Source: Data from the field When asked to explain the reasons for this disparity, a respondent in Pokot North, Tumkou Lomada a former warrior reported that in the Pokot community initiation of females through circumcision which was done on girls as early as from 9 years necessitated that they be married off immediately. The same applied to the boys who also got circumcised as early as 15 years allowing them to be men who could marry and start having families. Without cattle of their own, the young initiates resorted to stealing from the neighbouring communities like the Turkana in order to marry. Stealing from your own community or killing your fellow Pokot was prohibited by the 86 community. The respondent also gave another reason why the Pokot needed many heads of cattle to marry was polygamy. The more wives one had in the Pokot community, the more respect and prestige he earned. The Pokot culture also encouraged a man to have many children, who were taken to be source of wealth. When asked why the Turkana needed a large number of cattle to marry, a respondent in Turkana South, Alan Lokeun, during this interview narrated to the researcher that among the Turkana, circumcision was not practiced at all, therefore they were not under pressure to marry early in life. Therefore the need for large heads of cattle to marry did not arise from pressure to marry early, but as a result of paying many heads of cattle as bride price for one woman. The more the groom pays for bride price, the more respect he earned in the Turkana community. The woman also feels special and appreciated by her new husband. The community also encourages in polygamy; therefore, the man needs many heads of cattle to acquire many wives. The respondent reported that the many cattle paid out as bride price among the Turkana people was given to the whole family tree of the bride. This accounted for the need of many cattle a man needed to marry. To marry one woman, a man needed about 50 heads of cattle, 70 camels, 10 donkeys, 200 sheep and 300 goats. This means the lineage of the man had to contribute some of the livestock needed for bride 87 price. The young men of the said family were expected to carry out a raid after the wedding to replenish the stock of the man’s family. This had contributed to the constant and frequent conflict between the two communities. Figure 7 above indicates that in Turkana South, 93% of the respondents explained that violence was passed to successive generations through oral narratives such as heroic stories told by grandparents to young children in form of past stories in order to instill bravery into them. These oral narratives were passed from one generation to another with specific names of the brave and great men of the community. During a focus group discussion in Nakwamoru, it was reported that among the Turkana, cultural emphasis on livestock underscores the cultural attraction of cattle raiding which promotes conflict, as the cultural attributes attached to raiding inspires young men to raid. The young men would take raiding and conflict as a step to prominence, tattooing and acquisition of warrior (heroic) names in the community. A similar FGD in kacheliba revealed that in the Pokot community, raiders and their leaders were not taken as criminals but as heroes and men of honour. The community felt they needed these men for security and protection and proverbs, poems and poetic songs composed or sung in praise of these raiders not only made their families proud, but prompted society to instill the spirit of warrior hood into the young. 88 A similar number of respondents of 93% in Pokot North also agreed that violence was passed to young children in their community through oral traditions. The findings also showed that 63% of the people interviewed in Turkana South saw socialization by parents through songs, stories, and induction and community expectations contributed to the protracted and frequent conflict between the two communities. As a basis of socialization, young men without livestock were despised and rebuked for not being any better than women. 2.5 Raiding According to Gray (2000:406; IGAD CEWARN,2004:6;Jabs 2007:149f; Mkutu 2007a:48) there has been a fundamental shift in the nature and form of raids from small sanctioned raids using spears, bows and arrows, machetes and other crude weapons to large armed raids or cattle thefts (Stites et al. 2007a:58). Bollig and Osterle (2007:23) state that Inter-group violence in Northern Kenya is deeply embedded in local cultures and thoroughly modern at the same time. Since 1960s guns have been of crucial importance in the region. While during 1960s and 1970s most battles were still fought with simple rifles in 1980s and 1990s automatic guns like AK-47 and the G3 replaced earlier rifles. 89 Traditionally, cattle raiding among pastoral communities were considered as a cultural practice and was sanctioned and controlled by the elders. The raids were carried out mainly in the dry season because it was easier to travel through the bushes and wilderness than when it was wet and muddy. It was also one way of evading detection, as the hoof marks of cattle are more apparent on wet than dry surfaces (Hulme and Fukudu, 2009:47). The findings of this study as shown in figure 8 below indicated that 97% of respondents in Turkana South felt that political incitements by the Pokot politicians encouraged conflict between the two communities. Political utterances triggered violence and continued inflammable remarks ensured that the violence persisted as a way of showing strength and might over the rival group. About 94% of the respondents in Pokot North felt the same. There was a counter blame on each side as revealed by a focus group discussion from Turkana South at Lokapel where the Pokot from Kacheliba were said to have carried out numerous and frequent raids on the Turkana of Nakwamoru, Juluk, Kaputir, Katilu and Kainuk villages between 1992 and 1996. A focus group discussion in Kainuk explained that Pokot North borders Karamoja in Uganda, from where modern arms enter Kenya. During the fall of Obote and Amin governments, these arms found their way into Pokot and Turkana regions. The ease with which the Turkana and the Pokot accessed these guns ensured a constant supply and use. This meant that the Turkana would attack the Pokot to test the new arms acquired and vice versa. The 90 conflict had turned tragic and frequent due to availability of idle and illegal guns in both communities. Before the instability of neighbouring states in the region, namely, South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia, it was hard to find a gun to buy in Turkana or Pokot region. But the abundance of these arms in the current times fuelled the conflict between the Pokot and the Karamoja clans on one hand and Pokot and the Turkana on the other. Figure 8: Triggers and sustainers of conflict Source: Data from the field The style of fighting had also changed to sporadic attacks which lasted shorter times and stolen livestock could not be traced. In the traditional days, stolen livestock could be traced in the neighbouring community and could find their way home in the next raid. But this was not the case in the new way of modern 91 livestock theft. Livestock were sold as soon as they were stolen. The FGD explained that traditionally this interfered with the cultural way of herd management by these two communities due to the reducing number of livestock, without means of replenishing. The mode of attack also had changed where the warriors would attack a village, killing the old, women and children. Pregnant women were killed and their bellies opened, the children removed from their bellies and crashed against stones or hard surfaces. This was done to show brutality to the enemy and terminate any male offspring from the enemy community. In traditional days, the old, women and children were not killed during a conflict. But this was no longer the case. This was what made the conflict under study different from other traditional conflicts. The changes in raiding patterns and modes of carrying out attacks on the enemy had become lethal. The FGD also reported that it seemed the Pokot politicians were more powerful than their own, because they could make inflammatory statements in public, but no one arrested them. But when the Turkana politicians made the same statements, they were arrested and faced court charges. One person from the FGD gave an example in 1997 when the then Member of Parliament for Turkana South, the late Francis Ewoton, was accused of making statements that threatened peace. He was arrested and arraigned in court in Nakuru. As the respondents in Pokot North blamed Turkana South political leaders for 92 insecurity in Pokot North, the respondents in Turkana South also blamed past and present Pokot political leaders for the insecurity in Turkana South. In an FGD in Kalemngorok, the respondents reported that in 1997 disarmament exercise, the security officers disarmed only the people of Turkana south and not the Pokot. Previous disarmament exercises of 1984, 1989 and 1995 were brutal but carried out in both Pokot and Turkana regions. The Ugandan government has also been carrying out similar disarmaments on the Karimojong since 1986. The two governments have been carrying out disarmaments in uncoordinated manner. Meaning the Karimojong became vulnerable to the Pokot during their disarmament period. The Turkana were also vulnerable to the Pokot during the 1997 and 2002 disarmament exercises. The FGD lamented that the Pokot raided the Turkana numerous times from 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1998. These raids weakened the Turkana and made them poorer and vulnerable to hunger and disease. The findings further indicated that 83% of the participants in the interview in Turkana South felt that revenge was a motivating factor as to why the conflict seemed to drag on and on for many decades. In Pokot North, 87.4% of the respondents felt the same. The research also revealed that 83% of the respondents in Turkana South saw uneven disarmament initiatives by the government as a trigger for people to acquire new and more sophisticated arms 93 to replace the old ones handed in during disarmament. About 84% of the respondents in Pokot North felt the same way (figure 8 above). 2.6 Proliferation of Small arms A report by the Kenya Government on the State of Environment for Kenya (2007:89) reveals that several decades of regional instability have adversely affected Kenya. According to Mkutu and Wandera (2013:24), there are sustained arms flows across Turkana’s long, porous borders, such that the Turkana community has become the most militarized in Kenya. They also explain that Turkana has a small government presence, and is heavily dependent on the KPR force as its first line of security. This has led to more arms in the hands of civilians especially in Pokot North and Turkana South regions. During this study, it was established that porous borders contributed to the easy flow of arms as shown in figure 9 below. About 70% of the respondents in Turkana South attributed the proximity of Turkana County to international borders such as Ethiopia, Uganda and South Sudan as exacerbating conflict within Turkana South (refer to fig.10). 94 Figure 9: Proliferation of small arms through international borders These findings are similar to explanations given by Azar (1990:11) stating that international linkages explain “political- economic relations of economic dependency within the international economic system, and the network of political- military linkages constituting regional and global patterns of clientele and cross-border interests. Modern states, particularly weaker ones, like those often involved in protracted social conflict, tend to be more influenced by outside connections both economically and politically within the wider global community. In this case, South Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia all depend on the international community to supply them with arms which they need for the internal wars in their countries. These arms have found their way into Turkana and Pokot Counties, hence the availability of small arms in these two regions, leading to the sustenance of the conflict under study. 95 The current Member of Parliament for Turkana South explained that his constituency borders the Pokot pastoralists to the south, Loima constituency to the west, which shares borders with Uganda and arms from Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia ended up in T. South through various movements from Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia into Kenya (fig.9 above). The respondents in Pokot North also felt that the porous borders and proximity of Pokot North to Uganda contributed to the proliferation of small arms as represented by 55% of the respondents. An interview with a former raider revealed that arms from as far as South Sudan found their way into Alale through the Karimojong region of Uganda. Here the arms would be exchanged with cattle or bought by cash. An AK-47 would fetch three (oxen) or Ush 1,400,000. The new owner of the gun would want to get back the money used to buy the gun. So naturally, raiding would become the best option and the warrior would go on a raid to try the gun and secondly to get livestock to sell to get back money spent on the gun. This type of commercial activity enhanced raiding and ensured a constant supply of arms as long as there were buyers. In an FGD in Nakwamoru, it was reported that the Turkana used to fabricate guns which they used to raid the Pokot and other neighbouring communities. Then, raiding was not as frequent as it is now. But with the advent of 96 merchants bringing arms for sale from as far as Somalia, South Sudan and the Karmoja area of Uganda, they only needed to give 3-5 oxen for an arm depending on its cost. The FGD also reported that it had become easy to acquire an arm in Turkana these days, probably because of the fighting still taking place in those countries. They spend cash instead of cattle now because the arms have become cheaper and easier to access. One AK-47 would go for Ksh.100, 000 while a G3 would go for 70,000-80,000. With the cheapness and abundance of arms in the region, there was a constant supply throughout. This led to the proliferation of small arms in the region, which instigated and sustained the conflict in both regions. The respondents in Pokot North also felt that the porous borders and proximity of Pokot North to Uganda contributed to the proliferation of small arms as represented by 55% of the respondents (fig. 10 below). An interview with a former raider, Tomkou Lomada in Kacheliba, revealed that arms from as far as South Sudan found their way into Alale through the Karamoja region of Uganda. The respondents also informed the researcher that some Somali traders brought arms from as far as Somalia to sell in Pokot North. The respondent further reported that with the Somalis bringing arms from Somalia and others from South Sudan, there was a constant supply of arms and ammunitions and an alternative source. The competition among suppliers had led to the reduction of prices and so one could purchase an arm with as little as Ksh 90,000 to acquire an AK-47 in Pokot North. 97 Figure 10: Small arms proliferation into Turkana and Pokot regions 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Proliferation of Small arms Turkana South Pokot North Source: Data from the field Commercialization of raided animals was also seen as a major factor leading to the locals in these two communities to buy more arms. Figure 10 above shows that 88% of the respondents of Pokot North felt that they needed to raid for wealth, while 40% of the people interviewed in Turkana South felt that the Turkana raided to sell the animals. A youth leader, John Lokorio interviewed in Katilu, Turkana South explained that the Turkana raided the Pokot due to hunger and drought. The more the Turkana raided the enemy community the more livestock they got and the more food supply. The livestock realized from raiding could be used to replenish dwindling stock, animal products could be 98 used to feed the children, women and the old. The constantly supply of livestock from raiding also ensured cultural activities like initiation ceremonies carried out and bride price could be paid with ease. This encouraged the youth to acquire arms of their own to because the gun empowered them to have livestock of their own and even marry early. The respondent explained that the youth did not have to rely on their parents for inheritance or on elders for advice or behavior regulation. They could get anything through the gun. Therefore more youths demanded for arms which the businessmen made available on request. This had made turnover of arms in the region very high, hence proliferation of small arms in Turkana south as a whole. But in Pokot North a youth leader, Luke Lotukoi, in Alale explained that the Pokot raided for dowry and accumulation of wealth. A gun was seen as a sure way of getting richer instantly. Therefore its purchase was seen as necessary to acquire immediate wealth. The respondent reported that many youths in Pokot North saw instant wealth in raiding. He narrated that in between 2002 and 2006; many youths had dropped out of school and ran to Karamoja region in Uganda where they came back with arms. These youths engaged in sporadic raids and even changed the magnitude and face of raiding from what was known in Pokot North. The youths could raid 99 Kainuk three (3) or four (4) times a week. They returned home with many herds of cattle which they could share among themselves, each realizing as many as five (5) to seven (7) heads of cattle. Then sell instead of keeping increasing the herds. This was because the youths had changed the mode of raiding from taking many people on a raid, to just about five (5) to six (6) only in a group. The youths had discovered that the fewer they were the better for maneuver and in division of livestock. The livestock realized from raiding was sold as soon as it crossed over from the enemy community. The money realized from the sale was used to start other business ventures like shops, buying motorbikes used in business, building semi-permanent houses for the raiders and for big businessmen buying tracks to ferry livestock as soon as they reached Pokot North. The change of raiding from traditional method to the new commercialized activity had made raiding lucrative, frequent and deadly. This sustained this conflict and prolonged it The study further revealed that the establishment of Kenya Police Reservists (KPR) in the two communities led to the availability of small arms in the two areas. Respondents in both communities saw in equal portion, arms held by KPR as a cause of the conflict and adding to the sustenance of the conflict. In Turkana South and Pokot North, 50% of the interviewees attributed the arms in the hands of KPR to the escalation and protracted nature of the conflict. 100 This is because nobody followed to monitor whether these arms were being used for the intended use. A former KPR in Katilu, Longor Kapedo explained reported that the KPR give the community a service that would otherwise be provided by the police, but since the police officers sent to the area were few, the KPR supplemented their services. But they are not paid for their services and so the KPR used ammunition given to them to get money to sustain them. In towns like Lokichar where there is oil exploration, the KPR are hired and their services paid. In big towns like Lodwar, the KPR are hired to guard shops, banks and provide escort security for vehicles travelling to Kitale and back. This they do for a fee. The respondent regretted that this was not the role the KPR was meant for. This led to misuse of the arms in the hands of KPR and selling of the ammunition to criminals, thereby leading to the ready availability of small arms in Turkana County. A KPR in Lokapel was found selling a bullet at Ksh 4 to buy alcohol. When asked why he did that, he explained that they were not paid for the work they do. Due to the small number of police and other security officers in such areas, the KPR were expected to help carry out these duties but without pay. The KPR also reported that they sometimes engaged in paid activities like 101 escorting vehicles from Lodwar to Kitale and back in order to earn some money to sustain them. In an interview in Pokot North, in Alale, a former KPR, Julius Mariangole narrated that because the government arms KPR, but does not pay them, the KPR had found ways of sustaining themselves by engaging in various illegal activities. He reported that some of the KPR in North Pokot could accompany raiders to Karamoja for a raid. They would be given a share after a successful raid. Others also gave ammunition to raiders going for raids to Turkana. Others sold the ammunition to get cash they badly needed for survival. Figure 10 above shows arms in Turkana South have a low cost compared to Pokot North where they also cost cheaply as explained by the people interviewed. A youth leader in Lokapel in Turkana South, Ikaru Emoni informed reported in a FGD that the low cost of arms had made it possible for the buyers to acquire them easily and cheaply, hence the availability. About 65% of the respondents in Turkana South reported that the low cost of arms made the buyers acquire the cheaply and readily. This led to the increase of illegal arms in the hands of the unintended handlers, encouraging those who bought guns to go raiding in order to get back the money they spent. The respondent reported that an AK-47 costs between Ksh 150,000-200,000 in Turkana south, between Ksh 100,000-150,000, and Ksh 102 75,000-100,000 in Turkana. A G3 costs much less, Ksh 100,000 in Turkana South, 75,000 in Turkana central and Ksh 50,000 in Turkana North. Those who wished to buy arms from Turkana south sometimes went to where the arms were cheaper, in this case Turkana North. In Pokot North 50% of the respondents reported that the cheapness of arms in their area increased illegal activities among the youth. A former arms dealer reported that he used to find it easy to buy arms from Karamoja region to bring to sell to Pokot warriors. A gun then would cost Ush 560,000, which was Ksh 20,000. But now the raiders got arms cheaply from Somali traders in Pokot North. A gun could be exchanged with 2-3 oxen which were readily available in the community. This encouraged youths to raid the Turkana to get cattle to be exchanged with guns. The arms business was very enticing in Pokot North that the arms dealers availed arms cheaply and readily because there was ready market. This encouraged proliferation of small arms in the region, hence the protracted ethnic conflict between the two groups. 