By Ali Abdi and Wainaina Ndung’u

Abdia Mohammed, 37, says her husband was shot dead at Bula Gudud along the western bank of Isiolo River last January 23.

‘‘We had 17 camels and were tilling a farm along the river until this violence broke out. My husband was killed when the animals were stolen by bandits and we moved to this camp," she said, speaking at Kilimani AP and Chief camp where hundreds of Somali and Borana victims of violence took shelter.

Abdia is among scores of people uprooted from their homes in Bula Gudud, Kilimani, Bula Daka, Kipsing and Mulango when the conflict erupted.

However, like many Isiolo residents, it is hard for Abdia to lay claim to the land from which she was evicted. Few in the arid expanse that is Isiolo and neighbouring districts have title deeds to show ownership.

The land, which is being cited as a key source of the conflict, is held in trust by local councils.

For instance, the Isiolo County Council earns Sh500 per trip from lorries collecting sand in the two Isiolo wards of Kilimani and Shambani, but has also licensed some locals operating as a conservancy to collect a similar amount from sand transporters in a revenue-sharing scheme with residents.

One of the communities claims the conservancy status was awarded exclusively to their rivals without consultations and that the fee collection at the sand quarrying sites is supervised by armed vigilantes.

In the ensuing violence, up to 25 people have been killed this year.

Grazing fields

Isiolo County Council Chairman Adan Ali said: ‘‘The custodian of all land is the council. No community can claim a portion of the land, especially grazing fields.’’

Ali said with the exception of Isiolo township, the rest of the county measuring over 24, 000 sq km including Kipsing, Mulango and Shambani remains entrusted to the council on behalf of all its residents.

Much of the trouble coming from Isiolo County is because the bulk of its land is under the Trustland Act, as set out in the old constitution.

The new Constitution identifies Trustland as Community Land but new legislation is yet to be worked by Parliament. As such, all transactions related to land in Isiolo are still governed by the old law.

The Trustland Act gives the County Council of Isiolo the mandate to hold the land in trust on behalf of the residents. Most of whom are nomads who rarely settle on one spot for long.

Land rights activists in Isiolo claim the Trustland Act has been abused by the Central Government through the Commissioner of Lands who must approve all land related transactions.

They blame the past abuse of the law to the lethargy which has greeted the announcement that the Government will carve out 6,500 hectares near Isiolo town for the construction of the Isiolo Resort Eco-city, one of the Vision 2030 flagship projects.

compensation

Councillor Salesio Kiambi of Kiwanja ward in Isiolo town said it was unclear even to the council what will happen when it comes to compensation for the land to be lost to the project.

Dida Golicha, the chairman of the District Peace Committee in Isiolo County agrees that a desire to claim ownership to the "coveted" land could be a prime reason for the clashes around the site of the proposed resort city.

"As matters stand now, they should understand that Trustland is communal land that cannot be claimed by any one community," said Golicha.

"But we are going to recommend to the National Land Commission that land around the site be divided, allocations done and title deeds given to end the conflict."

Waso Trustland Project, a land rights NGO operating in the county, agrees that the Commissioner of Lands had the sole power to do anything he or the Government wishes with regard to land allocation in most parts of Isiolo.

‘‘All the military bases in Isiolo and northern Kenya and mineral explorations besides land grabbing were done with sole authority of the Commissioner of Lands. The council was used as a pawn,’’ said Hassan Shano, the Coordinator of the NGO.

Rival communities often identify surrounding lands as theirs. The trend is most visible during drought period and clan conflict as it is now in Isiolo Central Division where the County headquarters is located.

A member of Turkana community said their people set up community wildlife conservancies and sand harvesting projects while invoking Article 63 of the new Constitution.

community land

The article provides for community land, which shall be vested in and be held by communities identified on the basis of ethnicity, culture or similar community of interest.

Emmanuel Ashuka claimed the invasion of the camels by herdsmen from neighbouring area was tied to a bid to evict them from the area because they would have generally been frightened by the herders.

The herdsmen are being escorted by uniformed and armed Kenya Police Reservists.

Migration of herders stokes conflict

Upper Eastern Regional Commissioner Isaiah Nakoru says there is an estimated 50,000 camels in Isiolo Central currently, up from about 10,000 in 2008.

The rise has heightened suspicion and competition for pastures and water between the rival sides.

Last month, Nakoru issued a quit order to the camel owners to head for Isiolo South within the County where the Borana are dominant. They are also asked to move to Tigania East and Igembe North in Meru County or to North Eastern Province.

However, the Somali community leaders vowed to stay put, saying animals were only coming into the area because of increased camel milk and meat trade.

"An order for the camels to pan out from the area was not easy to enforce because this is a Trust land governed by Trustland Act. They could even challenge you to cite a particular constitutional provision they were breaking by grazing there," said Danied Kamaza, the Isiolo OCPD.

After the Provincial Administration and police officers pushed back hundreds of Turkana families into an IDP camp at Shambani Primary School, tension escalated. Two people were killed in incidents linked to tribal hatred.

Somali elder Aden Abdullahi said as much as locals feel they were not being involved in the planning of the resort city project, there will be friction between communities.

However, politics is also partly blamed for the violence.