Keeping barter trade alive

By Lucas Ng’asike

Asike Aleper rests his walking stick on his shoulders and exhaustively hangs his arms on it.

He has taken this journey with his livestock as long as he remembers. However, these days the journey to watering points is more depressing. For every trip he makes in search of water for his livestock, he loses an animal.

Not to disease or killer animals, but he has to give it to those manning the water points. It is barter trade –– an animal for water. This is the only way Asike and other herders can keep their animals alive. Though it is an age-old tradition to use animals in exchange for services, Asike says herders are now being exploited.

Due to scarcity, water points owners have imposed a charge of a goat for each visit. Photo: Lucas Ng’asike/Standard

The Ng’ikamatak on the other hand occupy Lorengippi and Kaapus areas, which borders Uganda.

Even though the barter trade has taken root, sometimes the search for pasture and water has remained a recipe for conflicts in the regions occupied by the two clans.

Recently, a clash broke out when an elder from Ng’imonia clan led fellow villagers to graze the animals into the protected grassland of the Ng’ikamatak clan.

Although the elder had paid sheep to the Ng’ikamatak elders to allow him graze the animals, the offer was denounced later and a quarrel ensued.

The Ng’ikamatak elders claimed a clansman who allowed the Ng’imonia clan members to graze in the grassland contravened a clan agreement.

According to them, the area was out of bounds for anyone including their own, as it had been resolved the area be preserved for the dry spell.

A meeting convened by Lorengipi location chief, Nathan Ekal and attended by councillors from both clans to resolve the matter ended in disarray after the rival clan members fought.

Appeal to government

A local Community Based Organisation working for peace in the area, the Loima Peace and Development Organisation, and the Arid land Resource Management Programme are working to resolve the conflicts.

Lopedo co-ordinator, Mr Paul Emuria, appealed to the Government to move fast to contain the clan feuds before they get out of control.

Emuria fears the problem, if not resolved, could spill into inter community conflicts that could divide the Turkana people.

"We want the Government to act very fast so that the water and pasture disputes between the two clans are resolved once and for all," says Emuria.

Loima DC Morris Ivuto says a district peace committee would tackle the conflicts after they are verified.

"I cannot comment on the matter. I need to move to the ground to verify the facts. I have also sent my DO1 to the areas claimed to have been affected by the conflicts to check the facts," he says.

The Loima DO1 Peter Majiwa confirmed that the two clans had clashed over pasture and water in their areas.

He says some clansmen had been unfairly robbing some others of more animals in barter trade. The administrator vowed to deal with the culprits decisively.

Majiwa however says it is normal for a herder to offer an animal as a token of appreciation after getting water for their herds.

"It’s a tradition for the clansman to offer a clan elder a goat as appreciation in exchange of a watering point services. Digging a well for instance is tedious work and you do not expect somebody to access the water point free of charge," says the DO.

Majiwa says the clan differences are being addressed.