The business of peace: Raiding and peace work along the Kenya-Uganda border (Part I)

African Affairs

Volumn 107, Issue 426, 2008, Pages 89-110

  Eaton, Dave ^a  

^a DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

BORDER REGION; BOUNDARY DISPUTE; CORRUPTION; ETHNICITY; GEOPOLITICS; NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION; PEACE PROCESS; RESOURCE SCARCITY; WEAPON;

AFRICA; EAST AFRICA; KENYA; SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA; UGANDA;

BOS;

EID: 38149030930     PISSN: 00019909     EISSN: 14682621     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/afraf/adm085     Document Type: Article

References (107)

1. For the purposes of this article, I use the term North Rift to include the West Pokot, Marakwet, and Trans-Nzoia districts in Kenya, as well as the southern parts of Turkana District. Across the border, I include Uganda's Kapchorwa, Nakapiripirit and Moroto districts. This is not justified by any geographical features nor by prior usage, but merely reflects the need to find a straightforward term to describe the area covered by my research. A number of examples will be taken from the surrounding areas and elsewhere in East Africa, but my interviews were confined to the area encompassed above.
2. Security and Research Information Centre (SRIC), 'Terrorized citizens' (Occasional Publication, SRIC, Nairobi, 2003), p. 68 provides a geographical breakdown of weapons in Kenya, claiming there are 66,239 in Turkana, 36,937 in West Pokot, and 92 in Marakwet. In March 2000, the Ugandan government estimated the Karimojong had between 20,000 and 50,000 guns. See Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), 'Karamoja: searching for peace and human rights' (Report, UHRC, Kampala, 2004), p. 67. These estimates are extremely contentious, and particularly in the case of SRIC may be influenced by their close relationship with the Kenyan government. For some of the problems with weapons estimates in the North Rift, see Ben Knighton, 'The state as raider among the Karamojong: "Where there are no guns, they use the threat of guns"', Africa 73, 3 (2003), pp. 438-9
3. Kennedy Mkutu, 'Small arms and light weapons among pastoral groups in the Kenya Uganda border area', African Affairs 106, 422 (2007), p. 48.
4. Michael Odhiambo, The Karamoja Conflict (Oxfam, Nairobi, 2003), p. 1.
5. 'Raiders target security chiefs', Daily Nation, 10 April 2000.
6. Interview No. 056, Cheminy, Kapchorwa District, Uganda, 17 November 2005
7. Kennedy Mkutu and Nathalie Gomes, 'Breaking the cycle of violence: building local capacity for peace and development in Karamoja, Uganda' (special report, SNV-Pax Christi, Kampala, 2004), p. 48.
8. UHRC, 'Annual Report 2004' (UHRC, Kampala, 2005), pp. 97-103.
9. Knighton, 'State as raider', pp. 439-40.
10. The most important changes were the end of the Moi government and the rise of Marakwet East MP Linah Kilimo to a cabinet post in President Kibaki's regime in 2002.
11. Max Gluckman, Order and Rebellion in Tribal Africa (Cohen and West, London, 1963), pp. 20-1
12. David Turton, 'War, peace and Mursi identity' in Katsuyoshi Fukui and David Turton (eds), Warfare among East African Herders (National Museum, Osaka, 1979), pp. 179-210.
13. Neville Dyson-Hudson, Karimojong Politics (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1966), p. 229.
14. Uri Almagor, 'Raiders and elders: A confrontation of generations among the Dassanetch' in Fukui and Turton (eds), Warfare, pp. 119-46.
15. P. T. W. Baxter, 'Boran age-sets and warfare' in Fukui and Turton (eds), Warfare, p. 75
16. Katsuyoshi Fukui and David Turton, 'Introduction', in Fukui and Turton (eds), Warfare, pp. 1-14
17. Shun Sato, 'The Rendille and the adaptive strategies of East African pastoralists' in Eisei Kurimoto and Simon Simonse (eds), Conflict, Age and Power in North East Africa (Ohio University Press, Athens, OH, 1998), pp. 224-5.
