Where guns now sell for five cows down from 14

Any mention of northern Kenya immediately brings to mind images of constant fighting, cattle raids and starvation. Bordering lawless Somalia and former war-torn Sudan, the region has seen few days of peace in the last 10 years. It is a region where the bloody cattle rustling persistently trounces any attempts at peace and reconciliation.

Indigenous herders occupy dwindling grazing lands that are best suited for livestock production, but suffering periodic drought. Their way of life has mostly been portrayed as backward and warlike.

Cattle rustling has a long history, and to some extent, has become an aspect of the traditional pastoralists’ culture. The only modern thing available is, unhappily, firearms, which have long replaced traditional weapons. Cattle rustling has become increasingly destructive and difficult to control.

Desolate region

Loss of human life, property, displacement of communities, disruption of socio-economic activities, threat to water catchments areas, feuds between the communities, and high levels of starvation and malnutrition are some effects of frequent ethnic conflicts in the desolate region.

According to a recent report from the University of Arizona that shows how violence shapes the health of nomadic pastoralists in northern Kenya, the demand for automatic weapons and their munitions in Turkana, Samburu and Pokot has in the last decade opened a big market.

“Fuelled by persistent droughts, the arms race among the major pastoral communities in northern Kenya has intensified in the last decade with almost 95 per cent of homesteads said to own a fire arm,” says the report that will be presented at the Global Response 2010, an international conference on violent conflict and health to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark later this month.

In one of the most vicious eruptions of conflict in the region, more than 100 people were butchered in Marsabit District at dawn in July 2005, when armed raiders believed to be Borana, attacked the village of Turbi inhabited by the Gabra community. During the ethnic warfare, which lasted for several days, dozens of people were injured and thousands of families displaced.

The attack underlined the hostile relationships between communities in the arid north, where pasture and water are limited. The dominant ethnic groups in the area are yet to embrace peaceful co-existence. They all apportion blame with startling precision. And as expected, none of their clan members is aggressive, it is always the neighbouring community that attacks, stirring the need to retaliate.

The use of guns has risen during the past decade. In places like Samburu, Isiolo, Pokot and Laikipia, a population without firearms is the minority. Owning a gun among the pastoralists is no longer a secret. Many warriors use the weapon to herd their cattle. They argue that it is the only way to protect themselves from the “aggressive neighbouring tribes”.

Most of these firearms are cheap, portable, high-tech, easily obtainable, durable, need minimal maintenance and require little training to use. This means that even the youngest herds-boy can assume the status of warrior-hood and join the ever-growing militia groups.

The price of guns has plummeted over the years. According to sources, most guns are obtained in Isiolo Town. The price of a rifle is now only five cows, down from 14 in 2003. And to acquire an AK-47, a herder only needs two large bulls and a couple of smaller livestock. A bullet goes for between Sh100 and Sh150.

In recent years, attempts by the Government to disarm the herders have proved disastrous. Most of the communities were left vulnerable to those across the border who still have easy access to weapons. On this ground alone, the warriors of the north take it upon themselves to acquire arms to protect their people and cattle. The vicious cycle of hostility continues.

In a recent visit to Isiolo, one of the volatile areas in the North, the Minister for Internal Security Prof George Saitoti warned the residents that the Kenyan Government would start a military operation to force all herders to surrender illegal guns.

Surrender guns

“The 30 days of giving out firearms are over. We have got 22,000 guns, but we know most of you own weapons. You must surrender the guns to the Government. We will not tolerate cattle raids and banditry. Ownership of guns is a threat to peace in this region,” the minister warned.

Last year, a similar government crackdown which took place in Samburu turned lethal after local herdsmen who were unwilling to surrender illegal weapons and “the stolen” livestock fought pitched battles with security agents.

According to human rights records, the exchanges of fire between herders and soldiers in Samburu villages during a one-month gun clean up have left more than 40 people dead, including five police officers. Dozens of other pastoralists were injured and hundreds of families fled their homes.

Critics say the gun culture in the arid north is as a result of the Government’s continued neglect. “It is true that thousands of guns are in the wrong hands in northern Kenya. But what are the pastoralists to do when the Government has failed to provide adequate protection to them and their livestock? Young warriors have no alternative but to protect their families and herds from outside attacks,” says Raphael Letimalo, MP for Samburu East.

The disarmament processes, like the Mandera Security Operation early last year, have been cited in serious human rights abuses where women and girls are gang-raped and children and the elderly killed. The Government has largely been blamed for its failure to implement serious disarming operations.

“Over the years, we have experienced partial disarmament, where some communities are disarmed and others are left armed. If it is disarmament, let it be done without favouritism,” says Simeon Lesrima, assistant minister for Internal Security. Statistics from Institute for Security Studies shows that the two major hurdles which afflict frequent government disarmament programmes in Northern Kenya are limited budget and lack of organized cross-border disarmament programmes.

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