Bombing of livestock will not end cattle rustling menace in North Rift

Slightly over a fortnight ago, it was reported on social and print media that during a routine security patrol, a multi-agency security team mainly comprised of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and local National Police Reservists based at Loyapat, Turkana South, used mortars to bomb livestock belonging to Pokot herders that were grazing along River Weiwei in Amolem, Pokot Central sub-county.

Whereas bombing of livestock allegedly to inflict maximum pain on pastoralists who undertake, support or tolerate cattle rustling is not new to the residents of the North Rift region, the latest incident has only served to widen the wedge between the local community and the security agencies. The security team alleges that armed rustlers were hiding within their livestock, hence the decision to shoot and bomb the cattle that were providing a hideout. The locals, backed by some of their leaders, deny this allegation, claiming that they were just grazing their livestock when they were attacked.

It is notable that since its deployment in the North Rift region in February 2023 under the ‘Operation Maliza Uhalifi North Rift’ code name, the multi-agency security operation has managed to restore calm in large swathes of land in the region. Community and political leaders’ cooperation have been key to this success. This is why anything that distorts this new-found collaboration is worth condemning.

Whereas the military boasts of superior personnel, weaponry, technology and constitutional legitimacy, community support and collaboration remain the main ‘software’ to finally end this decades-old vice. Even in the field of counter-terrorism, community support has been pivotal. The most ruthless military operation ‘Operation Nyundo’ was undertaken in West Pokot in 1984. Since then, at least 15 various iterations of security operations have been carried out, including in other North Rift regions, but the problem has not been contained simply because of poor relationships between the communities and security agencies.

History has demonstrated that when the government, political leaders, elites and community members come together and say enough is enough with banditry or rustling, the vice has been defeated. It happened with the Modogashe Declaration of 2001 that led to the pacification of the former North Frontier District at least until the emergence of the Al Shabaab problem in 2010. Community resolve, and not just military means, is key to burying the hatchet.

KDF is one of the most professional and disciplined military forces in Africa. However, its participation in local policing including bombing of livestock and human rights violations, may erode its hard-earned global integrity and admiration.

If there are criminals that need to be bombed into submission or extinction, they are the ones the Interior Ministry has been calling “financiers and planners” of banditry and rustling who are in big offices in big cities. It should not be innocent herders whose main crime seems to be armed to protect their livestock, which is their main source of livelihood.

I would also encourage the KDF leadership to investigate the source of ammunition used by the so-called rustlers or bandits for there are allegations that most of it originates from government security agencies, thanks to corruption and what the former Rift Valley Regional Commissioner and now Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya once termed as the challenges of policing wilderness without commensurate resources and motivation.

It is also strange that the area Member of Parliament, County Women representative and Senator have not demanded ministerial responses over the heinous act, which borders on economic terrorism. Those who lost their means of livelihood and lives or were maimed deserve some answers, if not justice and compensation. Every sane person in the community abhors banditry and rustling, but the means should not always justify the end.

Mr Pkalya is a conflict researcher and co-author of Conflicts in Northern Kenya: A Focus on Internally Displaced Conflict Victims