The Causes and Impact of Insecurity on Pastoralists Economies: the Case of West Pokot County, Kenya (1990-2015).

Abstract

Insecurity characterized by Small Arms and Light Weapons and armed violence is a defining feature of life in West Pokot County. West Pokot County has not known peace since the advent of colonialism. This study sought to establish the impact of insecurity to the economy of West Pokot County. The study is anchored in the human security concept, based on the view that security entails the protection of individuals from external aggression but includes personal security, economic security, political security and community security as well. The main objective of the study is to assess the impact of insecurity to the economy of West Pokot County. The study focused on the economy since economy is a survival mechanism among the people of West Pokot County. The Pokot community depend on livestock for food and traditional social relations such as dowry payments. The study employed survey method in the collection of data and purposive sampling and random sampling as the sampling design. Questionnaires were administered to 74 respondents. The 74 respondents included 64 community respondents and 10 key informants. The findings were analyzed using SPSS where data was presented in form of graphs, tables and discussion of findings. The findings of the study attribute the problem of insecurity in West Pokot County to cattle rustling activities. The study also notes that border disputes are a major defining characteristic between the Pokot and the Turkana communities. The study concludes that insecurity impacts the economy of West Pokot County by affecting investment opportunities, trade relations and low household income among others. The study recommends the government to use investigative policing to address cattle rustling activities as a way of tackling the persistent insecurity in the County. The study also recommends enhanced synergy between the National Focal points on Small Arms and Light Weapons in Kenya and neighboring countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia and Sudan to curb the problem of proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons