Police linked to deadly battles between herders and farmers

The ongoing conflict in Kitui County between pastoralists and residents over grazing land for camels has now been linked to police officers.

The residents, who are mainly farmers, are claiming that police officers and members of the provincial administration are fanning the conflict after receiving bribes from herders.  In the past month, herders and farmers have clashed over grazing land for livestock; a conflict that has left three people dead and livestock maimed.

Pressed by severe drought, pastoralists from Garissa County have moved into Kitui County with large herds of camels.

Farmers accuse the herders of invading their land and converting it to grazing fields. In a fact-finding mission by the Senate National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations Committee chaired by William Cheptumo (Baringo), victims said the herders are being assisted by police. 

Open secret

“It is an open secret that the herders’ first port of call is Mutha Police Station where they bribe the officers in return for protection. The camels are then driven to the police station where they are protected and guarded by the officers,” claimed Daniel Mutinda, an area resident.

 He went on: “It is the police who advise the herders on where to graze the animals, with the assistant chief being an intermediary. Once the camels exhaust pasture in one area, the assistant chief identified another area and where the camels are moved to with police escort.”

Senator Enoch Wambua (Kitui) and area Ward Rep Dominic Mwambisi said  the police have failed to investigate the killing of three farmers He added that police vehicles are being used to ferry food to herders in Kitui South Game Reserve.

“Even as we struggle to get help from the police, we see their vehicles ferrying food to the herders,” Mutinda said at the meeting. The comments, made in the presence of Kitui County Commissioner Erastus Mbui, shocked the committee.

The William Cheptumo-led committee is now demanding investigations into the allegations.  “The Inspector General of Police must conduct thorough investigations into this matter,” said Cheptumo.

The committee visited the area to assess the security situation after a month of conflict between farmers and camel herders in Mutha. Senator Wambua has already issued a statement in Parliament urging the Ministry of Interior to explain the cause of the conflict. He requested the security committee to visit the area.

“The police and the provincial administration are not innocent bystanders in this conflict,” Wambua said. “They are accomplices but we ask them to do what is expected of them,” he added.

Mbui said he was not aware of the allegations while police commander Leah Kithei told the committee that action had been taken against officers linked to the claims, who have since been transferred.

“We are up to the task but we have challenges with resources,” Mbui told the committee. He appealed to the Senate for intervention to salvage the situation.

Inadequate fuel

During the visit, the committee was told that the drought is the worst in 40 years. County Police Commander Leah Kithei said the monthly ration of fuel allocated to Mutomo sub-county police headquarters is inadequate to patrol the entire area. The sub-county receives 450 litres of petrol to fuel police vehicles.

Senator Joseph Kamau (Lamu) who is a member of the committee, told area residents to report any State officer who fails to do his work as required by the law.

Senator Abdul Haji (Garissa) commiserated with the affected families and promised to intervene to have the conflict resolved amicably.