2.7 Peace building Figure 11 below shows that peace building as a strategy to mitigate conflict between the Turkana and the Pokot was responsible for its sustenance. In Turkana South 45% of the people interviewed saw peace as a big and booming business along the Kenya-Uganda border. From the findings it seemed more respondents in Pokot North (78%) felt that peace building was just a business 103 like any other for the NGOs, CBOs and FBOs working in Turkana and Pokot. A woman elder, Rael Silale, in Kasei reported that each year, new groups were created while others disappeared due to corruption and mismanagement in Pokot North. Despite an absence of tangible results, millions of dollars continued to flow into the bank accounts of these peace groups. These groups would then organize some meetings and call people from both sides to attend. After that they disappeared and raiding would take place between the Turkana and the Pokot immediately. The community really wondered why the NGOs, CBOs and FBOs bothered to hold peace meetings. Figure 11: Peace activities acting to sustain conflict 45 30 50 50 78 80 60 50 Commercialization of Peace activities Political interference NGOs/CBOs interest Lack of cohesion, coordination and networking Peace Building Turkana South Pokot North Source: Data from the field 104 The respondent also reported that peace meetings were held in towns far away from the conflict zones. Further the people called for those meetings hardly had a clue of what happens in conflict areas. The participants only enjoyed good food and accommodation in the good hotels where meetings were held, and also the fat allowances given to them. After that they disappeared to their homes. The respondent posed a question to this researcher; why can’t those who call for those meetings bring them to where conflict occurs and also call the warriors, the ngimurok, the kraal leaders and the raiding youths to such meetings. That would drive the message to the real players and may be those who carry out raids could learn something and feel guilty of the act? In Katliu, Turkana south an interview with a peace committee member, Esther Lokidor revealed that those security meetings held in far away towns like Eldoret made her benefit a lot as an individual. During those conferences and workshops she enjoyed the good hotels and the allowances. She educated her children using that money, she even built a semi-permanent house for family and she generally liked those meetings. She explained that they never passed what they learnt in the seminars/conferences to the real warriors because they felt that was not their work. This interview revealed how peace work was being used to enrich certain individuals but not for the purpose it was intended for. The conflict continued while peace meetings also continued to be held. Hence the protracted ethnic conflict between the two communities. 105 Figure 11 above also shows 30% of the people in Turkana South saw political interference as contributing to peace building activities leading to the sustenance of the conflict, while 80% of those interviewed in Pokot North gave the same reason. In Kacheliba, Pokot North a village elder, Calisto Lobwang reported that most peace groups were dominated by politicians who used money earmarked for peace work to fund their political ambitions. Immediately after political campaigns, when the politicians made it to parliament, they would forget all about peace work and concentrate on politics. A new group of peace workers would emerge and the cycle begins again. With this kind of merry-go-round, no meaningful peace initiatives would be attained. The respondent also reported that some individuals used peace building activities as platforms to launch their political campaign activities. Come the general election, they would use the networks they built during the peace work to campaign to be elected to parliament. This created animosity between the people and some peace crusaders and so the community became suspicious of peace activities in Pokot North. In most cases peace work came to be known as a smokescreen for political campaign forums and the some community members came to hate the peace work carried out in the region. Therefore certain individual peace workers who harbored political ambitions made peace work unpopular in Pokot North. 106 Hence the community came to associate peace work with politics and never took them seriously. This behaviuor of peace works to politicized peace work led the community to ignore calls for peace, hence the sustained conflict between the two communities. The findings further showed that 50% respondents in Turkana South felt that the interest of the NGOs, CBOs and FBOs catalyzed the conflict instead of mitigating it, while 60% of the respondents in Pokot North attributed conflict to NGOs, CBOs and FBOs carrying out peace building activities as tailored to conform with the proposals they wrote to the donors to raise money. A FGD in Kacheliba explained to this researcher that peace meetings were often only held so NGOs could display an engagement with the conflict, despite the dangers created by such events. They explained that in 2007, a peace meeting almost turned tragic at the border of Turkana South and Pokot North where Pokot women had been taken to meet with Turkana women for a peace meeting. This particular meeting almost turned tragic when the Turkana women turned against the Pokot women and wanted to harm them. The explanation given was that there had been a raid by the Pokot some days before on the same village and the Turkana women had lost their husbands and sons. This raid was still fresh in their minds. The NGO involved just wanted to appear to hold a peace meeting irrespective of the mood of the participants. 107 But an interview with a manager of World vision (K) in Kainuk, Peterson Erus, revealed that the NGOs do a lot in conflict mitigation between the two communities. World Vision (K) has been carrying out peace work and development in Turkana south since 1980s, particularly in Katilu, Nakwamoru, Juluk and recently Kainuk. The organization has been building schools, buying books and equipment for schools, paying fees for the children who proceed to high school and engaging in improving livelihoods for the community through irrigation schemes in Morulem and Katilia. The organization was also involved in drought mitigation in Turkana south by providing relief food items, and re-stocking when weather conditions became favourable. World Vision was also involved in the organization of peace meetings in Turkana south and peace activities like the Lorupe Peace Run which brings the two communities together to share a flat form through sports. The World Vision manager also revealed that many other organizations were involved in peace work while offering their core business activities in Turkana. These were Oxfam, UNICEF, World Food Program, ACTION AID, and MERLIN, KENYA RED CROSS among others. These organizations would find themselves involved in alleviating the suffering of the Turkana community by treating those injured during raids, providing shelter for the displaced, providing food and clothing to the displaced, transporting the injured to hospital and holding peace meetings regularly to sensitize the two communities about peaceful co-existence. These organizations were working 108 in conjunction with the government of Kenya, and as reported by the manager, a lot needed to be done in these conflict areas in terms of updating educational facilities, improvement of road network and communication. In Alale in Pokot North, an interview with ACTED manager, Jacob Logilae, revealed that the organization was fully involved in peace work in the region. The organization was improving community livelihoods by distributing fertilizer to farmers, availing new farming methods to step up food production and restocking during drought. The organization does all this with a view of finding alternative ways of a livelihood to raiding. If the Pokot were raiding the Turkana due to lack of food, then these new methods of farming would give them high yields, discouraging them from carrying out raids on their neghbours. The findings further showed that 50% of the respondents in both Pokot North and Turkana South felt that lack of cohesion, coordination and networking within NGOs a CBOs and FBOs had led to sustenance of conflict instead of its mitigation. A former councilor in Kaitlu, ward, Epuu Napo reported that sometimes various NGOs, CBOs and FBOs worked as if they were in competition with each other. Furthermore these organizations had divided Turkana into sections. For example Oxfam was found in Turkana North and dealt with food, 109 security and improvement of education, water and community livelihoods while World Vision (K) handled Turkana central and Turkana south. These NGOs separately would want to outdo each other and to show who worked smarter. This was not improving the security situation in Turkana County as a whole, but fragmented the County. If these Organizations worked together offering these services to the community irrespective of the region, then conflict in the county could be reduced hence a reduction of the protracted ethnic conflict between the two communities. But an interview with a former employee of RIAM RIAM CBO, Eskukuu Imana, revealed that NGOs, CBOs and FBOs had different goals and objectives as spelt out by their mandates which were different from each other. Each had to work in a selected area to avoid duplication of duties. Each also respected the mandate of the other and could not interfere even if the situation dictated so. That is why they can only cooperate on peace work but not interfere with the stipulated mandates. 2.8 Governance A report by CEWARN (2007) reveals that government intervention in the past and even presently has often taken a very heavy handed approach, characterized by military operations with soldiers brutally punishing whole villages and communities as culprits. This had resulted in the resentment and mistrust on the part of the innocent people against the government. Groups of 110 people in the community were subjected to communal payments of livestock to compensate the enemy community which had lost livestock raids. This practice dates back to the colonial era and was seen by the community as penalizing individuals, families and communities that had no involvement in the offenses committed. The community expected the government to protect the life and property of its citizens. From the research findings, (figure 12 below), 74% respondents in Pokot North attributed inadequacy of security personnel to the prolonged conflict between the Pokot and the Turkana. While 62% of the respondents in Turkana South felt that the conflict escalated in recent years because the security officers sent to the region were few and could not meet all the insecurity needs of the area, taking into consideration that Turkana shares international borders with three countries. The findings further show that 82% of the people interviewed in Turkana South thought that political marginalization had contributed to the conflict escalation since they were left to dispute for land for long periods with the Pokot. 111 Figure 12: Governance issues contributing to sustenance of conflict Inadequate security officers Political marginalization Poor infrastructure Poor resource governance 62 82 75 7574 87 85 90 Governance issues Turkana South Pokot North Source: Data from the field A women County representative for Turkana County, Joyce Emanikor, during this interview recounted how the dispute between the Pokot living on the hills near Lorokon had raged on for many years since 1992. There have been fatal clashes between the two communities disputing about where Turkwell Hydro power station lay, and this conflict had become more intense and frequent especially between the years 1997 and now. The respondent blamed all the fight on bad politics. In Alale, the woman county representative, Regina Nyiris, reported that the fighting in Turkwell Gorge area had raged on for many years and had become 112 both tragic and frequent in recent years. Both the Turkana and the Pokot claimed ownership of Lorokon. The respondent lamented that many deaths had occurred for many years and the conflict seemed not to end. A further 87% of the respondents in Turkana South felt that Turkana is politically marginalized and this was the reason the conflict had not been mitigated. An interview in Juluk, with Ekamais Kamar, a village elder revealed that even if the Turkana politicians have been in government for long, the community had not gained much in terms of provision of services such as tarmacked roads, improved schools, improved security and demarcation of boundaries between the Turkana and the other borders. He pointed out poor infrastructure as a factor that had led to the conflict being protracted. This meant the security officers were not able to trace animals once stolen and following the raiders was impossible for lack of existing roads and poor terrain. During this study, 75% of the people interviewed in Turkana South were of the opinion that poor road network and communication had led to this conflict not ending any time soon. A businessman, Ekamais Lotege in Kainuk reported that the poor state of the road from Kitale to Lodwar had made business impossible. One had to incur huge losses and so had to charge high prices in order to make profit. 113 Travelers from Kitale to Lodwar paid as much as Ksh 2000 as bus fare, despite the distance being 298km. Foodstuffs were also expensive because of transporting them from Kitale to Lodwar expensively. An employed person found life expensive here and sought a transfer as soon as they were transferred here. This had made the county unattractive for civil servants and other workers to work in, hence limited government services. In Pokot North, 85% of the respondents agreed that Poor infrastructure and communication had sustained this conflict. A former warrior, Tomkou Lomada in Kacheliba, narrated that during raids it was hard to trace the stolen animals because most of the roads were impassable or footpaths; therefore the security officers were not able to move faster to recover the stolen cattle. Communication network also were non-existent. The respondent also narrated that the road from Makutano to Alale was an earth road and in a state of disrepair. This road was impassable during the rainy season. The roads connecting to this road were worse off and were only cattle tracks. This made raiders carry out frequent raids in a short period because they could not be caught and also the terrain was favorable for cattle theft. This terrain frustrated security officers while trying to trace the stolen cattle, but favored the warriors, hence the protracted ethnic conflict between the two communities. 114 In an interview with Ezekiel Ejore in Nakwamoru, it emerged that the residents of Turkana south complained of low presence of security personnel in the area. This had been felt during raids when the warriors attacked and made away with large herds of cattle. Sometimes the youths followed the warriors risking their lives in order to return the stolen cattle. But these youths could be overpowered because the warriors were quick and better armed. In Katilu, a police post only had five (5) officers to handle the station. When a raid occurred, the officers became too intimidated by the huge number of warriors that they feared to pursue them. The warriors had become aware of this fact and carried out a raid after another, with the knowledge that they would not be pursued by the security officers. Therefore the low presence of security officers has exacerbated and prolonged the conflict between these two communities. In Pokot North it emerged that poor resource governance by the government was a factor sustaining conflict, 90% of the respondents felt that there was no government supervision or control over natural resources available in Pokot North. A businessman, Lotiira Koriang in Alale singled out the mining of gold in Alale, which had seen the community go through exploitation by middlemen. This had led to the scramble of this mineral and without regulation from the government, the exploited people felt they could not earn enough and so abandoned the activity and reverted to raiding. Turkana south 115 had no minerals and so the issue of ungoverned use of minerals did not arise here. But about 75% of respondents in Turkana South saw unregulated use of natural resources as a cause of conflict between the two communities (fig.12). A respondent in Lorengo Tirikol, a herder in Juluk reported that it was becoming hard to graze their cattle on the river banks of Turkwell River because the Pokot were claiming ownership. This dispute was not taken seriously by the authorities and so it had raged on and on for many years. The result was despair and frustration felt by the residents of both communities which had led to bitter rivalry between the two communities. These findings correlate with the PSC theory of Azar (1990:7-8), which states that needs deprivation, leads to increased grievances, which individuals express collectively. Azar’s concept of human needs denotes the idea of inequalities, which means that the dominant social group “satisfies” its political access, security and acceptance needs at the expense of the needs of social (excluded) groups. As a result, the social groups that are dissatisfied are frustrated and feel (more and more) marginalized and excluded from the social, economic and political participation. In this case the Pokot and the Turkana complained of impassable roads, bad terrain that discouraged security officers from pursuing stolen livestock, lack 116 of communication network and low presence of government officers resulting to minimal government services in the area. This is what Azar meant when he talked about deprivation of human needs, which leads to increased grievances, which individuals express collectively. The result is the social groups that are dissatisfied and frustrated leading to feelings of (more and more) marginalization and exclusion from the social, economic and political participation in Turkana south and Pokot North. 2.9 Politics Figure 13 below shows the study findings in Turkana South where 83% of the respondents saw lack of political good will from the government as a factor which led to the conflict being protracted and prolonged. In Pokot North 82% of the respondents blamed the continuous nature of the conflict on lack of political good will from the government. One respondent from Alale, a kraal leader Kiyonga Lotiman, reported that the authorities were not putting seriousness it normally displays when communities of agricultural sector experienced. The government was usually very quick in response to end such conflicts while pastoral conflicts were left to themselves. The respondent explained that conflicts affecting pastoral communities in Kenya and in particular parts of the Rift Valley were examples of violence which had been left to continue terming them as cultural. 117 Figure 13: Politics as a factor sustaining conflict 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 Turkana South Pokot North Politics Lack of political goodwill Political incitements Low representation in govt Source: Data from the field This respondent also argued that government had all it took to end the conflict between the Pokot and the Turkana but had been slow in action. He expressed that Pokot North was like a closed area to the rest of Kenya. Other ethnic communities avoided to come to the region for fear of insecurity. Other than the security personnel, NGOs, CBOs and FBOs which had employed workers from elsewhere and brought them to work in the region the rest of the population was from the local community. This made the area hostile to the outsiders hence the backwardness in terms of investments and service provision. The respondent also reported that the local community in Alale was not ready to welcome other ethnic communities to work and live in 118 the area. Recounting the clashes of 1992, the respondent narrated that most people of other ethnic communities would not risk coming to invest in Pokot North. This is because they lost property worth of millions and land to the local community during those clashes. During those clashes the Pokot community felt that that particular community was aggressive in business and land acquisition. They were being bought out of the arable land while they had no place to go. They also felt exploited by that particular community while they had nowhere to turn to. Therefore they turned to their community members to snatch back the land and chase away the foreigners. To this day no one had gone to court to claim for those properties. This attitude had made the area to remain backward in terms of development. The only option that remained was for the Pokot to resort to raiding the neighbouring communities in order to meet their needs. This argument relates with what Azar called communal content in PSC. Azar (1990:7) states that communal content is communal identity based on religion, and ethnic groups or cultural ties very important because these identities are then used to solicit basic needs. In multi-ethnic societies, states emerge which are dominated by a single communal group. This communal group or coalition of groups ignores the needs of other communal groups, thereby straining the social fabric and eventually breeding fragmentation and protracted social conflict. 119 Communal content also involves the reliance that many people have on their social groups, because of governments in areas that experience PSC are often unable, incapable or unwilling to provide basic human necessities to the population, individuals then to social groups for stability. They Pokot community during the land clashes of 1992 used the communal content to chase away the other community from the area, using the reliance they have on their social group (Pokot) to satisfy their physical human needs. Figure 13 above further shows that 92% respondents in Turkana South felt that political incitements by the Pokot politicians against the Turkana community led to more and more violence, revenge and counter revenge. A village elder in Nakwamoru village, Ezekiel Ejore reported that in 2006, there were numerous attacks on the village because the Pokot politicians advised their electorate to raid the Turkana frequently so that the villagers could vacate the arable land for the Pokot. He named the then MP, Hon Moroto as the one who made the sensitive remarks in a baraza officiated by the then PC, Noor Hassan Noor, in Kainuk. These raids persisted for the better part of 2006 to 2007, when a meeting between politicians of the two communities in Nakuru, organized by the then Provincial Commissioner (PC), tried to point out the Pokot boundary with the Turkana. The Pokot leaders left the meeting displeased and the following day, there was an attack on residents of Napeitom in Turkana East, which was suspected to have been a retaliatory attack as result of the Nakuru meeting. 120 In Pokot North 90% of the respondents felt political incitements by the Turkana politicians encouraged raids and counter raids. The Turkana blamed the numerous road ambushes, raiding of market centers and closure of schools to political incitements by Pokot politicians, and vice versa. A respondent in Kasei, Rael Silale, a women leader, narrated that in 2006, a Pokot politician was almost injured in a meeting held in Kainuk between the two communities. He had to run for his life, with the help of the then PC. This incident was attributed to incitement by the local politicians. The findings also show that 89% of the people interviewed in Turkana South believed that low or lack of representation of the community in senior government positions had led to the government ignoring the security needs of the community. On the other hand, 85% of the respondents in Pokot North felt that low representation of their community in government had led to the escalation of conflict between the two communities. In Kainuk, a focus group discussion reported that there were few primary schools and only two (2) secondary schools in the whole division. This meant that there was a small number of children accessing education and the rest were socialized to look after livestock. When they reached adolescence stage they resorted to raiding because that was the only available option. 