18. John Lamphear, 'The evolution of Ateker 'New Model' armies: Jie and Turkana' in Katsuyoshi Fukui and John Markakis (eds), Ethnicity and Conflict in the Horn of Africa (Ohio University Press, Athens, OH, 1994), p. 70.
19. Eisei Kurimoto and Simon Simonse, 'Introduction' in Kurimoto and Simonse (eds), Conflict, Age and Power, p. 10.
20. John Lamphear, 'Aspects of Turkana leadership during the era of primary resistance', Journal of African History 17, 2 (1976), p. 228
21. Fukui and Turton, 'Introduction', pp. 1-14
22. Almagor, 'Raiders and elders', pp. 119-46.
23. David Anderson, 'Stock theft and moral economy in colonial Kenya', Africa 56, 4 (1986), pp. 399-400, 412. Note that Anderson ascribes this change to colonial legislation as well as economic forces.
24. One study of the incessant cattle raids in the Kerio Valley argued that 'the main merchants of guns, especially among the Pokot, are businessmen and political activists. According to the Pokot councillor, one prospective aspirant of a parliamentary seat in West Pokot district was reported to have recently supplied bullets to his constituents at Kshs35 [about US$0.50] down from the normal price of Kshs50, in a clear effort to win the hearts of the voters come the 2002 clection.'See National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), SNV and the Semi-Arid Rural Development Programme (SARDEP), 'Pacifying the valley: An analysis on the Kerio Valley conflict' (Report, SNV Kenya, Nairobi, 2001), p. 8.
25. See Michael Bollig, 'Ethnic conflicts in northwest Kenya: Pokot-Turkana raiding (1969-84)', Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie 115 (1990), p. 89; after trying to explain raids through arms proliferation, Bollig found that gun owners obtain only marginally greater cattle through raiding t han spear owners.
26. Saverio Krätli and Jeremy Swift, Understanding and Managing Pastoral Conflict in Kenya (Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, 1999), p. 8.
27. Michael Fleisher, 'Kuria cattle raiding: Capitalist transformation, commoditization, and crime formation among an East African agro-pastoral people', Comparative Studies in Society and History, 42 (2000), p. 745.
28. Sandra Gray, Mary Sundal, Brandi Wiebusch, Michael A. Little, Paul W. Leslie, and Ivy L. Pike, 'Cattle raiding, cultural survival and adaptability of East African pastoralists', Current Anthropology 44, S5 (2003), pp. S16-17. It must be kept in mind that statistics in the North Rift are notoriously unreliable, and that her baseline for comparison with the past comes from the 1930s, perhaps the most peaceful decade in the history of Karamoja.
29. For an excellent example of the influence of the elders on a pre-colonial warlord, see Lamphear, 'Ateker', p. 79. For other examples of elders acting in a restraining role, see Almagor, 'Raiders and elders', pp. 119-46
30. Paul Spenser, 'Age systems and modes of predatory expansion' in Kurimoto and Simonse (eds), Conflict, Age and Power, pp. 177, 180.
31. For present perceptions of decline in elders control, see Mark Duffield, 'Ethnic war and international humanitarian intervention: A broad perspective' in David Turton (ed.), War and Ethnicity: Global connections and local violence (University of Rochester Press, Woodbridge, NY, 1997), p. 206
32. Ben Okudi, 'Causes and effects of the 1980 famine in Karamoja' (Working Paper No. 23, Centre for Basic Research, Kampala, 1992), pp. 19, 42
33. Charles Ocan, 'Pastoral crisis in north-eastern Uganda: The changing significance of cattle raids' (Working Paper No. 21, Centre for Basic Research, Kampala, 1992), p. 28.
34. For a different view of this situation, see Mkutu and Gomes, 'Breaking the cycle', pp. 19-20
35. Krätli and Swift, 'Managing pastoral conflict', p. 32.
36. Ocan, 'Pastoral crisis', p. 17.
37. Mustafa Mirzeler and Crawford Young, 'Pastoral politics in the northeast periphery of Uganda: AK-47 as change agent', Journal of Modern African Studies 38, 3 (2000), pp. 423-4.
