There’s more to land invasions than just drought

The growing tension between ranchers and pastoralists in Laikipia points to a bigger problem of law and order as well as executive impunity. This has been exacerbated by historical grievances of displacement, tribalism and political rivalry in the countdown to the August 8 General Election.

While on the surface the cases of pastoralists invading ranches seem to be desperate efforts by communities to get pasture and water for their livestock, a deeper probing suggests a more worrying trend.

It appears that politicians and some powerful individuals in Government are deliberately stoking the fires for very selfish ends that have little to do with the plight of pastoralists. The first lot comprises politicians from the area who have instrumentalised the drought into a perfect campaign grievance of settlers versus migrants in Laikipia County.

This group is inciting locals to invade ranches not just to graze livestock but also to claim ownership. This is one of the many tactics they are perfecting to intimidate genuine land owners whilst hoping to impress the masses with their passion for “fighting for community interests”. This is precisely why talk among pastoralists invading the ranches revolves around discourse of belonging and not securing pasture for livestock.

Unlike the politicians hiding behind the drought to whip up primitive loyalties among locals in the hope that it might propel them ahead of rivals in the August elections, the second group of people stoking the tensions have a more kleptocratic urge.

They are betting on the insecurity to compel ranchers, most of whom are foreigners, to either sell them a stake of their prime land or run away. This lot is more dangerous for it combines political and economic clout and gravitates around one of the most powerful individuals in the country.

Without belabouring the merits of rule of law and the right to own property anywhere in the country, it’s critical that we step back and interrogate our governance structures to understand why and when disorder became the new normal in Government.

The casual manner in which the national and county governments are handling resource conflicts across the country points to a serious leadership deficit. This explains why our leaders have never missed an opportunity to avoid addressing key national concerns such as land ownership and access to wealth.

The rhetoric about law and order will not solve anything in Laikipia or Elgeyo Marakwet when our leaders have institutionalised a vampire culture of using the State to prey on its citizen. In other words, the problem in Laikipia is not drought or hapless pastoralists, but land sharks in Nairobi exploiting the vulnerability of pastoralists in order to dispossess genuine owners. This is a national catastrophe of new money gone rogue.