121 These youths did not have any other skills other than what they had learnt culturally from the community. Therefore lack of education, had led to lack of skills that were needed by the youths for employment. This deprivation of education had robbed them of senior position in government; hence they felt marginalized in many ways. The researcher related these findings to Azar’s (1990:7-8) pre-condition of deprivation of human needs. All individuals aim at fulfilling their needs through their collective identity group, which in this case was the Turkana community. Needs deprivation such as lack of schools, therefore led to increased grievances, which individuals express collectively, by turning to the most available options like raiding the neighbouring community. The Turkana feel that the government continues to provide such services to other communities in the country, while they were not getting equal attention. This translated to the deprivation of these needs which, Azar’s terms as resulting to inequalities. This means that the dominant social group satisfies its political access needs, security and acceptance needs at the expense of the needs of the other social group. As a result, the social; groups that are dissatisfied are frustrated and feel marginalized and excluded from the social, economic and political participation. The community feels representation of the community in government would have helped them to access political goods such as better educational infrastructure, road and communication network, more hospitals, livestock production services, commerce and industry, among others. Other 122 government services were also lacking due to insecurity and the community suffered negative publicity due to constant drought and famine, insecurity and inaccessibility due to poor road and communication network. This makes the PSC applicable in this study. Summary The researcher concludes therefore, that the conflict between the Turkana and the Pokot, had changed from the traditional act of stealing livestock from each other using traditional weapons such as sticks, spears, bows and arrows and machetes, which were less harmful, to a modern, organized and premeditated practice, which used modern and sophisticated weapons, causing brutality, bloodshed, death and endless destruction. These changes had resulted from dynamics and trends that had impacted negatively on this conflict, identified as ecological changes; as revealed by droughts 1992-1995, 1998- 2003 and between 2006- 2009. Changes in livelihoods also led to the escalation of the conflict. This had led to commercialization of stolen livestock by various actors. Payment of large heads of cattle as bride price, poverty and the rise of petty thieves who carry out small raids on unsuspecting herders had also been cited as causes that had sustained the conflict. Ethnographical changes due to modern ways of life had led to destabilized community administrative structures. Young men with modern weapons no longer waited for the elders to sanction raids as before. They organized 123 themselves, carried out raids, sold the livestock and used the money for luxurious spending. This was not the case when the elders had authority and power over the young. As a result the conflict had turned tragic, bloody, frequent and sustained. Raiding was also identified as a dynamic which took place for different reasons; the Pokot raided for territorial expansion, wealth creation and payment of bride price, while the Turkana raided due to drought and hunger. This had made raiding bloody and tragic; hence conflict was more frequent and prolonged. Proliferation of small arms was blamed for most deaths and making the conflict deadly. Turkana and West Pokot Counties border countries that just came from war, still in war or the war is just ending (internal wars) such as Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia and from there small arms were smuggled into Kenya where they found their way in pastoralist areas like Turkana and Pokot. These arms were either exchanged with cattle or sold using money and due to the availability and accessibility, the prices were low hence many pastoralists could acquire them easily. The (KPRs) are armed by the government to provide security for kraals, but used these arms for purposes not intended for. This led to their availability and accessibility in these two communities. Peace building by certain NGOs, CBOs and FBOs was blamed for the sustenance of the conflict between the Turkana and Pokot by taking peace 124 work as a business in which they engaged in to justify money given to them by donors. This was irrespective of whether the time of making peace was ripe or not. Issues of governance also came up and blame was put on governments’ failure to stop the conflict. Complaints on indiscriminate disarmament, few security personnel to combat cattle rustlers, insecurity, lack of road and communication network, low enrollment in schools, few medical facilities and lack of investments in these areas were evident in the study. It also emerged that, the conflict was caused by scarcity of resources such as water, grazing grounds and the disputes about resources, such as the Turkwell Hydro electric power station on the border of Turkana South and Pokot North districts. The changing political dynamics and trends in Kenya were blamed on the continuing conflict. Politicians from both communities were blamed for making political utterances in public which contributed immensely in fanning the conflict further. They were also blamed for impunity, lack of respect for the rule of law and encouraging criminal activities. The theoretical framework used in this study is the Protracted Social Conflict (PSC) by Edward Azar (1990), using the pre-condition: deprivation of needs. He explained that deprivation of needs contends that all individuals aim at fulfilling their needs through their collective identity group (Azar, 1990:12). Needs deprivation therefore, leads to increased grievances, which individuals express collectively. 125 The different forms of needs such as political access needs, security needs and acceptance needs manifest themselves as follows; political access needs have to do with the effective participation of individuals in political, economic, and decision- making institutions, while security needs refer to the material needs for physical security, nutrition and housing, and acceptance needs point to the need for “distinctive identity” and its social recognition. From the findings of this study, the Turkana and Pokot communities share the same feelings of deprivation in education due to few number schools in the area, lack of road and communication network, low presence of security personnel, insecurity leading to lack of investments, lack of food due to drought, low representation in national government and generally lack of development in these two areas. The researcher also used Azar’s pre-condition; the international linkages, to explain how the raiding patterns and proliferation of small arms had contributed to the sustenance of conflict in these two communities. Azar, (1990:11) used international linkages to explain the “political- economic relations of economic dependency within the international economic system, and the network of political- military linkages constituting regional and global patterns of clientele and cross-border interests. Modern states, particularly weaker ones, like those often involved in protracted social conflict, tend to be more influenced by outside connections both economically and politically within the wider global community. Thus in this context, the proximity of Turkana County to three international borders, namely; Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia had contributed to the proliferation of small arms through the 126 porous borders that are not governed by the respective governments. This contributed to the availability and cheapness of small arms in Turkana County as a whole, hence the sustenance of the conflict between the two communities. Therefore, this theoretical framework was useful in anchoring the study. In the next chapter, the researcher will examine the role of community actors that are involved in sustaining this conflict in both communities. 127 3.0 CHAPTER THREE THE ROLE OF LOCAL ACTORS IN SUSTAINING THE CONFLICT AND EFFECTS OF THE CONFLICT 3.1 Overview In this section, the researcher discussed the role played by various actors in prolonging and sustaining the conflict between the Turkana and Pokot in Kainuk and Alale divisions respectively. The researcher’s objective was to find different actors who were actively involved in sustaining the conflict and how they had managed to do so. The theoretical framework that was used here was still the PSC by Azar, specifically the pre-condition of the Communal Content. Communal content according to Azar (1990:12) in PSC situations is communal identity based on race, religion, and ethnic group or cultural ties which was very important because these identities are used to solicit basic needs. In many multi-ethnic societies, states emerge which are dominated by a single communal group. This communal group or coalition of groups ignores the needs of other communal groups, thereby straining the social fabric and eventually breeding fragmentation and protracted social conflict (Azar, 1990:7). Figure 14 below shows that 52% of the respondents in Turkana South felt that village chiefs were the main actors in the conflict through incitement, while 87% of the people interviewed in Pokot North thought that chiefs encouraged conflict in their area. A focus group discussion in Kainuk revealed that chiefs 128 in the area knew where warriors held planning meetings, who the warriors were, where they planned to raid and when they would carry out the actual raid. Sometimes chiefs are part of the planning meetings, helping the warriors with information about the enemy territory. But the chiefs would not inform their bosses or security officers in the area of such plans or raids. This is because they felt the community looked upon them to protect and keep the secrets. Figure 14: The role of local actors in conflict Source: Data from the field During the FGD the participants wondered who the chiefs were loyal to, the community or the national government. The FGD further reported that chiefs 129 also benefited from raiding by getting a share of the stolen livestock in fact they got a bigger share. This act of security officers aiding raiders had fuelled conflict more between the Pokot and the Turkana community, hence the protracted nature of the conflict. The report by the FGD revealed what Azar used communal identity based on race, religion, and ethnic group or cultural ties which was very important because these identities are used to solicit basic needs. In many multi-ethnic societies, like Kenya, states emerge which are dominated by a single communal group, in most cases the ruling party. This communal group or coalition of groups ignores the needs of other communal groups, thereby straining the social fabric and eventually breeding fragmentation and protracted social conflict (Azar, 1990:7). In this context both communities expressed their unmet political, security and acceptance needs during this study, citing low levels of education, few schools and hospitals, poor road and communication network, low service provision by the government due to low presence of government officers, insecurity due to limited number of security personnel and lack of investments in both areas, among others. The two communities felt deprived of these services and therefore looked for ways to satisfy their needs. The easiest option for them was to engage in raiding the enemy community to fulfil the physical needs and also security needs. 130 The FGD also reported that raiders in Turkana south were part of the community, their decision on whether to raid or not was influenced by other community members, particularly, Ngimurok, elders, women and chiefs. In Alale, a similar focus group discussion reported that after a successful raid, the most influential members of the community such as the seers, and got a bigger share of the raided livestock. With this kind of encouragement from influential people from the community the conflict would never end soon. The findings of the current study on figure 14 above established that 43% of the people interviewed in Turkana South isolated medicine men/seer (ngimurok) as actors who blessed the warriors during raids. An emuron (seer) in Juluk in Turkana South, Lochuch Lomuton, reported that medicine men supervised rituals and sacrificial ceremonies of the community and held a key role in the affairs related to raiding. He explained that as an emuron (seer) he is believed to have supernatural powers. His role was that of a local medicine man who supervised rituals and sacrificial ceremonies of the community. He was consulted before and after a raid and work closely with kraal leaders. He was also viewed as a potential mobilizer of the karacuna to engage in commercial raiding. The work of ngimurok was to foresee a raid and its consequences using the intestines of a goat and also throwing sandals on the 131 ground to see on which side they fell. The emuron then encodes the meaning of the behavior of the sandals. Some ngimurok also used dreams to foresee what would befall the warriors. Depending on what they would have seen in the foretelling, they would advise the warriors either to go or not to go on a raid. Some ngimurok would go on a raid with the raiders and would perform rituals on the way and back from the raid. A share of animals was set aside for the ngimurok; sometimes the best cattle from the raid. This way, the emuron remained relevant in raiding, thus encouraging conflict between ethnic communities. This had been the case with the Turkana and Pokot communities for a long time. In Pokot North in Kasei, 60% of the respondents pointed out that the local medicine men were involved in the encouragement and sanctioning of raids in their community. An interview with one seer, Katiko Domongole in Kacheliba in Pokot North revealed that emuron is also a kraal leader who had the authority to define the migratory routes, and mediate access and use of resources with neighbouring groups when the pastoralists moved away from manyattas during dry seasons. This seer (emuron) revealed that his work was to perform rituals that would aid the warriors to evade the security officers and also be careful so as to return home safely with minimal casualties. 132 He explained that sometimes things did not work out as expected and the warriors would lose many men and came home empty handed, having been pursued by the security officers, forcing them to surrender the animals. This was considered a calamity and the explanation given would be one of the warriors had sexual intercourse before the raid or probably one of them had committed adultery. All warriors were expected to be pure and free of any wrong doing. They were expected to be disciplined at all times. These were the pre-conditions of a successful raid. Anything short of this meant the warriors would have a hard time to and from the intended raid. The emuron reported that if he saw such happenings in the process of carrying out the rituals, he sometimes advised the warriors from going on a raid. This was done to prevent them from going on a raid where they would not return. The work of the emuron was to ensure minimal casualties but safe return with many animals. The emuron reported that after a successful raid he would receive the best 4-5 oxen, for keeping the warriors safe on a raid, or helping them to evade the security personnel. The emuron reported that the situation was no longer the same. The presence of the gun had changed everything, and the warriors, who are usually young men, had bought modern arms, which they saw as the answer to their problems. The warriors did not feel the need of consulting the emuron as this was seen as a waste of time. They instead carried out raids on their own and sold the 133 animals to far away markets to gain money. The more raids they carried out, the more livestock they sold and the more money they got. The ngimurok had therefore lost part of their powers in the Turkana community as far as raiding was concerned. Hence the less share of stolen livestock given to them. This study also established that 80% of the respondents in Turkana South believed that elders encouraged raiding in the community through oral tradition passed down to young men/karacuna, explaining acts of bravery against the enemy and prestige earned in their days. A kraal leader in Lokapel, in Turkana South, Ateyo Lokorio reported that some kraal leaders had also been involved in commercial cattle raids and the trading of small arms. A kraal leader in Turkana is chosen by the elders and may be an elder or most skilful and courageous initiated young man of a cattle camp. The kraal leader reported that for one to be chosen as a warrior, he must have attained the age of adolescence, must have committed acts of bravery and displayed signs of not being a coward. He must also be obedient to the elders and ready to defend the community from outside aggression. The elders mentored the Karacuna and continued to expose them to conflict situations by sending them to enemy territory as spies who should report back to them. This information was to be accurate; otherwise a wrong move would put the whole community at jeopardy, where security was concerned. This kind of mentoring gave the elders a continued role in raiding and it also gave 134 them a chance to get a share of the stolen animals. The elders continued to play this role as long as they remained relevant. The kraal leader also reported that this scenario had changed due to the availability and cheapness of arms. All the youths had acquired arms at an early stage and they believed they could get everything from that gun. They no longer respected the presence of the elders in the community. These youths could go on a raid anytime they felt like, without referring to anybody for advice. This new behavior had been as a result of the availability of small arms and their cheap cost. The elders had lost their role in the community thanks to the modern weapons which have infiltrated the Pokot region. The elders therefore no longer benefit from this conflict like before, instead the youths had taken numerous raids in a short time and had enriched themselves immensely. The same number of respondents (80%) in Pokot North in Kasei felt the same also and reported that the elders encouraged raiding because they got a share of the raided animals. A Pokot in elder, Losuron Kaamuge, in Kasei reported that in the old days, the youths implemented all the decisions made by the elders during the Pokot council of elders meetings. From the way these youths implemented these decisions, warriors would be chosen from among them. The warriors were expected to be of high discipline and integrity, which the community could depend on. This made the youth highly disciplined and 135 reliable, because they knew they would be future leaders of the community. A disciplined youth made his father proud and all youths strove to please their fathers. This way they stood a chance of earning being the next kraal leader. The elders then inducted these youths on raiding patterns and seasons, who to raid and when and how to evade security and keep generally safe during a raid. The respondent reported that the case was not the same these days when there were uncoordinated raids by different groups of warriors, some bandits posing in the name of the community. This type of raiding had become frequent, deadly and many lives were lost recklessly. This new change in raiding and the high frequency of conflict had resulted in the protracted ethnic conflict between the two communities. Figure 14 above established that 60% of the interviewees in Turkana South thought that most of the actors who carried out raids on the Pokot from Turkana south were young males of adolescence age between 15-18 years. An interview with the chief of Katilu location, Alan Lokeun, revealed that these youths carried out raids to retaliate/revenge after an attack from the Pokot. The chief explained that the term used to refer to these young males was karacuna. The Karacuna (youth) are boys, adolescent males, and young men who are primarily responsible for the provision of security and protection for the 136 Turkana community. They are also in charge of securing the community’s livelihood in times of food security, including the herding of livestock. From a tender age, Karacuna are encouraged to commit acts of bravery by heroic stories, songs and dances. In Turkana men can only participate in certain ceremonies if they own livestock. The exchange of bride price in form of cattle is still common in the Turkana community. In traditional days the karacun had to wait until they attained the age of 40 or 50 before they married. A father could marry as many wives as possible and even as old as 80-90 years. It was believed that all the wealth belonged to the father and until death his sons were not expected to marry. With the contemporary changes taking place in almost everything in the Turkana community, the Karacun resorted to the gun to solve their social problems. With a gun, the Karacuna would raid the neighbouring community, use the cattle to pay bride price, and marry early, sell part of it to satisfy their appetite for modern things like radios, watches, motor bicycles, clothes and drinking local brew in the manyatas. This was not the case in the traditional days. The respondent then concluded that the modern arms acquired by the Karacuna had led them to being independent and losing respect for the elders. The elder’s power in the community had decreased with the loss of a share of livestock they used to get after every successful raid. The gun was blamed by this respondent to be responsible for this loss of power by elders in the community. 137 In Pokot North in Konyao, 65% of those interviewed stated that young men and school going youths were involved in cattle raiding in the Pokot community. An interview with the local chief in Konyao, James Pkangin, revealed that youths of primary school going age of about 13-16 years would carry out raids on the Turkana around Kainuk and Katilu during April, August and December holidays. Not all these youths were lucky to make it back, and if they did so, some would be badly injured that they would not continue with school. This kind of scenario had made many families to lose children from a young age. There was an outcry between the years 2000-2004, when many deaths of warriors and casualties were very high. The people who died or suffered permanent damages were school going children. The chief reported that during a public baraza to sensitize the community on the dangers of allowing the children to engage in raids, the parents argued that it was better they died in the battle field than see them at home due to lack of school fees. The parents argued that they had no money to pay fees; therefore the children went to look for school fees through raiding. If they came home safe, it was God’s wish, if they also did not come back, it was also God’s wish. He also explained that in traditional days, stolen animals were not used to pay school fees, because children from these communities were not required to go school. But with global changes affecting everybody, pastoralists found 138 themselves in a tight corner where they had to embrace modern ways of life. They have to send their children to school like other people. Because pastoralists find it hard to embrace some of these changes drastically, the understanding of education and its results is hard for them to visualize. Therefore selling a goat or a cow to pay school fees is considered a waste in these communities. The chief reported that he held many sensitization public barazas on the importance of taking children to school and paying fees. But the Pokot argued that schools belonged to the government and so the government should pay secondary school fees the way it had paid for primary education. The adamant behavior of the parents on not to pay fees had resulted in the children carrying out raids on the Karamoja and the Turkana, thereby endangering their lives. Many lives had been lost and permanent disability was the order of the day in Konyao. But the youths were not discouraged by this, instead more and more joined the preceding raids. The chief concluded that this kind of attitude led to the sustenance of the conflict hence prolonging it. The findings indicate that, 34.3% of the respondents in Turkana South stated that women were actors in this conflict through parenting the children and the way they socialized them (fig.14). A woman elder in Katilu, Mariana Akitela reported that women have been supporting raiders in the Turkana community. 