38. Okudi, 'Causes and effects', p. 32.
39. Josiah Osamba, 'Violence and the dynamics of transition: State, ethnicity and governance in Kenya", Africa Development 26, 1-2 (2000), p. 51.
40. KHRC, 'Raiding democracy: The slaughter of the Marakwet in Kerio Valley' (Report, KHRC, Nairobi, 2001), p. 33.
41. KHRC, 'Raiding', p. 28.
42. See Human Rights Watch (HRW), 'Playing with fire: Weapons proliferation, political violence, and human rights in Kenya' (Report, HRW, New York, 2002), pp. 24-25, 35-38.
43. For a detailed analysis of cattle raids as a tool of political repression, see KHRC, 'Killing the vote: State sponsored violence and flawed elections in Kenya' (Report, KHRC, Nairobi, 1998), pp. 14-17, 36-55. Clashes involving cattle raids were reported in North-Eastern Province, Eastern Province, Rift Valley Province and Nyanza Province.
44. KHRC, 'Raiding', p. 34. The only source is an undisclosed informant from Eldoret. For a similar example, see HRW, 'Playing', p. 25.
45. D. Sellen, 'Cattle raiding, cultural survival and adaptability of East African pastoralists - response', Current Anthropology 44, S5 (2003), p. S25.
46. See 'State to probe rustling', Daily Nation, 8 January 2003; 'Churches in scheme to end border feuds', Daily Nation, 4 November 2002; HRW, 'Playing', p. 27.
47. Robert Kaplan, 'The coming anarchy', Atlantic Monthly 273, 2 (1994), pp. 44-76
48. Michael Fleisher, Kuria Cattle Raiders (University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI, 2000), pp. 2-3.
49. For an example of this sort of writing, see Dylan Hendrickson, Robin Mearns, and Jeremy Armon, 'The changing nature of conflict and famine vulnerability: The case of livestock raiding in Turkana District, Kenya', Disasters 22, 3 (1998), pp. 185-99.
50. SRIC, 'Terrorized citizens'; Mkutu, 'Small arms', p. 48
51. Pax Christi, 'Controlling small arms demand' (Report of a conference organized by Pax Christi Netherlands at The Hague, 8-10 December 2003).
52. Public Record Office (PRO) Colonial Office (CO) 536 039 'Gun-running in Karamoja District', 21 January 1911; PRO CO 536 039 'Turkwell Mission', 3 January 1911. For a summary of the findings of the two patrols sent by the British to investigate gun running and the illicit ivory trade in the North Rift, see James Barber, Imperial Frontier (East African Publishing House, Nairobi, 1968), pp. 107-12.
53. SNV, 'Cross your borders, join the action' (Booklet, SNV Kenya, Nairobi, 2005), p. 14
54. Romano Longok, 'Towards new strategies for community based security in Karamoja, Uganda' in Security When the State Fails (Pax Christi, Utrecht, 2005), p. 107; Odhiambo, 'Karamoja', p. 25
55. Amani Forum, 'Fact finding mission on the Sabiny-Pokot conflict' (Report, Amani Forum Uganda, Kampala, 2003), pp. 9-13
56. David Pkosing and Fr Gabriel Dolan, 'Turkwel-Gorge project' (Occasional Publication, CJPC, Kitale, 2005), pp. 3-4
57. Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), 'Conflict in Northern Kenya' (Report, ITDG-East Africa, Nairobi, 2003), p. 41; SRIC, 'Terrorized', p. 2.
58. Dyson-Hudson, Karimojong Politics, p. 211.
59. Ocan, 'Pastoral crisis', p. 7.
60. John Markakis, 'Introduction' in John Markakis (ed.), Conflict and the Decline of Pastoralism in the Horn of Africa (Palgrave, New York, NY, 1995), p. 14.
61. Ton Dietz, Wario Adano, and Karen Witsenburg, 'Natural resources and conflict: Theoretical flaws and empirical evidence from northern Kenya' (paper presented as keynote address at the Moi University First Annual Conference, Eldoret, 14 February 2005), pp. 4, 8.
62. Dietz et al., 'Natural resources', p. 16.
63. Mkutu, 'Small arms', p. 47.
64. K. Hussein, J. Sumberg and D. Seddon, 'Increasing violent conflict between herders and farmers in Africa: Claims and evidence', Development Policy Review 17, 4 (1999), p. 406.
