THE INFLUENCE OF LIVESTOCK RUSTLING ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN MARSABIT AND SAMBURU COUNTIES, KENYA
Abstract
Livestock rustling remains a major cause of insecurity and conflict among the pastoral communities occupying the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) of Kenya. Since the year 2000 there has been an upsurge in incidences of livestock rustling, and a protracted use of advanced weaponry which has not only grown to become a major security threat to the lives of the pastoralists but also a key threat to their livelihoods which is anchored in the ownership of large herds of livestock. This study explored the impact on social-economic development of affected communities and the major players in Kenya’s pastoral areas with a specific focus on Marsabit and Samburu Counties of Kenya. The study was guided by Cattle Complex Theory. This study utilized the descriptive research and explanatory design. The study areas were Samburu and Marsabit counties and it targeted household heads, herder, market chairmen, politicians, chiefs and officer commanding police stations. Simple random, purposive and snowballing sampling procedures were used to select 384 respondents. The main research instruments were questionnaires (instrument) in addition to face to face interviews and FGDS. Validity was determined using content validity while reliability using test retest method. Data was analysed using SPSS version 21. Quantitative data was analysed using percentages, frequencies and chi-square at 0.05 significance level and presented in form of charts and tables. Qualitative data was analysed using emerging themes and presented in form of verbatim and narrations. Livestock rustling had negative impact socio-economic development. Socially, it leads to loss of lives & properties, food insecurity, spread of livestock diseases, erosion of social & cultural values, insecurity and displacement. Economically, it leads to poverty and income inequalities, low investments, loss of labour force, tax evasion and environmental degradation. The study recommended that there was need to establish resource centers for awareness creation and sensitization on the livestock rustling. Also, there should be legislations on arms and commercialization of livestock rustling which would ensure the perpetrators are charged. Lastly, there was need to provide compulsory formal education whereby, the youth would appreciate life beyond livestock rustling.
Key words: Livestock Rustling, Social Development and Economic Development
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Frank, W. (2000 April 1).‘Cattle thieves hit NSW farms’, Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved from: http://www.smh.com.au/news/0010/01/national/national6.html
Midgley, O. (2012 April 9). Rural Crime on the Increase. Farmers Guardian: http://www.farmersguardian.com/home/business/fg-investigation-reveals-rural-crime-picture/48790.article
Khan, M. (1994). Market based early warning indicators of famine for the pastoral households of the Sahel. World Development 22(2).
Kenya Human Rights Commission [KHRC]. (2010). Morans no More: The Changing Face of Cattle-rustling in Kenya. Retrieved November 27, 2012 from www.khrc.or.ke.
Salih, M. A. (1992). Agro-Pastoralism: An underestimated regional food production system. Eastern Africa Social Science Review (EASSR) IX (1), 23-37
Kenya Human Rights Commission [KHRC]. (1998). Killing the Vote: State Sponsored Violence and Flawed Elections in Kenya. Nairobi: KHRC Report.
Ochieng, W.R. (1980). An outline history of the Rift Valley. Nairobi: Macmillan.
Pkalya, R., Adan, M., &Masinde, I. (2003).Conflict in Northern Kenya: A focus on the Internally Displaced Conflict Victims in Northern Kenya. DTP Martin Karimi Publisher
Yamano, T., &Deininger, K. (2005). Land Conflicts in Kenya: Causes, Impacts, and Resolutions; Foundation for advanced studies on International development/National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies- The World Bank 27
Le Ster, M. (2011). Conflicts over water around Lake Turkana; Volume IX, No. 3; French Institute for Research in Africa (IFRA); pp 1-4
Amutabi, M. N. (2010). Land and Conflict in Ilemi Triangle of East Africa.Kenya Studies Review, 1 (2), pp 22
Herskovits, M. J.(1926). The Cattle Complex in East Africa. American Anthropologist New Series, 28 (1), 230-272
Osamba, J. (2000). The Sociology of Insecurity: Livestock rustling and Banditry in North-Western Kenya. Nairobi: African Journal of Conflict Resolution 1 (2): 11–37.
Wamuyu, I. (2014). The effects of livestock rustling on livelihoods of pastoral communities in the Turkwel River belt along the Turkana/Pokot border. Unpublished Master Thesis.UoN
Umar, A. (1997).“USAID Organised Seminar on Conflict Resolution, Resource Utilisation, and Conflict and Insecurity in Pastoral Areas of Kenya ,” Nairobi, Kenya Pastoral Forum.
Mbaria, JM, Munenge, L., Njuguna, N., Orre, L, and Dabasso, D. (2005). Occurrence of a severe acute livestock poisoning by borehole water in Marsabit District, Kenya: a case study. Kenya Veterinarian 28: 16–19.
Barrett, C., Chabari, D., andCoppock, D. (2003). Livestock pricing in the Northern Kenyan Rangelands.Journal of African Economies. 12(2): 127–155.
Juma, M. (2010).Security and regional cooperation in Africa: how can we make Africa’s security architecture fit for the new challenges? In Heinrich Böll Foundation (ed) Climate change, resources, migration - securing Africa in an uncertain climate. Cape Town, pp 16–25.
Speranza, CI. (2010). Drought coping and adaptation strategies: understanding adaptations to climate change in agropastoral livestock production in Makueni District, Kenya. European Journal of Development Research 22(5): 623–642.
Kaimba, G, B Njehia, and AGuliye.(2011). Effects of cattle rustling and household characteristics on migration decisions and herd size amongst pastoralists in Baringo District, Kenya. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice 1 (1): 1–18.
Behnke, R.H. (2008). The economic contribution of pastoralism: case studies from the horn of Africa and Southern Africa. Nomadic Peoples 12 (1): 45–79.
USAID and FEWS NET. (2005).Conflict Early Warning and Mitigation of Resource Based Conflicts in the Greater Horn of Africa: Conflict Baseline Study Report Conducted in theKaramajong Cluster of Kenya and Uganda.
Keter, S. and Mohamoud, A. (2005).Impact of HIV/Adis among pastoral communities in Kenya. Report by ITDG-EA
Eriksen, S, and J Lind. (2009). Adaptation as a political process: adjusting to drought and conflict in Kenya's Drylands. Environmental Management 43(5): 817–835.
Hendrickson, D, J. A., &Mearns, R. (1996). Livestock raiding among the pastoral Turkana of Kenya: Redistribution, predation and the links to famine. Institute of Development Studies Bulletin 27 (3): 17–30.
Schilling, Janpeter, Francis Opiyo and Jürgen Scheffran (2012)."Raiding pastoral livelihoods: Motives and effects of violent conflict in north-western Kenya."Pastoralism 2(25): 1-16.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v3i4.392
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
PAST ISSUES:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.