Francis Lotodo, warmonger who defied President Moi

he history of cattle rustling cannot be complete without mentioning the name of former Cabinet minister Francis Lotodo.

Mr Lotodo, a man of contradictions, was a fierce fighter, controversial MP, former convict, fugitive and an inciter who is also highly regarded as a fearless leader who gave his all for the Pokot.

In the 1980s, he was among a few Kalenjin leaders who criticised President Daniel Moi about the communities’ development. For that, he was sacked from the Cabinet, arrested and imprisoned.

In 1981, he was accused of buying arms for the Pokot and was implicated in cattle rustling and incitement.

Residents say he contributed to “opening up the eyes of the Pokot” by urging them to drop arrows and spears, buy guns and defend themselves from their aggressive neighbours.

Historian Charles Hornsby, in his book Kenya: A History of Independence, says that in 1984, the government carried out a major security operation in the area using the GSU and helicopters to track down cattle raiders.

'BANDITRY CONTINUED'

“Undeterred, banditry in Pokot and neighbouring Trans Nzoia and Elgeyo-Marakwet continued, and there were indications that the Pokot political leadership was involved in these activities,” Hornsby writes. “The most prominent Pokot politician, Francis Lotodo, a little-educated nationalist, was sacked as assistant minister in 1984 and expelled from Kanu and Parliament for “warlike activities”.

Although the issue was that he was associated with cattle rustling, Lotodo was jailed for 18 months for parliamentary mileage fraud. He was to stay out of government until eight years later, when he was reappointed to the Cabinet.

In 1997, Lotodo, then a powerful minister in Moi’s government, asked all non-Kalenjins to leave the Rift Valley.

The Ilchamus, Tugen and Turkana blame most of their woes on their fierce neighbours, the Pokot.

At a rally in Kacheliba in 1999, Lotodo told all Marakwets to “pack and move out of West Pokot land before the end of the year”. To firm up his point, he instructed all Pokot youth to make sure that “no Marakwet is given room in Pokot land”.

Loyal and faithful minister

This statement led to a new flare-up of violence in the Kerio Valley, forcing Moi’s government to send the army, but there was more to Lotodo than what most people knew.

In 1984, during Operation Nyundo, a military mission in West Pokot aimed at disarming civilians, Lotodo was among the Pokot who crossed over to Uganda to run away from the government crackdown.

Many years later, after failing to woo him back, Moi had to befriend him. He eventually readmitted him to the Cabinet. When Lotodo died in 2000, Moi was among the first leaders to condole with his family, friends and relatives, describing him as a “loyal and faithful minister".

The young morans we interviewed said that they wanted to become like Lotodo, the greatest cattle rustler of all time.