65. Gufu Oba, 'Ecological factors in land use conflicts, land administration and food insecurity in Turkana, Kenya' (Pastoral Development Network Paper No. 33a, Overseas Development Institute, 1992), p. 9.
66. J. T. McCabe, Cattle Bring Us to Our Enemies (University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI, 2004), p. 238.
67. It is important to note that both Ton Dietz and J. T. McCabe used to be prominent advocates of resource scarcity as a cause of cattle raiding. See Ton Dietz, Pastoralists in Dire Straits (Instituut voor Sociale Geografie, Amsterdam, 1987), p. 126
68. Rada Dyson-Hudson and J. T. McCabe, South Turkana Nomadism (HRAFlex Books, New Haven, CT, 1985).
69. Personal observation, 20 February 2006 - the rains came early to the region, which led to the withdrawal; Interview No. 158, Achorichor, Nakapiripirit District, Uganda, 19 February 2006.
70. Interview No. 131, Sokut, West Pokot District, Kenya, 11 February 2006.
71. Interview No. 087, Namalu, Nakapiripirit District, Uganda, 21 December 2005.
72. Interview No. 016, Lokitalauyan, West Pokot District, Kenya, 18 October 2005.
73. Interview No. 054, Pinyiny, Kapchorwa District, Uganda, 17 November 2005.
74. See for example Ruben de Koning, 'What warriors want' (study commissioned by Pax Christi, Utrecht, 2004), p. 21.
75. Interview No. 023, Kreswa, West Pokot District, Kenya, 1 November 2005
76. Interview No. 032, Kanyarkwat, West Pokot District, 4 November 2005.
77. Interview No. 159, Achorichor, Nakapiripirit District, Uganda, 19 February 2006.
78. Interview No. 155, Amukuriat, West Pokot District, Kenya, 18 February 2006.
79. Interview No. 062, Amudat, Nakapiripirit District, Uganda, 28 November 2005.
80. Odhiambo,'Karamoja',p.40.
81. Ocan, 'Pastoral crisis', pp. 24-7. Note that this would not have been possible if a strong central government had been in place in Uganda. However, the looting of the armoury took place just after Idi Amin fell from power, and the government would prove unable to protect anyone from the Karimojong until after 1986.
82. UHRC,'Karamoja', p. 78.
83. Alex de Waal, Famine That Kills (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1989), pp. 20-3.
84. Taya Weiss, 'Guns in the borderlands' (Monograph No. 95, Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria, 2004), p. 19.
85. Interview No. 121, Korkou, West Pokot District, Kenya, 21 January 2006.
86. Interview No. 007, Akorkeya, Nakapiripirit District, 15 October 2005
87. Interview No. 148, Kases, West Pokot District, 16 February 2006.
88. See, for example, Odhiambo,'Karamoja', p. 44.
89. Amani Forum, 'Sabiny-Pokot conflict', p. 14.
90. Mkutu and Gomes, 'Breaking the cycle', p. 1.
91. ITDG, 'Conflict', p. 41.
92. TLPF ('promotional pamphlet', undated [2003?]).
93. Suzette Heald, 'Tolerating the intolerable: Cattle raiding among the Kuria' in G. Aijmer and Jon Abbink (eds), Meanings of Violence (Berg, Oxford, 2000), pp. 101-21.
94. But see, for an important exception, Mkutu and Gomes, 'Breaking the cycle', pp. 47-59.
95. Interview No. 073, Lokitanyala, West Pokot District, Kenya, 2 December 2005.
96. Interview No. 063, Loro, Nakapiripirit District, Uganda, 29 November 2005.
97. Interview No. 161, Akorkeya, Nakapiripirit District, Uganda, 19 February 2006.
98. UHRC,'Karamoja', p. 20.
99. Interview No. 199, Katilu, Turkana District, Kenya, 18 March 2006.
100. Interview No. 044, Alapat, Nakapiripirit District, Uganda, 14 November 2005.
101. Interview No. 074, Loro, Nakapiripirit District, Uganda, 2 December 2005.
102. Interview No. 041, Didinga, Nakapiripirit District, Uganda, 13 November 2005.
103. Interview No. 148, Kases, West Pokot District, Kenya, 16 February 2006.
104. Interview No. 063, Loro, Nakapiripirit District, Uganda, 29 November 2005.
105. Interview No. 146, Mbaru, West Pokot District, Kenya, 15 February 2006.
106. Interview No. 044, Alapat, Nakapiripirit District, Uganda, 14 November 2005.
107. Interview No. 163, Amudat, Nakapiripirit District, Uganda, 20 February 2006.