139 Women suffered when they lost their husbands and sons during raids. They also suffered when there was a counter attack by the enemy community because they almost lose everything when the livestock is taken. The women and children suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Despite suffering the most from the outcomes of the conflict, they still encouraged the male members of the community to go for raids. They bless the raiders before they go out for a raid and celebrate after their successful return. Women aspire to get married to a raider who can pay a high bride price. After a successful raid the mother of the bravest warrior is placed socially on a high position, and the wife is envied by many women. Every woman would want such a warrior to marry his daughter. The sisters of a brave warrior are respected in the community too and they have to tattoo themselves to shed blood on behalf of her brother. Anybody seeing such tattoos knows that a relative of such a woman had killed an enemy, hence earned respect. On their return the warriors would come home to songs o f praise and dance by women. This ceremony would motivate the warriors and make them want to commit more acts of bravery. This respondent also reported that this was the most revered moment in the life of a warrior. It was a kind of recognition and appreciation of the super work the warrior had done and those songs of praise gave him more courage to go for more raids. The respondent then 140 concluded that without knowing, women continued to support conflict in the Turkana community, a fact that had sustained and prolonged this conflict. In Pokot North, 46% (fig.14 above) of the respondents in Alale stated that women encouraged raiding in their community. This was because the community believed that it needed them for its security and protection. A woman elder in Amakuriat in Alale, Selina Nakonyi, reported that traditional anecdotes, proverbs, poems, and poetic songs composed or sung in praise of valiant raiders not only made their families proud, but prompted the society to instill the spirit of warrior hood into the young and a child born grew up knowing that the Turkana were enemies of the Pokot. This showed socialization from the parents and the community in general plays a very big role in fueling the conflict between the two communities. This respondent explained that in the Pokot community a male child was revered and a family without such strove hard to get one. A male child was taught by women not to behave like a girl, by being brave and committing acts of bravery. Women discouraged boys from engaging in household chores, but go out in the field to be with other men. Young men were expected to come home with game meat after hunting to show that they were capable of killing. When warriors went on a raid, every mother tied her stomach with a leather belt to prevent any calamity from befalling the son. This would remain to be case until the son returned home. 141 The women also availed themselves to prepare the return of the warrior’s home by fetching water and firewood used during the purification ceremony. Other women would be singing songs of praise and dancing for the warriors, thanking them for a successful raid and praising them for defeating the enemy. This would elevate the warriors to a higher social standing and encourage them to go on more raids with the slightest chance available. The respondent concluded that women in Pokot North encouraged the conflict between the Pokot and enemy communities without their knowledge. They take this to be their duty and contribution to the warriors for protecting and providing for the community. This had sustained and prolonged the conflict under study. The study also revealed that 71.4% (fig 14 above ) of the respondents in Turkana South thought that politicians exacerbated and sustained conflict between the two communities, while 78% of the people interviewed in Pokot North stated that political incitement was responsible for the escalation and sustenance of conflict between the Turkana and Pokot communities. An interview with a former councilor for Katilu ward, Ekitela Namoru showed that politicians encouraged raiding between these two communities. This happened especially during political campaigns when politicians wanted to show themselves as protectors of their community. The respondent reported that he used to tell the electorate to elect him so that he could help in stopping the Pokot from attacking the Turkana of Katilu. Because insecurity was 142 always on top of the agenda for the residents of Katilu, he would be voted in overwhelmingly. But after elections the insecurity situation would remain or even escalate due to other factors beyond his ability. This would remain the case until the next general election when he would use the same reason to seek for re-election. In fact this became the norm until his electorate became tired of the lie and instead voted him out for failing to honour his promises. As shown in figure 14 above, 24% of the respondents from Turkana South isolated businessmen as actors who provided financial support to the warriors in order to protect their interests. An interview with a businessman in Kainuk, Mohamed Mohamud, revealed that some businessmen especially of Somali origin supported raiders by supplying them with arms. The Somali businessmen took advantage of being friendly to both communities to bring guns from as far as Somalia and South Sudan to areas of Kainuk division. These guns would be exchanged with cattle or sold by cash. The Somali traders accepted any form of payment and since they seemed to know where to get these arms, no one wanted to challenge them. The cattle realized from the sale of arms would fetch a lot of money in markets like Dagorreti in Nairobi, Chwele in western province and Moroto in Uganda. These Somali traders were accessible to all these markets and had no problems in transporting and selling the cattle. 143 The respondent reported that some Somali traders also gave arms and ammunition to warriors. In return they received a share of the stolen livestock and also bought the stolen livestock cheaply and sold them to markets away expensively. This kind of business had ensured that conflict continued, firstly due to the supply of cheap arms and secondly due to the ready market for selling the stolen cattle, hence commercialization of stolen livestock which led to sustenance of the conflict. In Pokot North region, 36% of the people interviewed stated that businessmen supported raiding activities in their community. An interview with a former arms dealer, Omar Sheikh at Kacheliba revealed that some businessmen such as shopkeepers and livestock traders were involved in commercial raiding. The respondent reported that he used to provide ammunition and encouraged the Karacuna to raid, especially shortly before a market day where stolen cattle were cheaply sold. He was also involved in the flourishing trade and sale of arms and ammunition from Sudan and Uganda into Pokot North. He reported that he used to know all the arms dealers in the region including Moroto and South Sudan. This meant that he could get better deals when it came to negotiating for good prices. But he sold the arms expensively because nobody else dealt in this business. He had the monopoly of the market because this was a risky business 144 that nobody wanted to engage in. The warriors always had ready cash or heads of cattle to pay as soon as the arms arrived. In those days the arms were like hot cake due to scarcity. The respondent further explained that this was not the case these days. There were many sources of arms entering Pokot North and a guarantee that one would get a gun as and when they wanted, provided they were ready to pay for. These arms entered the region through South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia. The civil unrest in these countries had ensured a constant supply of arms in Pokot North hence, the cheapness and availability. The proliferation of small arms by businessmen had sustained this conflict and prolonged it. Summary In conclusion, the objective of the researcher in this section was to find out who the real local actors were and how they contributed to the sustenance of the conflict between the Turkana (T. South) and the Pokot (Pokot North). During this study it emerged that chiefs in both communities were among the local actors who influenced and sustained this conflict. They usually have information about raiding rival communities but do not reveal, they do not discourage warriors from raiding and get a share of the raided cattle. The elders from both communities have also been accused of encouraging and instigating conflict through oral traditions, guiding and supervising rituals and ceremonies and sanctioning raids. They also give information on raids. 145 The Ngimurok in both communities bless and sanction raids; they foretell how the raids would be and advise on whether to go or not on a raid. They are feared and respected in both communities and are involved from the beginning to the end of the raid. They get the largest share of raided livestock. Kraal leaders discuss day to day activities of the community, influence conflict, prosecute those who do ill and they promote good morals in these two communities. They mobilize the karacuna to raid the rival community, how to evade security officers during a faceoff with them and how to bring back the raided livestock home safely. They train the karacuna on raiding and protecting the community. The karacuna implement resolutions made during community meetings, track perpetrators and recover stolen cattle and carry out revenge attacks on the rival community. The women from both communities encourage raids through oral traditions, bless raiders before raids and celebrate after successful return. They aspire to get married to a raider who can pay high bride price. Politicians from both communities have been accused of instigating conflict and even sustaining and prolonging it. They trigger inter group conflicts through sentiments, support commercial cattle raids and are also involved in the practice. They are accused of buying arms for their constituents to raid rival communities and by doing this they want to show supremacy and power over rival communities. 146 Businessmen in these two communities are accused of providing arms and ammunition to raiders, selling arms and ammunition cheaply and buying stolen cattle cheaply and selling them expensively, thereby enriching themselves from the conflict. This has sustained the conflict for many decades. The businessmen also provide quick escape for stolen cattle by providing Lorries to transport the stolen livestock faster to markets very far away. Finally, the respondents from both communities accused certain NGOs, CBOs and FBOs for fueling and prolonging the conflict. These were accused of providing meetings that had become meaningless to the victims of cattle raids in both communities. Corruption being witnessed in these organizations was blamed on the continued conflict between the two communities. The organizations were accused of lacking cohesion, coordination and networking and so could not achieve the objective of ending the conflict between these two communities. 147 4.0 CHAPTER FOUR EFFECTS OF CONFLICT ON THE TURKANA AND POKOT 4.1 Overview This section comprises the resultant effects of the continued conflict on the Turkana and Pokot communities. The main objective was to examine the effects of the prolonged conflict on the people of Turkana South and Pokot North. These effects changes in ecology, livelihoods, ethnography, raiding patterns, proliferation of small arms, political incitements, issues of governance and changes in how NGOs, CBOs and FBOs conduct peace work. These have resulted in loss of livestock, pasture, distrust or revenge between these two communities, insecurity, loss of human lives and injuries, low resource use, closure of schools, lack of investments, food insecurity and decline of human wellbeing which eventually leads to loss of community recognition. The theoretical framework guiding this discussion is PSC by Edward Azar (1990) who isolated deprivation of needs as a pre-condition to conflict. During this study, it was reported that the protracted ethnic conflict between the two communities had resulted into effects on both regions. These effects have been illustrated in figure 15 below as shown by the results of this study. 148 Figure 15: Effects of conflict on the Turkana and Pokot communities Source: Data from the Field Ecological changes Changes in livelihoods Cultural changes Change in raiding Small arms Political incitements NGOs, CBOS, FBOs &FBOS Governance Drought|floods Diseases PROTRACTED CONFLICT Loss of livestock Loss of pasture|water Distrust|revenge in communities Insecurity Loss of human lives|injuries Low use of resources Loss of community recognition Closure of schools No investment Food insecurity Decline in human wellbeing 149 4.1.1 Economic outcomes 4.1.2 Diminishing livestock numbers Bett et al (2009) and Oloya et al (2006) argue that the effects of conflict and raiding on livestock numbers can be both direct and indirect. Indirectly, raiding contributes to loss of livestock through the spread of diseases. Eaton (2010:106-122) notes that the development of commercialization has extracted large numbers from the traditional raiding circle, despite efforts of security forces to curb the trading of stolen livestock. The Turkana and the Pokot experienced a net loss of livestock of more than 90,000 animals due to raids between 2006 and 2009 (CEWARN, 2010). Such losses were reported during this study. From fig. 16 below, 76% of the people interviewed in Turkana south reported that, during the droughts of 1995 -1999, the community lost a large number of livestock. A FGD in Kainuk reported that the Turkana lost 200,000 livestock to that drought. The drought of 2000-2004 also claimed a large number of livestock totaling to 250,000, while the drought of 2005-2009 took away 300,000, leaving them poorer and more vulnerable. Between the years 2010 and 2014, the community lost 400,000 numbers of livestock. The respondent explained that when the weather conditions were favourable, the Turkana lose larger numbers of livestock to raids by their Pokot. 150 Figure 16: Economic outcomes-diminishing livestock numbers 0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 400,000 1995-99 2000-04 2005-09 2010-14 Turkana Pokot North Source: Data from the field The fatal raid of 1995, where the Pokot raided Kainuk and loaded cattle worth of millions onto Lorries and carried them away left the Turkana in this area more destitute. Other raids that occurred 1999 in Kaputir where the Turkana overpowered the Pokot but after a section of the raiders had run away with 2000 heads of cattle left the community poor and more vulnerable. Small raids carried out by 4-5 numbers of raiders were common in Turkana South. The FGD explained that Pokot raiders had discovered that it was easy to steal and not be caught when few. On many occasions they pounced on little boys taking care of cattle, abducted them and drove away large heads of cattle without being caught. This had been the trend between1995-2009 and from 151 2006 to 2009; the Turkana experienced about 200 raids from the Pokot. The number of livestock lost between these years was estimated to be 250,000. The FGD in Kainuk reported without livestock, young men could not marry as they were unable to pay dowry. Elders who had been functioning as communal judges were suffering from loss of livestock, too. The elders in Turkana South complained that the youth did not respect them anymore. In Pokot North, 65% of people interviewed reported to have lost livestock to the droughts of 1995-1999(250,000 heads), 2000-2004(300,000(heads), 2005- 2009(310,000 heads), 2010-2014(325,000 heads). Larger numbers of livestock were also lost partly due to raids and drought related incidences. 4.1.3 Deepening contest over scarce natural resources Goldsmith et al (2007:42) argues that scarcity of resources within one community leads to the search for resources elsewhere. In this process, that community breaches not only territorial borders, but extends the search for resources to its frontiers (Makumi, 2000). These movements result in contact between the new arrivals and the host community and this in most cases ends up in a violent clash. This scenario was reported to be the case between the Turkana and the Pokot, during data collection of this study. 152 A FGD established that the border region between Turkana South and Pokot North, namely; Kainuk, Nakwamoru, Kaputir, Lokapel, Kasei, Kacheliba and Alale had become inaccessible to pastoralists of both communities. About 140 people had been killed in 2000-2004 at Nakwamoru expressing fears that they were unable to cultivate their farms due to fears for Pokot raids. Many of them had been killed while collecting firewood or fetching water from the river which is marking the border of the two communities. Similarly, it was observed that the rangelands around Nakwamoru, Lorokon, Amolem and Juluk and the highlands of Pokot were rich in pasture. Yet neither group could access these areas due to insecurity. Figure 17: Economic outcomes-others 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Turkana Pokot North Resources food services insecurity Aid Dispalcements Source: Data from the field 153 4.1.4 Food insecurity Schilling et al (2012:11) note that between 2006 and 2009, 20 homesteads were reported to have been looted and destroyed in Kaputir alone. In Lasak and Nauyapong, it was reported that the Turkana have recently started to steal maize and beehives because of hunger. Besides the direct loss of resources, the conflicts caused effects which indirectly reduce human well-being through insecurity The findings (fig. 17 above) of this study indicate that 85% of the respondents in Turkana South stated that constant conflict had led to poverty and impoverishment in the area of study. A woman interviewed at Kaputir, Lotome expressed fears that they would all perish due to hunger because they were not able to attend to their farms or even collect wild fruits from the bush due to fear of being killed by the Pokot. The river also had become a battle ground and so fetching water had proved difficult. In Pokot North, 25% of the respondents felt that constant conflict had led to poverty in their area. A woman elder in Kasei, Caroline Maayo reported that constant raids by Turkana warriors had led to the loss of large heads of cattle; hence feeding for women, children and the old was becoming a problem. The respondent reported feeding children was becoming a challenge because they had nothing to rely on after losing all the cattle. They were watching the children die of hunger unless a well wisher came to their aid. 154 4.1.5 Inadequate service provision According to Bond (214:11) the road network in Laikipia has been described as deplorable, whereby in Laikipia North only o.o4% is bituminous (GoK, 2009a; 2009b). During the rainy season many matatu (mini-van) get bogged down and passengers have to spend the night in the vehicle on the road side. Seasonal rains also exacerbate the lack of other services such as internally displaced persons (IDP) due to flooding. Njoka (2011:107-124) notes that there are about 300 Samburu families who migrated there after violent conflict and cattle rustling with the Pokot communities. Many of them have no identity cards because of being subjected to bureaucratic wrangling to get them, being referred back to Samburu County, their birth place. Without an identity card, one is not able to access basic services like voting among other things. Lack of basic services which ought to have been provided by the government was also reported during the study between the Turkana and the Pokot communities. The majority of respondents in this study in Turkana South (62%) felt that they feared to move about freely when conflicts were ongoing in the study area. A village elder Lochakai Maarok in an interview in Kaputir explained that the concentration of people and livestock in one area due to insecurity had increased the likelihood of overuse of resources and posed a potential source of new conflict. In Pokot North 74% of the respondents felt that low presence 155 of security officers led to inadequate provision of security services. An interviewee, a businessman Paulo Longurangole in Pokot North reported that insecurity had also impacted on livestock markets in the two areas. Most of the schools in Lorokon, Juluk, Kaputir and Nakwamoru had been closed due to insecurity (fig.17 above). This study also established that lack of development was caused by insecurity in Turkana south, 58% of the respondents attributed lack of investments and low commerce and trade in Turkana as a whole to constant conflict between the two communities (fig. 17 above). A businesswoman in Kainuk, Apeta Kooli, reported that as a fruit vendor, it was becoming difficult for her to grow her business. There were no visible opportunities to attract investment and economic development which could create jobs and other means of income. This was due to poor infrastructure and limited inflow of goods and services resulting in increased prices in order to cover the risks to the outside traders and high transportation costs. The respondent added that the worsening security situation in Turkana had created a perception, now increasingly being entrenched, that the county is insecure and therefore undeserving of productive inhabitation. She concluded that this negative mentality was a strong drawback and demotivated potential business ventures in the county. Pastoralist conflicts in most parts of Turkana had therefore provided an important avenue responsible for the loss of 156 tremendous social and economic development opportunities for the people of Turkana. The residents of Pokot North also stated that insecurity was a hindrance to development and meaningful business in their area. About 55% of them related lack of most services and trade in their region, to the prolonged and frequent conflict between these two communities (fig.17 above). A businessman at Alale, Lokirioono Tantale explained that it took a whole day to travel from Makutano in Kapenguria to Alale due to poor roads which were impassable during rainy seasons. Traders from outside the sub county kept away from investing in business here because of lack of good road network and transport to move goods and people. 