Inside Angata Barikkoi's unending battle with banditry, land disputes

Residents of Angata Barikoi during a meeting attended Kenyan politicians. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

For decades, communities in Angata Barikkoi, Trans Mara South, have lived with the twin crises of banditry and land disputes, a volatile mix that has repeatedly plunged the region into violence and displacement.

Much of the bloodshed has centred on Angata Barikkoi village, where cattle rustling and contested land claims often ignite clashes between rival communities. The area’s fertile valleys, fed by year‑round rainfall, forest cover and river networks, produce maize, sugarcane and other crops in abundance, masking deep‑seated tensions beneath the lush landscape.

What appears to outsiders as a land of promise is, for residents, a place of fear and mistrust. Relations between local communities and the state remain strained, shaped by years of insecurity and unresolved grievances.

At least four people have been killed, scores injured and more than 100 families displaced in the latest wave of violence between the Kipsigis and Siria communities. More than 200 houses have been torched, leaving entire villages in smouldering ruins.

On Tuesday, December 16, armed youths attacked Llama and Rotik villages, burning more than 30 houses and injuring several residents. The clashes, now in their second week, have spread across Angata Barikkoi, Lolgorian and Keyian wards, with armed groups exchanging gunfire as women and children flee to overcrowded schools for safety.

Fear now grips Trans Mara South. Homes lie abandoned, villages remain tense and the crack of gunfire is a constant threat. With illegal firearms proliferating, the region’s fragile peace hangs by a thread.

Angata Barikkoi has long been classified as a banditry hotspot, plagued by insecurity linked to cattle raids and land disputes. Resident Anne Chepkwony said the national government must address the area’s unique security challenges.

“Angata Barikkoi has for many years faced cattle raids and land disputes that have led to the killing of civilians,” she said.

Beyond banditry, land disputes remain at the heart of many violent confrontations. Poor documentation, historical injustices and overlapping claims have fuelled conflicts that often turn deadly.

In June this year, three people were shot dead and seven others seriously injured during a violent confrontation between police and residents over disputed land in Oloirien Group Ranch, Kimintet Ward. The contested 288.83‑hectare parcel was declared an adjudication section in 1975 and subdivided among members, except for one portion reserved for a community income‑generating project.

Residents later discovered that the un-allocated section, Oloirien A‑15, had been alienated and transferred to private entities without their knowledge.

In 2020, tensions escalated after the Kenya Airports Authority indicated plans to compulsorily acquire part of the land to rehabilitate the Angama airstrip.

The group ranch moved to court in 2022, securing injunctions barring any dealings, compensation or development on the disputed land pending determination of the case.

In April, five people were shot dead and many others injured when government surveyors allegedly attempted to carve out 1,500 acres claimed by Kipsigis families from the disputed Angata Barikkoi‑Moyoi land, despite existing court orders.

The land is claimed by 448 families who say they have farmed it since 2002 and hold valid title deeds issued during the tenure of former President Daniel arap Moi.

In September, government surveyors completed a two‑week survey of the wider 6,500‑acre Angata Barikkoi/Moyoi (Kailolong) land. Director of Surveys Weldon Maritim said the exercise had resolved a dispute that had persisted for more than five decades.

“By setting clear boundaries, we have delivered certainty, restored peace and strengthened land governance,” Maritim said.

Speaking in Kilgoris, Governor Patrick Ole Ntutu and Kilgoris MP Julius Ole Sunkuli said the violence had displaced families, injured residents and destroyed homes, forcing women and children to seek refuge in schools.

“We have deployed a multi‑agency security team and provided food and blankets to affected families,” Ntutu said, adding that a peace meeting bringing together leaders from the Kipsigis, Siria Maasai and Kisii communities is scheduled for Saturday in Narok.

Sunkuli warned that the spread of firearms had transformed local conflicts into a serious national security threat. “The arming of communities is making these conflicts more deadly and unpredictable,” he said.

Meanwhile, tensions remain high in parts of Trans Mara West, where clashes over grazing zones have left several people nursing arrow injuries. Leaders have appealed for calm as security teams’ work to stabilise the region.