State should pay more attention to security

The heat is on again among Kenyan pastoralists over what the media has termed “clashes over water and pasture”. Kenyans and their government are overwhelmed in thought and action as if the violence was unanticipated.

What happened in Kanampio village along the border of Samburu Central and Laikipia North districts and recent skirmishes in Isiolo, Samburu, Laikipia, Turkana and other pastoralist areas is nothing new or unexpected.

The violence forms part of an active conflict sub-system and cycle that traces its roots to not only the marginalisation of these communities but also the consequences of climate change and the inability of the government to address pertinent issues of human security as opposed to conventional security.

The concept of human security, which challenges the traditional notion of national security by focusing on individuals and societies, seems to elude the security agents. There are seven human threats based on assurance of personal security, community security, economic security, food security, health security, environmental security, and political security.

Kenyans should brace themselves for escalated cases of cattle rustling and genera lawlessness in the pastoralist areas. Research has shown that cattle rustling in Kenya has evolved from a cultural practice to a rapacious life-threatening activity.

Areas affected by cattle rustling continue to be the epicentre of conflicts and lag behind in development. Pastoralist conflicts, especially cattle rustling, should find definition in national security threats in the same way as non-military threats such as environmental mismanagement, natural resource depletion, overpopulation, terrorism and the environmental consequences of the new scramble for African resources by China and the West.

According to research conducted by Practical Action (formerly ITDG), an International NGO, pastoralists districts in Kenya and Karamoja in Uganda lost about 460,000 livestock valued at over Sh5 billion to cattle rustlers. At least 3,000 deaths were reported and 210,000 people displaced.

Apart from the problem of small arms and light weapons, there are a number of reasons why insecurity and violent conflicts have become a common feature of pastoral livelihoods in northern Kenya. First, the inability of the government to establish the nexus between security and development has promoted violent competition for limited resources.

Secondly, climate change is a reality with new livelihood patterns emerging among pastoralists due to drought . With regard to pastoralists today, cultural identity has not been used as a tool for liberation but “self-marginalisation”. It’s also wel known that the leadership of pastoralists ends up divided in situations that call for a common position.

Yet holding a common position does not necessarily translate to a specific solutions to a problem. This has been their political Achilles heel. Cattle rustling has taken advantage of this division to thrive.

The writer is a Conflicts and Peacebuilding Adviser with CEMIRIDE. dekuam@yahoo.co.uk