4.1.6 Aid dependency According to a report by International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), the 2011 drought in the horn of Africa region was the worst in 60 years, with a population of 3.1 million Kenyans in need of food and other assistance. Bond (2014:10) reports that the people of Laikipia claimed to rely on food relief to supplement their livelihood activities. During the 2011 drought, much of the food raised during ‘Kenyans for Kenya’ did not reach the people of Laikipia due to theft, spoiling of food or lack of adequate road network due to seasonal rains. This was also the case with the people of Pokot North where the terrain is rugged with no proper roads connecting places. 157 This study established that 65% of the respondents in Turkana South agreed that conflict had resulted to a large number of people being dependent on relief food distributed by the government or NGOs (fig.17 above). A respondent at Kakong in Turkana South, Emeri Kataboi reported that numerous raids by a small number of raiders from Pokot North had led to a large number of livestock disappearing over a period of time. These frequent raids resulted in many families becoming poor overnight, with nothing to rely upon, thus during famine, those affected families turned to beggars, being rescued by the government through provision of relief food. During the drought of 2000, many Turkana people were put on relief aid distributed by World Vision (K). In Pokot North 25% of the respondents blamed insecurity on lack of feeding options thereby leading to the residents of the area being given food aid either by the government or civil societies. From this study it seemed the Pokot (North) do not suffer adverse weather conditions like the Turkana. In Alale, a village elder Ruto Lokwang reported that warriors from the enemy community stole maize from their farms and set the rest on fire. This had created instances of food insecurity and in dry seasons the community lacked food, hence were put on food aid by relief agencies. The large percentage of respondents (65%) from Turkana South attributing conflict to causing poverty which rendered the people poorer instantly 158 confirmed that the Turkana raided due to hunger and drought. The wide gap in percentages between these two communities also confirmed that the Pokot raided for accumulation of wealth. Therefore as the Turkana suffered poverty from raids, the Pokot actually accumulated the stolen livestock to make them to be richer and better prepared during drought situations. 4.1.7 Destruction and displacement Fratkin (2014:108) notes that Lake Turkana supports another 300,000 people, including pastoral Turkana, Samburu, Rendille, Gabra and Dasenech of Kenya. The construction of the Gibe dams will ultimately reduce the lake levels by significant amounts and contribute to increased salinity, destroying its biotic ecosystem and affecting plants, wildlife and domestic herds that depend on the lake (Avery, 2013). Hundreds of thousands of fishing families and livestock farmers would be affected if the lake’s fragile ecosystem were stressed to the brink of collapse (Africa- Europe Faith and Justice Network, 2013). But opponents of the population displacement have called on Ethiopia to acknowledge the indigenous rights of the Omo peoples affected by the dam. HRW (2011e) report states that indigenous people have property rights over the land they have historically occupied that must be recognized by the state, and they can only be displaced with their free, prior and informed consent. Even when such consent is given, they must also be fully compensated for any 159 loss of land, property, or livelihood. This was also the case with the Turkwell Hydro power station between Pokot North and Turkana south, whose construction displaced families who were not compensated. The power station is found on the border of Turkana south and Pokot North, and had created a contest which caused the conflict under study to rage on and on for years. From the findings of this study, about 75% of the respondents from Turkana South reported that constant conflict with the Pokot had led to destruction and displacement of most people in arable areas (fig.17 above). In Pokot North 50% of the respondents believed that they had suffered losses and destruction during conflict with the Turkana. A focus group discussion at Kaputir explained that 14 homesteads were looted and destroyed between 2006 and 2008 in and around Nakwamoru village. In 2009, Amakuriat village in Alale in Pokot North experienced many food thefts mainly maize still on farms was looted and the rest set on fire. While the abandoning of entire settlements is a rare case, in these two communities, loss of pasture and water points is a common practice in conflict-prone rangelands of Turkana and Pokot. In Pokot North, a respondent, Katiko Nangole reported that the formation of loose grazing associations to expand territory had led to a few hundred households coming together to take over larger areas with pasture in the rival community. Therefore the continued conflict between the Turkana and the Pokot had resulted in the abandonment of large areas of economically viable 160 land along the Nakwamoru, Juluk, Lomelo, Katilu and Kakong corridors. These areas are in close proximity to highlands, thus experience relatively high levels of rainfall compared to the plain lands. Due to high rainfall, these areas have lush pastures that have been at the centre of most conflicts as the two communities move in to graze livestock during the dry season. The study also revealed that watering points were a source of conflict particularly during dry periods. In Nakwamoru, a FGD reported that on 20th August, 2007, several exchanges of gunfire were witnessed between the Turkana and the Pokot who were trying to access the river during day time. From that incident women now feared going to the river to fetch water on their own. They have to be accompanied by males for safety. From this study it also emerged that besides the direct loss of resources, the conflicts caused effects which indirectly reduced human well being through insecurity. The FGD also established that in Juluk in Turkana South, during raids people were killed, houses and other livelihoods were torched/burned, schools in the area were closed, shopping centers were deserted, making development in the region difficult. The findings further showed that raids caused houses and other properties such as food on farms to be burned as was witnessed in Kaputir as stated by 85% respondents in Turkana South. 161 4.1.8 Loss of human lives Schilling et al (2012:9) note that the most direct effects of raiding on human well-being are the loss of lives and injuries caused during raids. In Turkana alone, hospital records revealed 592 raid related deaths between 2006 and 2009. For Turkana and West Pokot Counties combined, CEWARN reports a number of conflict-related deaths of 640 in 2009 alone (CEWARN, 2010). The numbers of death have been increasing throughout the years and have escalated with time, as was revealed by this study. The findings of this study showed that 80% of the respondents in Turkana South felt that they lost relatives through killings by the Pokot during raids (fig. 18 below). An interview with the officer in charge Lodwar Police station where all the previous records were kept reported that between 1995 and 2014, the Turkana experienced numerous raids causing many deaths and injuries in Turkana County (fig.18 below). Between 1995 and 1999 there were about 40 raids, 250 deaths and about 20 injuries while between 2000 and 2004 there were 80 raids, 400 deaths and about 30 injuries. These numbers were high compared to the period between 1995 and 1999. The research revealed that there was an escalation of conflict even though there was a disarmament exercise in 2005-2006. Between 2007 and 2011, the raids escalated as well as the deaths and the injuries. This was attributed to acquisition of more arms to replace the ones taken away during the 162 disarmament exercise. From 2005 to 2009 there were about 120 raids, 520 deaths and about 50 injuries. Between 2010 and early 2014, the raids remained at 120, the deaths were 600 and the injuries were about 80. Figure 18: Number of raids, deaths and injuries during raids in Turkana South between 1995- early 2014 Source: Data from the field The Pokot also felt that many lives had been lost due to killings during raids. About 85% of the respondents in Kacheliba felt that they had lost a relative or someone they knew through raids. From the table 1 below it can be seen that of all the 10 people who got injured, most of them were males of a young age. This means the enemy uses a strategy of killing or finishing the males of a young age from the enemy community. This was done to weaken the enemy community and to instill fear and ruthlessness to the opponent. 163 4.1.9 Insecurity Human security is essentially the recognition that traditional forms of state security may not secure citizens and that development should be conceived as more than economic growth and instead dignified survival through freedoms from want and fear (Sen,2000; Khargram & Ali,2006:395-411). Human security is a condition where people and communities have the capacity to meet their needs, rights and values and manage stress (Barnett & Adger, 2007: 639-655). It has the basic concepts of freedom from want, freedom from fear, freedom to live in indignity and freedom from hazard impacts (Mesjasz, 2008:45-61; Hardt, 2012:207-221). According to Schilling et al (2012:12) there is an omnipresent perception of pronounced insecurity on the border of Pokot North and Turkana south. Insecurity and the perception of it have three major effects, which in turn reduce human well-being. First, inefficient resource utilization, second, closing of markets and schools and third, posing an obstacle for investments. This explanation is typical of what the study revealed about Turkana south and Pokot North. In Alale, FGD of former raiders reported that wounded raiding fellows, especially when unable to walk were left behind and often shot themselves to avoid punishment by the attacked group. These impacted negatively on the raided community in that injured and killed raiders reduced labour available 164 for livestock herding and community protection. As the FGD explained raiders were almost exclusively young men, the raiding did not only affect the community in short terms, but also reduced the future prosperity of the community through their loss. From a medical report collected from Amakuriat Catholic Dispensary, Mr. Michael Tutul, the officer in charge Alale dispensary reported that the dispensary normally received 150 injured people whenever there were raids in the region. These people were mainly men and young people. The cases were mainly during the month of December. Also a medical report from Catholic health centre in Alale, given by Fr. Thomas Heroes showed that, the health facility attended to up to 1027 cases of injured children, men and women during the month of December. This has been the case from 1990s to 2013. However the report indicated that there was a decrease in the number since the year 2005 up-to-date. 4.2.0 Political outcomes 4.2.1 Erosion of government’s legitimacy Bond (2014:10) reports that many people would have liked to take their children to school but lack of access to schools close to their homes and even in areas where there were school buildings, there were no teachers. Both Laikipia North and Laikipia West suffer from low standards of education and few education facilities with the average literacy rate in Laikipia West at 54% 165 (GoK, 2009a, 2009b). This was the case in Turkana south and Pokot North as was reported by the respondents during this study. During this study it was established that 82% of the respondents in Turkana South stated that marginalization by the government was a cause of the escalation and protracted conflict between the two communities (fig 19 below). A FGD in Katilu, reported that the community felt marginalized in the provision of education, marked by few and scattered schools in Katilu, Kainuk, Nakwamoru, Juluk, but none in Lokapel. The Turkana are nomadic in nature and they move from one area to another, therefore the government should have ensured enough schools near the kraals to enable one enroll their children wherever they migrated to. This was not the case. The FGD narrated that the health facilities were very few and scattered, Katilu has only one health centre. During emergencies, the patients were taken to Lodwar Hospital which is more than 100km away. Some patients died on the way because of the sorry state of the road. The road links Turkana County to South Sudan and the rest of Kenya, but with that type of road there was bound to be no development in Turkana. The findings further showed that 87% of the respondents in Pokot North gave marginalization by government as a contributing factor to continued conflict between the two communities. A FGD in Kacheliba noted there was violence 166 against women, children and the elderly which had not only been carried out by armed raiders but also by the security personnel against the Pokot of Kacheliba in 2007 and Alale in 2010 during disarmament operations. The security officers had repetitively been accused of disproportional use of force and human rights violations against unarmed civilians’ population including sexual attacks and rape during such disarmament campaigns. Figure 19: Political outcomes 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Marginalization G. Violence social ties Turkana Pokot North Source: Data from the field 4.2.2 Increased gender-based violence Women’s bodies have become a battleground. In the course of raids within Karamoja and neighbouring regions, they are often raped as a way to humiliate the men they are related to. The common result is more revenge attacks with the purpose of exercising similar practices. They have also been exposed to kidnapping and killing during their day to day activities while 167 collecting wild fruits and honey to maintain their standard of living (Mkutu 2007b:49f.; Stites &Akabwai, 2009:31f). According to Kaimba et al (2011:1-18), livestock raiding interrupts the mobility which is an integral part of pastoralism in the region. Women in Lokiriama in Turkana west, in the villages of Lobei and Urum reported that they have reduced the picking of wild berries because they are afraid to get killed or raped. This was also the case in both Turkana south and Pokot North, as was revealed through interviews during this study. A FGD composed of women, in Kaputir revealed that 56% of the respondents stated that Nakwamoru and nearby villages of Juluk and Loyapat reported reduced picking of wild fruits because the women were afraid of getting killed or raped (fig.19 above). This showed that insecurity undermined adaptation to drought as the picking of wild fruits was an important strategy to adapt to water and pasture scarcity. And 50% respondents in Pokot North also had reduced their mobility to areas near homesteads due to insecurity. A FGD revealed that they suffered hunger due to fear of being exposed to kidnapping and killing during the day to day activities while collecting wild fruits and honey to maintain their standard of living. 168 4.2.3 Erosion of social ties between communities Traditionally, African communities living in close proximity had strong cultural ties that bound them. These ties were solidified over time and articulated through inter-community activities such as simultaneous circumcision ceremonies, inter-communal marriages, joint community celebrations of important seasonal activities and events such as royal weddings, royal funerals among others (Goldsmith et al., 2007:44). Neighbouring communities even shared pasture and water sources. Overtime, one of the greatest tragedies of pastoralist conflict in Northern Kenya has been the gradual but steady erosion of such noble and time tested social ties that bound neighbours. The findings of this study showed that 83% of respondents in Turkana South did not trust the Pokot and felt the urge to revenge for acts of violence done in the past, while 87% of those interviewed in Pokot North did not trust the Turkana, and felt a strong urge for revenge towards them. A village elder at Kainuk, Loperito Ekiru, reported that community members of both Pokot and Turkana had strong negative feelings and distrust towards each other. The distrust decreased the motivation and the capability of the communities to choose a peace. The village elder explained that traditionally, the Pokot and the Turkana living in close proximity to each other had share a strong cultural bond. The Pokot married from Turkana and became 169 strengthened their relationship with the Turkana through that. But these days the intensifying of the conflict, had broken such bonds, hence the animosity and persistent conflict. Fear and mutual suspicion characterized relations between the Turkana and the Pokot. Inter-communal relations particularly deteriorated when raids included the rape or abduction of women. The hostile and frequent attacks had led to retaliation which further fueled the conflict. 4.3.0 Social outcomes 4.3.1 Health issues Mkutu (2007b:40f) states that health facilities in Karamoja are viewed as poorly equipped and access to basic health care constitutes a challenge for the people in the region. A report by GoK (2009a and 2009b) revealed doctor ratios of 1:271,720 and 1:18,710 in Laikipia West and Laikipia North respectively. While conservancies, churches and non-governmental organizations provide health care and education, the report stated that these were not always available at the crucial time of need. It is the responsibility of the state to provide development inputs rather than other sectors, such as tourism (Walpole & Thouless, 2005:122-139). Findings show that 65% respondents in Turkana South felt that conflict had resulted in psychological (trauma) suffering and stress related issues. Most people ran away to places like Kitale and Eldoret to escape constant raids by the enemy community. There they got employed to look after cattle for big 170 farmers. The thought of going back to attacks by the gun were unattractive option. About 67% of the people interviewed in Pokot North stated that constant conflict between the two communities had resulted in untold suffering. A respondent in Alale reported that injured raiders did not seek medical help in the medical facilities in the area for fear of being arrested and taken to court and being charged. Some of these raiders suffered stress related consequences but would rather not seek for medical attention. Thus, the wounded raiders shot dead themselves for fear of being arrested by security officers. In Katilu, a former raider during this interview reported that those injured during raids did not access medical facilities due to scarcity and being far apart. There is only one health centre in Katilu which is poorly equipped. This view was also expressed by a respondent interviewed at Alale, who said that medical facilities in the area were poorly equipped and access to basic health care constituted a challenge for the people in the region. 171 Figure 20: Social outcomes 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Turkana Pokot North Health issues social structures outmigration Source: Data from the field The respondent further reported that physical injuries associated with raids such as bullet wounds had a long term impact on mobility and livelihoods. A medical officer at Amakuriat health facility, Michael Tutul explained that such effects in turn affected food insecurity which led to nutritional imbalances and distress, particularly affecting women and children in terms of decreased nutrition levels, higher morbidity, and poorer reproductive health. He also explained that traumatic experiences of death and loss had affected the people’s psychological and mental health in the area. This day-to-day violence or constant fear of violence was incorporated into conscious and unconscious ways of being, doing, and knowing, leading to self-perpetuating cycles of violence in the people of Alale. 172 4.3.2 Shifting social structures According to Stites and Akabwai (2009:32), the loss of cattle has limited men’s ability to provide for their families. Responsibilities of livelihood security have been shifting from the male domain of keeping livestock towards other means of the female domain, such as agricultural production. Increasing mortality of male community members has led to rising numbers of female-headed households (Stites et al, 2007a:64). During the study, it was established that loss of cattle through raiding diminished the responsibility and authority of men over their families leading to the changed roles of men and women. In Turkana South about 72% of the respondents stated that loss of cattle through raids had reduced men from the role of being the providers of the family to having no role at all (fig.20 above). A kraal leader, Lomoru Eyanae, reported that the prestige that goes with the number of cattle owned by someone had been eroded and men found themselves displaced in community undertakings. Loss of livestock during raids had resulted in families moving to urban centers, where men with no skills to gain employment could not access jobs. The women resorted to collecting firewood for sale, fetching water for people, burning charcoal for sale and brewing local alcohol to support the families. With women taking control and providing for the family the men found themselves displaced and their authority threatened. The respondent also 173 reported that such new ways of life had led to breaking of families because women had discovered a new independence where they could take care of themselves and the children without the men’s influence. The men also had resorted to drunkenness due to idleness and frustrations. In Pokot North 73% of the respondents felt that loss of cattle had reduced the role of men to sitting idly in market centers and engaging in drinking local brew. A kraal leader, Limagur reported that women had taken the role of provider in the community through burning and selling of charcoal, brewing and selling local brew, fetching water for people and doing menial jobs to earn a living. All these are considered inferior ways of survival when compared to the pastoralist’s way of life. The men were not expected to engage in such activities to feed their families. These were women roles which could not be carried out by men in the community culturally. The respondent explained that the loss of cattle had limited men’s ability to provide for their families and the responsibilities of livelihood security had been shifting from the male domain of keeping livestock towards other means of the female domain, such as agricultural production. This had resulted in pastoralist learning new ways of life which was proving difficult. Contributing to this fact was the increasing mortality of male community members arising from death during raids and this had led to rising numbers of female-headed households. 174 4.3.3 out migration Gray (2000:410) argues that since 1960s, prevailing violence and food insecurity have motivated mainly women and girls to migrate from Karamoja to Kampala, other major cities, and neighbouring districts. According to Mbaria et al (2005:16-19), river Turkwell and Kerio, 78% of the pastoralists are forced by conflicts to migrate to Uganda, while 10% are confined within the few safe riverbanks that remain. While the abandonment of entire settlements is a rare case, the loss of pasture and water points is a common phenomenon in conflict-prone rangelands of northern Kenya (Schilling et al, 2012:11). Ericksen and Lind (2009:817-835) point to the formation of loose grazing associations to expand territory. In these so called ‘arum rum’ up to a few hundred households’ come together to take over larger areas of pasture (Ericksen and Lind, 2009:830). The current study found out that 50% of the respondents in Turkana South felt that constant and frequent conflict had resulted in many people being displaced from their homes and moving away in search of peaceful settlements and food. In Katilu A FGD revealed that along river Turkwell which forms the border of Turkana South and Pokot North 78% of the Turkana had been forced by conflict to migrate with their livestock to Karimojong in Uganda, in search of water and pasture. The FGD also reported that many herders had moved to nearby centers and abandoned pastoralism altogether. In these centers they engaged in burning and selling charcoal, fetching firewood for others and 175 doing all manner of menial jobs to earn a living. They left old people and women in their kraals, but would visit once in a while to bring food to them. In Pokot North, 80% of the people interviewed agreed that conflict had caused out migration for many of their community members who wanted to access safer settlements (fig.20 above). Most of them moved to Uganda in search of pasture and water for their animals. A FGD at Alale revealed that the Pokot usually drive their cattle into Uganda in times of drought, searching for water and pasture. They sometimes stay there for more than a year or so depending on whether it had rained in Alale or not. This movement had led to clashes between the Pokot and the host community or even the Ugandan authorities. The FGD explained that these clashes were sometimes fatal and the Kenyan government had to intervene to bring home the Pokot. 4.4.0 Environmental outcomes 4.4.1 Destruction of environment According to Goldsmith et al (2007:45), the protracted conflict in Turkana has had a negative impact on the environment. The pressure exerted on the fragile ecosystem when communities regroup for security reasons may never be reversed. The movement of large herds of livestock on limited space can be devastating. The emphasis on structural violence alongside physical violence also situates human security discourse with environmental justice, social injustice and inequality (Schnurr & Swatuk, 2012:1-14). Issues of sustainability become aligned with human security, particularly in relation to 176 the encompassing nature of the environment management and rights, land distribution, land use practices and poverty (Clover & Ericksen, 2009:53-70) The findings of the current study show that 70% of the people in Turkana South felt that movement of large numbers of people and cattle during raids resulted in destruction of grazing grounds and watering points. An interview with the Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) of Turkana South Sub County, Mr. Elijah Kodo revealed that displacements also had led to people congregating to safer areas which sometimes are found along the rivers. This had resulted in the destruction of vegetation along these areas. For example in Turkana South many affected herders had moved to Kalemungorok which is safer and far from conflict zones. Many people had congregated there and livestock numbers had outstripped the available pastures. This resulted in the disappearance of certain plant species and faster depletion of the vegetation which might soon lead to desertification. But in Pokot North environmental destruction during raids was not a major issue. About 35% of the people interviewed saw environmental destruction as an outcome of movement of large numbers of people and cattle during raids. During an interview with the DCC of Pokot North sub county, Abdirizak Jaldesa, it emerged that the resources and the environment in secure areas were derogated due to overuse by people and animals, in times of conflict. The DCC also informed this researcher that the protracted pastoralist conflict in 177 Turkana and Pokot had a negative impact on the environment, and the pressure exerted on the fragile ecosystem when communities regroup for security reasons may never be reversed. The DCC explained that the movement of large herds of livestock on limited space can be devastating. Large movements of livestock and humans during cattle raids had caused massive environmental destruction, as concentrated and simultaneous movements caused destruction of water points, cutting down trees to build fences and manyattas. Grass and other pasture was also consumed speedily, trampled upon and sometimes destroyed. Some people sold wood as firewood or produced charcoal for sale as an alternative income- generating activity in urban centers like Kainuk, Katilu and Lokichar. Summary The study concludes that there were enormous effects caused by the continuous and protracted conflict between the people of Turkana South and Pokot North. The objective under study here was; finding out the effects of the conflict between the people of Turkana South and Pokot North respectively. This objective helped the researcher to analyze the effects of conflict on these two communities. These effects were grouped as; economic, political, social and environmental, caused by changes in ecology, culture, livelihoods, raiding patterns, small arms, governance issues and political incitements. 178 The resultant effects discussed were identified as; drought/floods/diseases, loss of livestock, pasture and water and food insecurity. These listed effects had created loss of community recognition whose dependence was on livestock. Other effects include; distrust or revenge, which had resulted in low use of resources, insecurity, loss of human lives and injuries, closure of schools, lack of investments, all of which had led to the decline in human wellbeing in these two communities. 179 5.0 CHAPTER FIVE MITIGATION EFFORTS BY GOVERNMENT AND PEACE STAKEHOLDERS TO END THE CONFLICT 5.1 Overview In this chapter the objective under discussion was; investigating why mitigation efforts by the government and other peace stakeholders had failed. The researcher discussed reasons as to why it had proved difficult for the government and other stakeholders to curb this insecurity menace between these two communities for many decades, yet they had all the machinery, personnel and the knowledge on how to deal with it. The theoretical framework used in this study is PSC by Edward Azar, (1990:7); the pre- condition to conflict: Governance and the state’s role. 5.2 Government’s mitigation efforts towards the conflict between the Turkana and Pokot The findings showed that 90% of the respondents in Pokot North blamed inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the government in failing to mitigate the conflict between the Turkana and Pokot communities. A focus group discussion in Kacheliba revealed that the community had suffered numerous disarmaments as from 1984, the latest being carried out in 2012. The FGD reported that the Pokot felt indifferent towards the security officers in the area because of the way forced disarmament or sometimes uneven disarmament was carried out in Kacheliba and Pokot North as a whole. 180 During a disarmament exercise in 2008, the UoG had not disarmed the Karamoja. This had led to the possession of arms by one community while the other was being disarmed. During this disarmament exercise, violations against humanity were committed in terms of rape, and physical abuse of the women in the Pokot community. The FGD also established that a disarmament exercise carried out in 2009 had impacted negatively on the community. Recovered arms and ammunition were suspected not to have been handed in to the government. Instead the Pokot community lost many heads of cattle; men were left severely brutalized and fighting for their lives. The FGD reported that the security personnel who were involved in the recovery of stolen livestock and disarmament exercise ended up being the beneficiaries of the exercise. Their operation had been described as ineffective, controversial and highly problematic and the conflict had escalated rather than subside, leading to failure of mitigated efforts by the government. Ramsbotham,( 2005:84-87) states that, with governments being endowed with the authority to govern and use force where necessary to regulate society, to protect citizens, and to provide collective goods......, Azar cited governance and the state’s role as the critical factor in the satisfaction or frustrations of individual and identity groups. In the context of this study the GoK used brutal force to collect guns from the Pokot community. The force used on the Pokot was not regulated but applied generally even to those who had no arms. The 181 Pokot community did not feel protected by the government nor neither do they provision of collective political goods from the GoK. What they feel is resentment and brutal force exerted on them. During this study, 80% of the respondents in Turkana South stated that forced or uneven disarmament by the government led to hatred and animosity between the government and the community (fig.21 below). A respondent in Katilu, Longoria Napo reported that allegations of harassment and other human rights violations by soldiers had tensed relations between the people of the region and the security officers in the area. A disarmament exercise that took place in 1984 still lingers in the minds of the people. The security personnel brutalized men, raped women and made people to eat raw skin used as clothing for women. The respondent reported that such an experience had impacted negatively on the community such that the government had to review its ways of successive disarmament exercises. The recent disarmament exercise which took place in 2011 was fairer and the community gave in arms voluntarily. 182 Figure 21: Mitigation efforts by the GoK to end the conflict Source: Data from field An interview with a former politician of Turkana South, John Elim established that feelings of anti-pastoral policies and interventions were blamed to have contributed to the relationship between government and the people of Turkana South being described as poor and characterized by resentment, suspicion and mistrust. The explanation given by the respondent showed that the present policies and interventions had contributed to the perpetuation and even escalation of the conflict among the Turkana and their neighbours. The government had tried to replace pastoralism with agriculture in Turkana south where in the 19960s and 70s, FAO had introduced farming to parts of Katilu, Nakwamoru, Juluk and Kaputir. These irrigation schemes were introduced to 183 entice the Turkana community to farming so that they could abandon pastoralism. The respondent explained that immediately the Turkana sold their harvest, the first thing they bought was a goat. They would accumulate the goats until they formed a herd. They would then troop back to the kraals where they came from and the pastoralist lifestyle would begin again. In fact many community members doubted the sincerity of the government wanting to replace pastoralism with agriculture. The respondent concluded by saying that pastoralism was a way of life which should be improved but not discarded completely. In Turkana South 60% of the respondents stated that inadequate provision of security officers had hampered the government’s efforts at mitigating the constant and frequent conflict between the Turkana and Pokot (fig.21 above). An interview with a youth leader in Kalemngorok, Ekadeli Eregae, revealed that due to the small number of security officers in Turkana south it proved difficult to provide security to the residents. Also, lack of road and communication network infrastructure had led to many security officers avoiding to be posted to Turkana south. This meant that there were few security personnel to protect the people of this area from attacks from the enemy communities. The respondent reported that it became hard to pursue raiders when they took away large herds of cattle. The community 184 hated this scenario and blamed the security officer’s laxity to engage the attackers. The respondent also expressed fears that due to the limited number of police officers in Turkana south, the government had resorted to using KPR and had become heavily dependent on them as its first line of security. The KPRs continue to provide security for kraals and caravans and also fulfill the roles traditionally carried out by police, although they were unpaid. The KPR had resorted to selling ammunition in places like Katilu, Kainuk and Juluk to buy local brew or some food to eat. This had led to proliferation of small arms and their abuse by the KPR. About 87% respondents in Pokot North stated that the inadequate number of security personnel had encouraged acts of lawlessness and violence. A youth leader in Alale, Martin Pelekwang, reported that many security personnel were posted to the area. But they obtained transfers as soon as they arrived at the area. Those officers willing to work there had complained of lack of proper housing, extreme temperatures, rough and rugged terrain which hampered pursuit of stolen livestock and the secretive nature of the Pokot community when it came to giving information about stolen animals. Poor infrastructure was noted to be a reason as to why it was difficult to mitigate the conflict between the two communities. The respondents in 185 Turkana South (65%) attributed this failure to the sorry state of roads in the area of study (fig.21 above). An interview with Ekomwa Kaaleng, a businessman in Nakwamoru, revealed that even when raids took place, recovery of cattle became a challenge due to impassability of the roads. The respondent reported that there were no serviceable vehicles in Nakwamoru, Juluk or Katilu police posts. The nearest police station was about 80 km and during raids the officers had to call for support from Lokichar, the subcounty headquarters. Time was wasted while waiting for the only available vehicle to come for rescue. Meanwhile the raiders would have crossed over to their territory which is rugged and hilly. Once stolen, it became hard to recover the livestock due to such circumstances. About 80% of the respondents in Pokot North felt that the poor nature of infrastructure or lack of it had led to the sustenance of the conflict between the two communities (figure 21 above). A respondent in Kacheliba, Kiplimo Rotino reported that the security officers had become incapable of carrying out successful disarmaments or recover stolen cattle due to the rugged terrain where pastoralists’ conflicts took place. He explained that during a raid the raiders divided themselves into three or four groups. One group runs away with the stolen cattle from Alale and passes them to a second group. The second group runs away with the livestock while 186 the third group battles any resistance. By the time re-enforcement comes, the cattle would have already crossed over to Turkana south. This technique had encouraged the raiders to attack frequently provided they changed tack every time they struck the enemy community. The respondent explained that this had sustained this conflict and prolonged it. About 75% of the respondents in Turkana South also attributed the failure of the government at efforts to mitigate conflict between the two communities, to poor communication network (fig.21 above). A respondent in Kalemngorok, Echukule Ekai, and a kraal leader narrated that they always got communication that the Pokot were going to attack on a particular day and time. But the few security officers in the area found it difficult to communicate to the sub-county headquarters which was 150 km away. Fluctuations in network and its availability hampered the officer’s efforts to report security incidents. Even during attacks, the people in the area could not call for help due to network problems. This meant the attackers would drive away livestock in most cases not in a hurry because they knew few officers would be in pursuit. This had encouraged the conflict understudy. The study also revealed that 85% of the respondents in Pokot North blamed the government’s failure to end the conflict between these two communities to poor communication network. A respondent in Kasei, Lochakai Morulem explained that although mobile network was being enjoyed all over Kenya, it 187 was yet to come to parts of Pokot North. It would have been easier if the mobile network or other network to assist police radios to work were available. But the situation in places like Kasei, Kacheliba and Konyao was different. Even when there was a raid it was difficult sometimes to use the police radio to relay information to the network while calling for reinforcement. This was due to the rough, hilly and rugged nature of the terrain of Pokot North. The rugged mountains interfered with radio waves, hence poor communication network. Once the livestock was stolen, there was no way the security officers could intercept, considering that the raiders from neibouring Turkana south pass through a narrow route which they commanded when they were in action. The respondent also narrated that this meant that the few available security officers were unable to communicate issues of security as they happened. Delays in response had resulted in fatal confrontations with the raiders, who in this case were aware of the government’s inability to respond to such emergencies. Figure 21 shows that 45% of the respondents in Turkana South felt that poor conflict resolution strategies employed by the government was responsible for its failure to mitigate this conflict with a view to ending it. In Kainuk, a FGD of old men revealed that in the traditional days, two warring communities used their elders to mitigate and solve conflict. The Turkana community would 188 offer their girls for marriage by Pokot men. Inter-marriage was used as a bridge to cement inter-community relationships. But now the situation had changed for worse and these traditional methods of conflict resolution no longer worked. There was distrust and feeling of revenge expressed by members of both communities. Sometimes the two communities made a peace pact after a brutal attack by one community on the other. An example of this was the Lokiriama Peace Accord made between the Matheinko clan of the Karimojong and the Turkana in 1973 in Loima Sub County. This peace accord is being commemorated every 22nd of September yearly. During this peace meeting the Turkana and the Matheniko buried a traditional blade that was used traditionally to shave relatives of the deceased, after fatal raids and taking of oaths. The burying of the traditional blade signified no more attacks between the two communities. The two communities have lived peacefully since 1973. The respondent concluded that things had changed for the worst and such peace accords were hard to come by. In fact that was the only peace accord in the whole region since 1973. The findings further show that 60% of the people interviewed in Pokot North stated that poor conflict resolution strategies used by the government led to the escalation of the conflict instead of bringing it to an end. A respondent in Kacheliba, a kraal leader Porkou Lomada reported that in the traditional days, 189 community elders played a big role in bringing two warring communities together. In the Pokot community, the elders would send an emissary of peace to the enemy community to request for a meeting to discuss peace. Such people were not killed by the enemy community, but received well and a message of peace would also be sent back with them. A day would be set aside when the two communities would each contribute priced oxen for the peace ceremony. Elders from both communities would meet and discuss matters affecting the two communities and how they would be resolved. A solution would be found and the oxen would be slaughtered to show an agreement had been reached. The elders would even set the period for which peace was to be kept between the two communities. In those days, raiding was not commercialized. The respondent the added that these days the situation had changed due to elders loss of authority and power over the youth who no longer listen to the elders because of gun power. These youths are not interested in making peace because this would interfere with the financial benefit they got from the conflict under study. Thus any attempts at peace between the Pokot and the Turkana of Kainuk were met with a lot of hostility from the youths of Pokot North. 190 5.3 Mitigation strategies by NGOs, CBOs, FBOs to stop conflict between the Turkana and Pokot RIAM-RIAM is a Turkana word meaning meet, it has been repeated to give it more meaning. This is a name given to a local peace NGO working with the government in Turkana and other cross border governments of Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan to broker peace among warring communities of this region. This is the main peace stakeholder in Turkana which is working with local CBOs and FBOs to mediate for peace in Turkana. RIAM-RIAM was formed in Turkana in the 1990s. SIKOM is a local NGO found in Pokot areas and it deals with issues of peace building activities in that region. It is the equivalent of RIAM-RIAM in Turkana and it was also started in 1990s. KENYA RED CROSS is a Kenyan NGO dealing with all forms of disasters in the country and it started working in Turkana during the drought of 1992- 1994. It is found in both areas. World Vision (K) is an international NGO which has been working in these two communities providing education, water and sanitation, relief food and even engaging in irrigation farming in Turkana. This NGO came to Turkana much earlier than any, probably in the 1980s. Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is an Australian NGO working in Alale but not in Turkana and it is involved in working against hunger in the area. SENTINELS is an international NGO which is found in Pokot region but not in Turkana, and it deals with issues of female genital mutilation which is unique to the Pokot 191 community but not to the Turkana. ACTED is an international NGO which deals with issues of livestock, water and such related activities, it works in Pokot North but not in Turkana. ACTION AID is an international NGO which deals with food and hunger related issues and works in both areas. Figure 22: NGOs, CBOs, FBOs working in the conflict areas Source: Data from the field Figure 22 above shows the presence of NGOs, CBOs and FBOs in conflict pastoral areas of Pokot and Turkana. RIAM-RAIM is present in Turkana County with 17% presence in the area. The equivalent of RIAM RIAM is SIKOM found in west Pokot County with a presence of 14% in the area, while RED CROSS is found in both areas with a presence of 11%. World Vision(K) is found in both Turkana South and Pokot North with a presence of 8%, ACF 192 is found in Pokot region with a presence of 6% and SENTINELS is found in Pokot region with a presence of 3% ACTED and ACTION AID are found in Pokot North with a presence of 11% each. The youth and women groups are found in both areas with an 11% and FBOs are found in both areas with a presence of 8%. This shows that many NGOs, CBOs and FBOs were involved in the provision of other services to the people in the two communities. The research study established that corruption within the NGO, CBO and FBO fraternity had led to the inability to mitigate and end this conflict. About 55% of the respondents in Turkana South stated that corruption riddled most of the NGOs, CBOs and FBOs and had led to minimal results where conflict resolution was concerned. A former ward representative Epuu Namoe reported that most former NGO workers ended up being parliamentarians after serving in those peace building NGOs, CBOs or FBOs. They would use the money given for peace work for their own benefits and once they were elected to parliament, they would not account for the money they had in their control. Thus politics undermined peace work and encouraged corruption. In Pokot North 78% of the respondents felt that corrupt activities by some NGOs, CBOs and FBOs overshadowed what would have been good and important work (figure 22 above). 