By Jacob Ng'etich
Lukaskout Jaling’a’ is a worried man in his Nakukulas village, Turkana County. The hot sun swathes his back as he tries to hide under thorny shrubs. His cows, goats and camels are scattered all over the field, foraging the dry grass as he ponders the next move.
Before the discovery of oil in several areas in Turkana, Jaling’a was a free pastoralist who would move with his many heads of cattle from place to place in search of pasture and water.
The only worry then was the incessant attack from the Pokot warriors, who would attack anytime for cattle. “That is not a worry now. What worries us is the kind of restriction that has been put to us since the discovery of the oil. The discovery of oil has brought with it uncertainty over our land,” says the father of two.
He asserts that as pastoralists, they would graze in every part of the vast land without restrictions.
“Our fear was only when the Pokot warriors would strike,” he adds.
Since the discovery of oil in the Nakukulas village, among other areas, he says, many things have changed, more importantly, lack of access to their land.
“The moment oil was discovered, some parts of the land became a no-go zone, the herdsboys are sometimes chased away by those prospecting for oil at Ngamia I,” he notes.
He says a rumour is circulating in the area that places such as Kamak, Kagalee, Kochadil and Akalee hills, through to Kerio Valley would be fenced off for exploration and drilling purposes.
“If that takes place, where will we be living? We are wishing that this oil was not found, we would be living our normal lives,” he notes ruefully.
Nevertheless, to some community members, they are wondering how the Government, against the dictate of the Constitution, gave out the community land without the locals’ consent. Edward Angelei a resident of Ng’akimok village, a few kilometres from Ngamia I, says they were not contacted when the Government was giving out land to the prospectors.
“We wake up every morning only to see people going round our land, no one bothers to explain to us what is happening. We are only told that the land has been sold to oil prospecting companies and no one talks about our future,” he says.
He says that even though discovery of oil has been seen by Kenyans as a blessing, those prospecting do not care about locals and about the environment.
“It is not only here in Ngamia I, but the whole of Turkana. Our pastoralist life will be adversely affected if they demarcate our lands,” he adds.
Land and legal experts say the land issue in Turkana was sensitive and the Government should not have given it out without first contacting the locals.
They say that giving out a community land without the consent of the community members was unconstitutional, bearing in mind the fact that in Turkana, land is still communally owned.
Sing’oei Korir, a High Court advocate, explains that what the Government was doing about the Turkana land was against the Article 71 of the Constitution. The Article states that community land shall not be disposed of, or otherwise used without legislation specifying the nature and extent of the rights of members of each community individually and collectively.
Abuse of law
“There is an urgent need for the Government to pass the law on community land so as to provide a proper way of dealing with land in Turkana. What is going on is an illegality and an abuse on the law,” he says.
Community land includes land held, managed and used by specific communities as community forests, grazing area and shrines; or one currently managed as trust land by county governments and any land owned by community through any other law.
According to the chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Lands and Environment Mutava Musyimi, the legislation of community land should be done urgently.
“The importance of enacting the law on community land cannot be overemphasised, we have worked on the Bill and forwarded to the Lands minister and we hope that we will make it law before end of the current Parliament,” says Musyimi.
Lands activists argue land issue in Turkana should be handled with care since it can spill into violence.
Eliud Kerio, chairman of Turkana County Council, asserts land in Turkana belongs to the local community and they would resist any attempt to remove people from these areas.
“The issue about oil in Turkana should be handled with much care. The local residents need to feel as part of the process because the land belongs to them communally, otherwise we might witness unnecessary restless anxiety,” says Kerio.
Celine Locham, a chief executive officer, Turkana Women Advocacy Development Organisation (TWADO), says the issue is sensitive and needed to be cautiously handled.
“People are living in a state of uncertainty with the fear of losing their land now that prospecting is taking place in most places of Turkana County. People here are no longer sure whether they still own their land communally as they used to,” she observes.
She adds that it was the responsibility of the Government to assure locals they will not be thrown out of their land.
Land Development and Governance Institute (LDGI) chairman Ibrahim Mwathane urges the Government to expedite the law so as to allow for its use legally because, as it is, the Constitution prohibits even the community itself from using its land. Wildlife Assistant minister who is also the Turkana South MP Josphat Nanok warns Turkana people might not allow the Government to continue giving out their parcels of land without their consent.
“The Government has not come clean and told us what is going, As leaders, we are left in the dark yet we represent the community. The locals are asking us questions every day, whether the land still belongs to them,” he says.
