| dc.description.abstract | Livestock rustling is not a new phenomenonamong pastoral societies in Kenya. Traditionally,
various pastoral communities use raiding as a cultural practice for restocking of herds, especially
after periods of drought or outbreaks of diseases. However, in recent years, livestock raiding has
become more frequent, violent and destructive.
This study was established to assess the effects of livestock rustling on the livelihoods of pastoral
communities living along the Turkwel River belt which divides Turkana South and West Pokot
Districts. It addressed three objectives: 1) causes and extent of livestock rustling in Turkwel
River belt, 2) effects of livestock rustling on pastoralist livelihood and 3) conflict resolution
mechanism used in the management of livestock rustling in the area and their effectiveness.
The study adopted a survey research design with the triangulation research methods in data
collection. The selection of Turkwel River belt was done purposively due to the high occurrences
of conflict which was a special characteristic which was not common with the other divisions in
the two counties. Random sampling was used to select six sub locations out of the thirteen sub
locations in the two divisions. Respondents were clustered into three groups of men, women and
youth. Focus group discussions and interviews were carried out with 109 members of the
Turkana and Pokot communities and key informants.
The study established that livestock raids in the Turkwel River belt are a major occurrence and
are caused by many factors such as unwillingness to share grazing land, rampant drought and
famine in the area and rivalry among others. The persistent livestock raids in the area started
more than 20 years ago (87.2%) and are still a major occurrence in the area (30%). Livestock
raids occur on a weekly basis according to 41.1% of the respondents. Youths from the age of 16
years are the ones involved in livestock raids which perpetuate conflict.
Livestock raids have major effects on the Turkana and the Pokot communities living in the
Turkwel River belt. The raids have mainly resulted in deaths, high dependency on food relief,
environmental degradation, large numbers of people contracting HIV/Aids and also a large
number of IDPs in the area. The high incidences of livestock raids have also resulted in high illiteracy levels in the community rated at 76.6%, high levels of hunger and poverty (89.8%) and
increased levels of immigration (81.8%).
Various actions have been taken to deal with livestock raids. These include community
sensitization meetings and community dialogue. Different members of the community are
involved in peace initiatives to deal with this conflict. The conflict resolution mechanisms
adopted by the community lead mainly to reducedincidences of raids in the area (45.6%) but do
not necessarily mean the livestock will be returned.
The study recommends enhanced community level joint peace and livelihood activities between
the Pokot and Turkana people to facilitate the spirit of interaction and coexistence among the
members of the two communities and hence resolve conflicts. Addressing the challenges
affecting the youth, especially unemployment, idleness and illiteracy would go a long way in
reducing their participation in conflict and livestock rustling in theTurkwel river belt. The study
further recommends that stakeholder organizations in the area should take lead in addressing
alternative sources of income and livelihood that would help the community in rechanneling
their strengths towards harnessing of livelihood opportunities. | en_US |