193 In Alale, in Pokot North an interview with a former peace worker, Echuman Mariamoe revealed that peace work was a big business along the Kenya- Uganda border and each year, new groups were created with help of major donors while others disappeared due to corruption and mismanagement. The respondent explained that such a cycle had continued for decades and, despite absence of tangible results, millions of dollars continued to flow into the bank accounts of peace groups in the North Rift region. The perceived mismanagement of the relatively vast resources committed to making peace had created disrespect among both the inhabitants of the region and workers themselves. Most people in the North Rift felt that peace workers were misappropriating money, and suggested that peace meetings were held by NGOs to display an engagement with conflicts about which they cared less. The respondent further reported that most of these peace meetings were held in big towns away from conflict areas; hence the impact was not therefore felt in areas where conflict occurred. 194 Figure 23: Mitigation efforts to end the conflict by NGOs, CBOs, FBOs Source: Data from the field A focus group discussion in Kacheliba in Pokot North, reported that some prominent politicians who often head local peace groups had used the money they received to fund their election campaigns. The FGD also stated that the whole peace industry in Pokot North was viewed with suspicion by people living in the kraals. The study findings also showed that poor conflict resolution strategies have resulted in NGOs, CBOs and FBOs being unable to resolve this prolonged and constant conflict between these two communities (figure 23 above). In Turkana South 60% of the respondents stated that the strategies used by NGOs, CBOs and FBOs were not in line with the traditional conflict resolution modalities. 195 The FBOs working in these two regions confined themselves in their area of operation. In Kaputir, Catholic Church elder reported that if the churches operating in these two regions held common church services where both the Turkana and Pokot prayed together, reconciliation and healing could be achieved. But this was not the case; hence FBOs had also failed on their part to mitigate this conflict. An interview in Pokot North revealed that 65% of the people felt that NGOs, CBOs and FBOs engaged in conflict resolution strategies that did not consider community based approaches. A respondent in Konyao, Naporkou Tamatar, a peace committee member, reported that the ability of small groups to work across ethnic boundaries was also suspect. As he explained, generally groups trying to transcend their ethnic base ended up being heavily dependent on government administration to launch peace initiatives elsewhere. This greatly limited the effectiveness of the CBOs as was witnessed during a meeting between the Pokot and Turkana women in Lorokon in Turkana South in 2006. During this peace meeting the CBO in charge could not engage in the running of the meeting and had to rely on the local provincial administration of the area to do so. The CBO in question had been accused of using the suspect groups to plan and organize these meetings and these did not conform to the traditional values of the Turkana community in Lorokon. The respondent 196 reported that such meetings ended up not achieving the intended purpose, thus making peace work by CBOs hard to succeed. From the study, 76% of the respondents in Turkana South stated that reduced outreach by NGOs, CBOs and FBOs had led to failure in mitigation efforts to end the protracted conflict between the Turkana and Pokot communities (figure 23 above). A respondent in Katilu, Jane Lomuria, a peace committee member, reported that NGOs, CBOs and FBOs workers feared attacks from the Pokot if they went further near their territory. This respondent explained that in 2004 a Catholic priest who had initiated cross border church services between the Pokot and Turkana was killed in Kapedo on his way to Lokori in Turkana East. This had discouraged outreach programmes that involved the Turkana and Pokot to bring peace. The findings further showed that 87% of the people interviewed in Pokot North also reported that reduced outreach interfered with the ability of the civil societies to end this conflict. During the study, 45% of the respondents in Turkana South stated that poor timing contributed to the failure of NGOs, CBOs and FBOs to mitigate and end the constant conflict between these two communities. Further findings show that 58% of the people interviewed in Pokot North felt that NGOs, CBOs and FBOs made peace to suit their timetables (figure 23). In Turkana South, in Katilu, a Pentecostal Assemblies of God pastor reported that peace groups were also often tempted to try to 197 make peace regardless of the ongoing situation in the region, since this is what they were funded to do. However, trying to make peace at an inappropriate time creates tensions on all sides, and these can entrench differences between ethnic groups more firmly. For example a peace run by Tegla Lorupe Foundation brought the Turkana and Pokot communities together to run and compete for trophies. In the evening of that day, the Pokot raided the Turkana at Kainuk. This beat the logic of making peace between these two communities. The respondent argued that the insincere peace efforts provided warriors with an opportunity to observe the lie of the land in enemy territory. Another interview with a pastor of Pentecostal Assemblies of God in Kacheliba, Timothy Longole, in Pokot North revealed that poor conflict resolution strategies had made it difficult to achieve the intended results of ending the conflict between the Turkana and Pokot. This was because many affiliated researchers could not be given straightforward answers about the causes of raids by the community involved in conflict. From the study it emerged that participants in interviews for gathering information about raids demanded for large sums of money before they gave information. This hampered quality information gathering, where sometimes the participants gave false information depending on the amount of money they had received. 198 It is said that governments, expected to be unbiased and impartial, tend to be dominated by the leading identity groups or those that have been able to monopolize power within a country or territorial entity. Azar argues that: whereas in Western liberal theory, the state is an aggregate of individuals entrusted to govern effectively and to act as an impartial arbiter of conflicts among the constituent parts; treating all members of the political community as legally equal citizens, this is not empirically what happens in most parts of the world, particularly in never and less stable states where political authority tend to be monopolized by the dominant identity group or a coalition of hegemonic groups which use the state to maximize their interests at the expense of others. This was the case with the conflict under study, where the Turkana and Pokot communities kept on denying the presence of the government in their areas. This perception led to them tending to blame all the problems they suffered on the government. 5.4 Current interventions by GoK and NGOs, CBOs &FBOs The grim security situation in Turkana South has attracted many stakeholders who are seeking to respond to the current crisis. The Catholic Church (Catholic Peace and Justice (CJPC)) stands out as the main intervener in the whole county. It is credited for establishing and running almost all the primary and secondary schools except for the public ones. The church constructs and equips schools, classrooms, supports students through bursaries and scholarships to successful pastoralist children, has relief feeding programme in 199 both mobile and ordinary schools, and runs a number of vocational training centers in many parts of the county. The CJPC is also involved in grassroots peace building efforts through mediation, and facilitates CBOs that are engaged in similar efforts. The Catholic Church has also set up medical services (clinics) in the rural areas. Oxfam, a leading humanitarian agency, establishes local structures that link with the national structures from the village (adakar) level. The goal is to ensure that targeted groups are able to interact with the government systems and benefit from policies being implemented. Oxfam also funds local CBOs to facilitate peace building and reconciliation processes. It has also a water conservation project where rain water pans have been constructed along the border with Uganda. The impact has been reduced conflicts as the Turkana do not need to move across the border for water. The project is also said to contribute to livestock health since their movement is reduced as they use the abundant pasture near the border. The main CBO in Turkana is Riam Riam, which is a net that doubles as the County Peace and Development Committee. Through Oxfam and other donors, the group has conducted several peace building initiatives including cross-border dialogues that have seen conflicts reduce. 200 Practical Action engages in activities that encourage cross-border inter- community dialogue. Their goal is to encourage community’s participation in projects that are beneficial to them and serve to build confidence and trust among communities. The Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) is a Netherlands based international development organization that provides advisory services to government and local organizations in the developing countries. It runs veterinary services including livestock extension services within the Turkana community. The government initiated Arid Lands Project runs three programs: Drought monitoring and Natural Resource Management, Community Driven Development and Support to Local Development. The provision of Water is one of the major undertakings of the project and this has gone a long way in helping during the dry spells. Summary This chapter dealt with the objective of why conflict mitigation efforts by the government and other peace stakeholders had failed between the people of Turkana South and Pokot North. The emerging issues here why the government mitigation strategies failed were: use of forceful disarmament, inadequate security personnel, poor road and communication network 201 hampering efforts to track down raiders in times of security operations to recover stolen livestock and poor conflict resolution strategies adopted by the government. Other peace stakeholders were named as NGOs, CBOs and FBOs. Those working in Turkana County are; RIAM-RIAM. Those which work in Pokot North were named as; SIKOM, SENTINELS, Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and ACTED. Those found in both areas were World Vision (K), Kenya Red Cross and ACTION AID. From this study, it was established that corruption among agencies involved in peace work had hampered efforts at obtaining a lasting solution to the conflict between the Turkana and Pokot communities living next to each other. Politicians were also named as one of the inhibiting factors to the lasting peace between these two communities. Their activities derailed peace efforts aimed at resolving the prolonged conflict between the two communities. Some politicians were said to have engaged in peace activities for their political gains, using money earmarked for peace meetings for their political campaigns. When they got to parliament, they disengaged from peace work, meaning new peace actors had to replace them. This meant a new team of peace actors’ altogether, and the story begins again, hence no tangible peace work to end this conflict. 202 The study findings also isolated poor conflict resolution strategies adopted by NGOs, CBOs and FBOs resulted in prolonging and sustaining this conflict. The study also revealed that reduced outreach to conflict areas by NGOs, CBOs and FBOs due to insecurity in these areas had reduced chances of getting a lasting solution to the conflict. Some NGOs, CBOs and FBOs were carrying out meetings to justify money given to them by donors, irrespective of whether it was time to make peace or not. This had even endangered lives of their workers and those of the participants during such meetings. From the study, it was established that governance and the state’s role as the critical factor in the satisfaction or frustrations of individual and identity groups was wanting. The respondents kept on attributing the sustenance of the conflict to inadequate security personnel in these areas, poor road and communication network hampering security operations’ efforts to track and recover stolen livestock, forceful disarmament operations that left the affected communities vulnerable to more insecurity and poor conflict resolution mechanisms adopted by the government. Other peace actors namely: NGOs, CBOs and FBOs were also failing to mitigate this conflict on their part due to corruption, insecurity in their areas of operation, poor timing of peace meetings and lack of outreach peace work to areas affected by this conflict. All these factors stated above relate to issues of governance and the states’ role, hence Azar’s (PSC) theoretical framework is 203 relevant in this study. The following chapter discussed conclusions drawn from the study and recommendations given to issues raised by the people interviewed during the study. 204 6.0 CHAPTER SIX CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6.1. Overview This chapter focuses on all the three objectives that guided the study, how they were achieved, the theoretical framework used, conclusions drawn and recommendations given at the end of the study. The objectives of the study were: identify the dynamics and trends that sustain the protracted social conflict between Turkana and Pokot communities; examine the role of local community actors involved in this conflict and interrogate why mitigation efforts by the government of Kenya and other peace stakeholders had failed. The theoretical framework employed by the researcher in this study was PSC by Edward Azar, (1990). This theoretical framework was applicable to this study and helped to anchor it and similarities could be drawn from the study and the theoretical framework. Therefore the objectives and the theoretical framework used by the researcher helped to premise and anchor the research study: Trans border conflict between the Turkana and Pokot in Kainuk and Alale Divisions, Kenya: 1995 to 2013. The first objective which was the; dynamics and trends that have sustained and prolonged the conflict between the Turkana and Pokot communities living in Turkana South and Pokot North revealed that; changes emanating from ecology, livelihoods, ethnography, raiding patterns, proliferation of small 205 arms, governance, peace building activities and political incitements from politicians from both communities were responsible for the sustenance of the protracted conflict between the two communities. The study also established that poverty was a reason as to why conflict persisted for the Turkana. Food deficits also caused conflict, so raiding incidences naturally increased as people attempted to cope during lean periods brought about by droughts. Accumulation of wealth was also established as a motive for conflict as given by the respondents of both Turkana and Pokot regions. It was established that changes in cultural settings which had been caused by a multiple of factors affecting these pastoralists had contributed to the prolonged and continued conflict. Ethnography or cultural changes had led to destabilized community administrative structures. Conflict was partly caused by the need to pay high bride price. It was established that violence was passed to successive generations through oral narratives such as heroic stories told by grandparents to young children in form of past stories in order to instill bravery into them. These oral narratives were passed from one generation to another with specific names of the brave and great men of the community. Socialization by parents through songs, stories, and induction and community expectations contributed to the protracted and frequent conflict between the two communities. 206 Revenge emanating from constant raids and violence was identified as a factor sustaining conflict between these two communities while uneven disarmament initiatives by the government also was seen as encouraging acquisition of more and more arms in these two communities. The changing raiding patterns as established by the study had resulted in prolonged conflict in these two communities. It was established that the Pokot raid for territorial expansion, wealth creation and payment of bride price, while the Turkana raid due to drought and hunger. Proliferation of small arms and their availability in these two regions prolonged and sustained conflict, as revealed by this study. Turkana and West Pokot Counties border countries that just came from war, still in war or the war is just ending (internal wars). Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia are such countries and from here, arms are smuggled into Kenya, where they found their way into pastoralist areas like Turkana and Pokot. Here these arms are either exchanged with cattle or sold using money and due to the availability and accessibility and low prices, hence many pastoralists had acquired them easily. From the findings it emerged that peace building was just a business like any other for the NGOs, CBOs and FBOs in Pokot and Turkana regions. Despite the absence of tangible results, millions of dollars continued to flow into the bank accounts of these peace groups. These groups would then organize some 207 meetings and called people from both sides to attend. After that they disappeared and raiding would take place between the Turkana and the Pokot again. The findings further showed that the residents of both areas felt that the personal interest of the NGOs, CBOs and FBOs catalyzed the conflict, and these peace workers were carrying out peace building activities as tailored to conform with the proposals they wrote to the donors to raise money. The NGOs, FBOs and CBOs were seen by both communities as carrying out peace building activities so that they could display an engagement with the conflict, despite the dangers created by such events. The findings further showed that lack of cohesion, coordination and networking within NGOs, CBOs and FBOs had led to sustenance of conflict instead of its mitigation. Issues of governance were isolated by the residents of these two communities to have led to the sustenance of the conflict. Complaints of forceful and indiscriminate disarmament, inadequate security personnel to combat cattle rustlers, insecurity, poor road and communication network, low enrollment in schools, few medical facilities and lack of investments in these areas and the time it took to call for reinforcement during security operations were among the issues said to exacerbate conflict. 208 Poor infrastructure had also been pointed out as a factor that had led to the conflict being protracted in these two areas. The poor road and communication network had led to this conflict not ending any time soon. The second objective of this study was to examine the role of local community actors involved in this protracted conflict. The researcher named the real actors in this conflict and examined how each actor influenced the conflict in their respective community, in detail. From the findings of this study the objective helped to premise this study. From the research findings, the local actors in this conflict were named from both communities as local chiefs, elders, women, karacuna, politicians, businessmen, ngimurok (seers), and kraal leaders, NGOs, CBOs and FBOs in no particular order. The effects of the conflict under study were discussed in detail and their understanding helped more to situate the whole study undertaken. From the findings it was reported that during the droughts, both communities lost livestock worth of millions, leaving them poorer and more vulnerable. Through numerous and constant raids, both communities had also lost large numbers of livestock. The raided cattle have been traced in markets as far away as Dogoretti in Nairobi and Moroto in Uganda as revealed by findings of this study. 209 There was a deepening contest over scarce natural resources between these two communities caused by this conflict. The constant conflict had resulted in the scramble for the scarce resources in form of water and pasture which had contributed to the unsustainable utilization of available natural resources. The study indicated that constant conflict had led to poverty and impoverishment in the area of study. Lack of development was seen to be caused by insecurity in both communities which had led to lack of investments and low trade, hence lack of development in the area. The most visible effects of the prolonged conflict between these two communities was the over dependence on relief food Aid. This study established that prolonged conflict had resulted in a large number of people being dependent on relief food distributed by the government or aid being given by civil society organizations. Constant conflict between the two communities had led to destruction and displacement of the people. The formation of loose grazing associations to expand territory had led to a few hundred households coming together to take over larger areas with pasture among the Turkana. This conflict had resulted in the abandonment of large areas of economically viable land along the Lomelo, Katilu and Kakong corridors. 210 The study also established that in both communities, during raids people were killed, houses and other livelihoods were torched/burned; schools in the area were closed, making development in the region difficult. Recurrent and prolonged conflict between the Turkana and Pokot had resulted in the loss of human lives. This impacted negatively on the raided community in that injured and killed raiders reduced labour available for livestock herding and community protection. Raiders were almost exclusively young men and the raiding did not only affect the community in short terms, but also reduced the future prosperity of the community through their loss. The study also revealed that there was increased gender-based violence in these two areas during conflict. It was established that there was reduced picking of berries because the women were afraid to get killed or raped. This showed how insecurity undermined adaptation to drought as the picking of wild berries was an important strategy to adapt to water and pasture scarcity. The protracted conflict between these two communities led to erosion of social ties. The findings showed that inhabitants of both areas did not trust the other and felt the urge to revenge for acts of violence done in the past. Fear and mutual suspicion characterized relations between the Turkana and the Pokot. Inter-communal relations particularly deteriorated when raids included the rape or abduction of women. The hostile and frequent attacks had led to retaliation which further fueled the conflict. 211 The study revealed that, this conflict affected the health of the residents of these two communities. They felt that conflict had resulted in psychological trauma and stress related issues in their communities. Those injured during raids did not access medical facilities because they were scarce and far apart. Medical facilities in the area were viewed as poorly equipped and access to basic health care constituted a challenge for the people in the region and physical injuries associated with raids such as bullet wounds had a long term impact on mobility and livelihoods. Traumatic experiences of death and loss had affected the people’s psychological and mental health in the area. It was established that loss of cattle through raiding diminished the responsibility and authority of men over their families leading to the changed roles of men and women. Loss of cattle through raids had reduced men from the role of being the providers of the family to having no role at all. The prestige that went with the number of cattle owned by someone had been eroded and men found themselves displaced in community undertakings. This conflict therefore had impacted negatively on traditional institutions and conflict resolution mechanisms in these two communities. The institution of elders amongst the two communities played a critical role in safeguarding honour, discipline and pride of the community. Elders traditionally instilled discipline among the youths through a strict set of rules that stipulated what to 212 be done. However, things had since changed and the warriors who routinely launched livestock raiding missions did it on their own, without reference to the elders. The study also revealed that conflict between these two communities had led to the destruction of environment in these areas. The findings showed that that movement of a large number of people and cattle during raids resulted in destruction of grazing grounds and watering points. The many people and livestock numbers had outstripped the available pastures. This was causing the area to experience faster disappearance of certain plant species and emergence of new varieties, which might soon result in desertification. The last objective that the researcher focused on was to interrogate why mitigation efforts by the government and other peace stakeholders had failed. From the findings of the study the researcher established reasons why the government and peace actors such as NGOs, CBOs and FBOs failed in mitigating the conflict between these two communities. The study showed that inadequate provision of security officers had hampered the government’s efforts at mitigating the constant and frequent conflict between the Turkana and Pokot. Due to a small number of government security officers sent to these areas, the government found it difficult to provide security to the residents of these two areas. There was a small government and police presence in Turkana, which made it heavily dependent on the Kenya Police 213 Reservists (KPR) force as its first line of security. The KPRs continued to provide security for kraals and caravans and also fulfilled the roles traditionally carried out by police, although they were unpaid. Poor infrastructure was noted to be a reason as to why the government was unable to mitigate the conflict between the two communities. Even when raids took place, recovery of cattle became a challenge due to impassability of the roads. The government had become incapable of carrying out successful disarmaments or recover stolen cattle due to the rugged terrain and poor communication network where pastoralists’ conflicts took place. This meant that the few available security officers were unable to communicate issues of security as they happened. Delays in response had resulted in fatal confrontations with the raiders, who in this case were aware of the government’s inability to respond to such emergencies. It was established that poor conflict resolution strategies employed by the government were responsible for its failure to mitigate this conflict with a view to ending it. The two communities blamed this continuous conflict on the modern ways of conflict resolution strategies which had ignored the traditional conflict resolution strategies where the elders played a major role in arbitrating between communities during times of conflict. 214 The study also showed that NGOs, CBOs and FBOs in these two conflict pastoral areas failed in mitigation of this conflict. The research established that corruption within the NGO and CBO fraternity had led to the inability to mitigate and end this conflict. Peace work was a big business along the Kenya- Uganda border and each year, new groups were created with the aid of major donors while others disappeared due to corruption and mismanagement. Such a cycle had continued for decades and, despite absence of tangible results, millions of dollars continued to flow into the bank accounts of peace groups in the North Rift. The perceived squandering of the relatively vast resources committed to making peace had created apathy among both the inhabitants of the region and workers themselves. Peace workers were misappropriating money, peace meetings were held by NGOs to display an engagement with conflicts about which they did not know anything about. Most of these peace meetings were held in big towns away from places where conflict took place. The impact of these meetings was not therefore felt in areas where conflict occurred. The study findings showed that poor conflict resolution strategies had resulted in NGOs, CBOs and FBOs being unable to resolve this prolonged and constant conflict. The strategies used by NGOs, CBOs and FBOs were not in line with the traditional conflict resolution modalities. 215 Reduced outreach by NGOs, CBOs and FBOs had led to failure in mitigation efforts to end the protracted conflict between the Turkana and Pokot communities. NGOs, CBOs and FBOs workers feared attacks from the Pokot if they went further near their territory. Poor timing contributed to the failure of NGOs, CBOs and FBOs to mitigate and end the constant conflict between these two communities. Further findings showed that NGOs, CBOs and FBOs made peace to suit their timetables. Peace groups were also often tempted to try to make peace regardless of the ongoing situation in the region, since this was what they were funded to do. However, trying to make peace at an inappropriate time created tensions on all sides, and these entrenched differences between ethnic groups more firmly. Poor conflict resolution strategies had made it difficult to achieve the intended results of ending the conflict between the Turkana and Pokot. This was because many affiliated researchers could not be given straightforward answers about the causes of raids by the community involved in conflict. Participants in interviews for gathering information about raids demanded for large sums of money before they gave information. This hampered quality information gathering, where sometimes the participants gave false information depending on the amount of money received. 216 6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS The Nairobi Protocol, a regional legal instrument to which all governments in the region are signatories, stipulates measures that signatories should put in place to ensure control of proliferation of Small arms and light weapons (SALW). It is recommended that there should be synergy between the two national focal points of Kenya and Uganda in addressing the small arms menace in Turkana and Pokot regions in Kenya and Eastern Uganda respectively. The Government should take a more positive approach by involving proper, investigative policing when dealing with reports of cattle thefts. The government needs to respond urgently to pastoralist conflict replacing its reactive strategy with a more proactive one that seeks to equip its security forces, train and instil in them a sense of urgency and responsibility in handling incidents of pastoralist conflict. Well trained trackers need to be hired to follow stolen animals as far as is possible, and regular patrols should be made to examine herds for suspicious livestock. However, the police must avoid the temptation to punish those communities which they feel are responsible. For NGOs, CBOs, FBOs and government administrators to have a meaningful impact, more needs to be done to help victims of theft track their animals and more generally to prevent retaliation. 217 The findings of this study support a recommendation that the government, civil society and religious organizations should ensure that educational facilities are expanded in these two regions. This can be realised through a deliberate and systematic strategy of allocating sufficient resources to build additional schools, expand existing ones and equip these schools with the basic equipment and personnel necessary. Community peace building initiatives such as those organised by RIAM RIAM, Practical Action, Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC), ACTED, SIKOM, ACF and World Vision should be strengthened to help to control the spread of pastoralist conflict in Turkana and Pokot, as well as along the border with Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda. These efforts should be strengthened through increased funding to these and other organizations doing similar work. It is also important for these organizations to network and collaborate with each other to avoid duplication and foster team work. Thus, identifying common problems and designing and implementing common peace building projects would yield far better results than working in isolation from each other. Community based organizations which have local acceptance like RIAM RIAM and SIKOM need to be strengthened both in terms of human and material capacity. 218 At policy level, the government should rethink its strategy of arming KPR as a counter force to armed cattle rustlers. It is suspected that KPR are actually part of the insecurity problem in Turkana County and elsewhere. The government should provide arms carefully because KPR are neither properly trained to handle weapons nor paid for the services they provide to the community. Many of them get killed by raiders during cattle rustling missions when government paid police officers abandon them and flee to preserve their own lives. An alternative to this policy would be to assess areas in which KPR can be retained through vetting process to ensure only highly disciplined people with an acceptable level of education are recruited. Once recruited, the government should train and pay them a monthly wage. Uniforms, whistle blowers, jungle boots, berets and other appropriate equipment should be made available to them. In addition, the KPR should be placed under the command of the regular police officers to ensure continuity and consistency in their operations. Then will most of the security loopholes be minimized. The government and other stakeholders, including NGOs,CBOs and FBO can make a huge difference in the development of Turkana south through increased funding of infrastructure facilities particularly roads, sinking more boreholes in most parts of the county, establishment of new irrigation projects and expansion of old ones. 219 The government is totally absent in the economy of the Turkana pastoralists. It should, through the relevant ministry, consider livestock marketing for the pastoralist communities as a conflict resolution and poverty eradication mechanism. A marketing system that would allow pastoralists to sell their livestock just before a drought and reserve funds for food security during the hard times, would go a long way in reducing conflicts. Government sponsored restocking systems that would ensure readily available livestock for purchase after a dry spell would eliminate raiding for restocking purposes. The researcher advocates for a well thought out plan of pastoral economic management system steered and funded by the government. Summary In conclusion, the study focused on three objectives, namely: identifying the dynamics and trends that sustained the protracted conflict between the Turkana and Pokot communities of Kainuk and Alale divisions respectively: examine, the role of local community actors involved in this conflict and lastly interrogate why mitigation efforts by the government and other peace stakeholders failed to yield the intended results. These three objectives were helpful in the actual research work, guiding the researcher to arrive at the findings of the study. 220 The study recommends there should be synergy between the two national focal points of Kenya and Uganda in addressing the small arms menace in Turkana and Pokot regions in Kenya and Eastern Uganda respectively. The government needs to equip its security forces, re-train and instil in them a sense of urgency and responsibility in handling incidents of pastoralist conflicts. Well trained trackers need to be hired to follow stolen animals as far as is possible, and regular patrols should be made to examine herds for suspicious livestock. However, the police must avoid the temptation to punish those communities which they feel are responsible. NGOs, CBOs, FBOs and government administrators should have a meaningful impact, by helping victims of livestock theft to track their animals and more generally to prevent retaliation. The government, civil society and religious organizations should ensure that educational facilities are expanded in these two regions. This can be realised through a deliberate and systematic strategy of allocating sufficient resources to build additional schools, expand existing ones and equip these schools with the basic equipment and personnel necessary. Community peace building initiatives such as those organised by RIAM RIAM, Practical Action, Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC), 221 ACTED, SIKOM, ACF and World Vision should be strengthened to help to control the spread of pastoralist conflict in Turkana and Pokot. These organizations should identify common problems, design and implement common peace building projects which would yield far better results than working in isolation from each other. The government should rethink its strategy of arming KPR as a counter force to armed cattle rustlers by providing arms carefully because KPR are neither properly trained to handle weapons nor paid for the services they provide to the community. It should assess areas in which KPR can be retained through vetting process to ensure only highly disciplined people with an acceptable level of education are recruited. Once recruited, the government should train and pay them a monthly wage. Uniforms, whistle blowers, jungle boots, berets and other appropriate equipment should be made available to them. In addition, the KPR should be placed under the command of the regular police officers to ensure continuity and consistency in their operations. The GoK through the relevant ministry should consider livestock marketing for the pastoralist communities as a conflict resolution and poverty eradication mechanism. A marketing system that would allow pastoralists to sell their 222 livestock just before a drought and reserve funds for food security during the hard times, would go a long way in reducing conflicts. 6.3 Areas of possible research There is an evolving phenomenon as Lodwar expands due to Tallow’s and BGP’s exploration for and discovery of oil, and as the business community seeks the security that the official police are unable to provide. The security situation in the county is bound to escalate. 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As the chairman of the Security Committee in your area, community leader or a non-governmental organization, you have been charged with the responsibility of keeping and maintaining law and order or sustain peaceful co-existence as far as security is concerned. Consequently you are the highest authorized officer being the custodian of all the security information, and with permission to speak on behalf of your office. The purpose of this letter is to let you know that I will be carrying out research in your area on the above subject between the date of 10/8/2013 and 25/3/2014. Please note that the information you will provide will be treated with utmost confidentiality and will only be used for the purpose of this study. No names will be mentioned in this report. Thank you, Esther Lokwei Lokiy 233 APPENDIX II: RESEARCH INSTRUMENT Questionnaire Instructions: Please answer the entire question as provided using a tick (√) where applicable or give an explanation where needed. SECTION 1: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION 1. Gender: Male ( ) Female ( ) 2. Age bracket: 30-35years ( ) 36-40years ( ) 41-50years ( ) 51- 55years ( ) 56 and above ( ) 3. a) Name of your organization__________________________________ b) Tick appropriately, what are you? i) DC ( ) ii) DO ( ) iii) Chief ( ) iv) NGO manager ( ) v) CBO manager ( ) vi) FBO in charge ( ) 4. Name of sub county________________________________________ 5. Duration of service in the district: 1-5 years ( ) 6-10years ( ) 11 and above years ( ) 6. State whether you are a local or not: Yes ( ) No ( ) SECTION II: DYNAMICS AND TRENDS CONTRIBUTING TO SUSTENANCE OF THE PROTRACTED VIOLENT ETHNIC CONFLICT BETWEEN THE POKOT AND TURKANA. 7. List any possible dynamics and trends (factors) sustaining conflict in your area. ________________________________________________________ 234 8. Explain how these factors have sustained the conflict in the area. 9. When do you experience raids in your area? 10. What do you think triggers these raids? 11. Why do you think so? SECTION III: THE ROLE OF LOCAL ACTORS IN SUSTAINING THE VIOLENT ETHNIC CONFLICT BETWEEN TURKANA AND POKOT. 12. a) List any local actors who are involved in the conflict. _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ b) How are involved? c) What motivates these actors to take part in supporting the conflict to continue? SECTION IV: WHY INTERVENTIONS BY GOVERNMENT, NGOs, CBOs AND FBOs HAVE NOT PRODUCED THE DESIRED RESULTS. 13. a) Explain how the government of Kenya is responding (interventions) to the protracted ethnic conflict between the Pokot and Turkana communities? b) Do you think these interventions have worked to reduce the conflict? c) Why do you think so? d) Suggest ways in which these interventions can produce desired results. e) As an organization what interventions have you put in place to resolve this conflict? f) Have the interventions been effective? g) Why do you think so? _______________________________________________________________ 235 g) What should be done? APPENDIX III STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS|FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS SECTION 1: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION OF THE INTERVIEWED 1. Gender: Male ( ) Female ( ) 2. What is your age bracket? 30-35years ( ) 36-40years ( ) 41-50years ( ) 51-55years ( ) 56 and above ( ) 3. Tick as applicable. Which one are you? a) Ward representative ( ) b) Villager elder ( ) c) Village headmen ( ) d) Women elder ( ) e) Youth leader ( ) f) Businessman ( ) g) Trader ( ) h) Emuron ( ) i) Cluster of men ( ) Women ( ) Youth ( ) 4. What is the name of your area of jurisdiction? 5. For how long have you been a representative or led the people of this area? 1-5 years ( ) 6-10years ( ) 11 and above years ( ) SECTION II: DYNAMICS AND TRENDS CONTRIBUTING TO SUSTENANCE OF THE PROTRACTED VIOLENT ETHNIC CONFLICT BETWEEN THE POKOT AND TURKANA. 6. List any possible factors sustaining conflict in your area. __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ 7. Explain how these factors have sustained the conflict in your area? 8. When do you experience raids in your area? 9) What do you think triggers these raids? 236 10) Why do you think so? SECTION III: THE ROLE OF LOCAL ACTORS IN SUSTAINING THE VIOLENT ETHNIC CONFLICT BETWEEN TURKANA AND POKOT. 11. a). List any local actors who are involved in the conflict. _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ b) How are they involved? _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ c) What motivates these actors to take part in supporting the conflict to continue? SECTION IV: WHY INTERVENTIONS BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, NGOs, CBOs AND FBOs HAVE NOT PRODUCED THE DESIRED RESULTS. 12. a) Explain how the government of Kenya is responding (interventions) to the conflict between the Pokot and Turkana communities? _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ b) As a representative of your people do you think these interventions have worked to reduce the conflict? c) Why do you think so? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ d) Suggest ways in which these interventions can be achieved. _______________________________________________________________ 237 _______________________________________________________________ 13.a) Name some of the NGOs, CBOs, FBOs working in your area to procure peace. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ b) How is this ethnic conflict affecting their peace work? c) What interventions have they put in place to mitigate this conflict? d) Have these interventions yielded the expected results? e) Why do you think so? f) What do you think should be done? Thank you for your cooperation. 238 APPENDIX IV: RESEARCH PERMIT 239 APPENDIX V: RESEARCH PERMIT 240 APPENDIX VI: LIST OF INTERVIEWEES|RESPONDENTS NAME ETHNIC GROUP VILLAGE AGE DATE COMMENT Joyce Emanikor Turkana Lodwar 54 10|1|2014 Women Rep National Assembly Turkana James Lomenen Turkana Lokichar 35 12|1|2014 MP Turkana South Elijah Kodo Luo Lokichar 48 14|1|2014 Deputy County Commissioner Alex Munyaka Kikuyu Kainuk 30 14|1|2014 Assistant Deputy County Commissioner- Kainuk Allan Lokeun Turkana Katilu 55 17|1|2014 Chief Katilu Location Esther Lokidor Turkana Katilu 58 17|1|2014 Women Elder Mariana Akitela Turkana Katilu 59 17/1/2014 Women Elder Longoria Napo Turkana Katilu 51 17/1/2014 Ezekiel Ejore Turkana Nakwamoru 65 18|1|2014 Village elder Lotome Ekaru Turkana Kaputir 60 18|1|2014 Village elder Epuu Napo Turkana Katilu 63 18/1/2014 Former councillor Lokorio Ateyo Turkana Kaputir 65 18/1/2014 Kraal leader Ekaale Silale Turkana Kainuk 61 18/1/2014 Daniel Ejore Turkana Katilu 72 19/1/2014 Village elder Ekaru longolol Turkana Kalemngorok 25 19/1/2014 Youth leader Lochuch Lomuton Turkana Juluk 65 19|1|2014 Emuron(seer) Ikaru Emoni Turkana Lokapel 59 23|1|2014 Leader FGD Peterson Erus Turkana Kainuk 40 23|1|2014 Manager World Vision(K) Peter Elim Turkana Lodwar 41 24|1|2014 Co-ordinator RIAM RIAM John Lokorio Turkana Katilu 23 24|1|2014 Youth leader Ekamais Lotege Turkana Kainuk 48 25|1|2014 Businessman Fr. Areman Turkana Kainuk Paish 43 25|1|2014 Catholic Priest John Abei Turkana Katilu 40 25/1/2014 Member of county assembly Abdirizak Jaldessa Somali Alale 51 30|1|2014 Deputy County Commissioner Juliu Marwa Kuria Alale 38 30|1|2014 Assistant Deputy 241 County Commissioner- Konyao Regina Nyiris Pokot Alale 45 30|1|2014 Women Rep National Assembly- W.Pokot. Mark Lomunoko Pokot Alale 39 3|2|2014 MP Kacheliba Constituency Thomas Hereos Spanish Alale 65 3|2|2014 Catholic Priest Michael Tulul Pokot Alale 32 4|2|2014 Incharge-Alale dispensary Calisto Lobwang Pokot Kacheliba 59 !9|2|2014 Village elder Bosco Girtum Pokot Konyao 52 20|2|2014 Businessman Rael Silale Pokot Kasei 59 22|2|2014 Women elder Luke Lotukoi Pokot Alale 21 23|2|2014 Youth leader Paul Longurangole Pokot Kacheliba 53 24|2|2014 Leader FGD Tumkou Lomada Pokot Kacheliba 42 26|2|2014 Former warrior Jacob Logilae Pokot Alale 41 26|2|2014 Manager- ACTED Lonyiala Pokot Konyao 43 26/2/2014 Lomeringole Pokot Alale 54 26/2/2014 Kraal leader Longoraipus Pokot Kacheliba 50 20/2/2014 Kraal leader Thomas Macharpus Pokot Amakuriat 49 22/2/2014 Businessman