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Turkana-Dassanech Relations: Economic Diversification and Inter-Communal Conflicts, 1984-2015 Nicholas Shimali Aurah

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Turkana-Dassanech Relations: Economic Diversification and Inter-Communal Conflicts, 1984-2015 Nicholas Shimali Aurah Turkana-Dassanech relations: economic diversification and inter-communal conflicts, 1984-2015 Nicholas Shimali Aurah To cite this version: Nicholas Shimali Aurah. Turkana-Dassanech relations: economic diversification and inter-communal conflicts, 1984-2015. Political science. 2018. dumas-02282823 HAL Id: dumas-02282823 https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-02282823 Submitted on 10 Sep 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. M.A IN ARMED CONFLICT AND PEACE STUDIES TURKANA-DASSANECH RELATIONS: ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION AND INTER-COMMUNAL CONFLICTS, 1984-2015 AURAH SHIMALI NICHOLAS M.A PROJECT A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN ARMED CONFLICT AND PEACE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI 2018 1 DEDICATION To Mum Emily Nyarotso and Mzee Jackson Mahero Aura whose sacrifices and determination ensured that I had an education in spite of the profound hurdles; and, to Beatrice Chelangat Aura - my other half - who has been positive enough to believe that I could fly on a broken wing. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the course of writing this project, there are persons, Departments and Institutions that have left a lasting impression, thanks to their contribution, tangibly and intangibly. First, I would like to thank God for giving me the gift of life and strength. Secondly, I would like to express my gratitude to the University of Nairobi, through the Department of History and Archaeology for awarding me a Master Scholarship without which this program would not have been possible. I am also greatly indebted to my supervisor Dr. Herbert Misigo Amatsimbi for his counsel, support and constant but positive criticism that shaped the writing of this project. I would also like to thank my lecturers, Prof. V.G Simiyu, Prof. E. Wahome, and Dr. G. Gona for the knowledge passed to me during coursework and regular friendly advices, and particularly, Dr. Gona for endlessly reminding me to complete the project on time. A mention also goes to Departmental lecturers, Prof. G. Muriuki, Dr. M. Mwiandi, Dr. K. Ombongi, Dr. B. Nyanchoga, Mr. G. Odeny and Mr. D. Masika and Mr. J. Ondigi. I would also like to thank the Institute for French Research in Africa (IFRA), through the ever charming, Dr. Chloe Josse-Durand (Deputy Director), for funding the second phase of the project’s field work and agreeing to publish the work upon completion. My sincere appreciation also goes to my classmates (class of Sept 2014-2015) and friends especially, M. Kwonyike, J. Osodo, K. Opiyo and J. Githinji and many more, whose support has left a lasting mark in me, and whose memory I intend to retain for a life time. My special thanks go to my beloved family, especially sister Risper for her constant probing on the progress of the project, and friend Solomon Macharia Njamuku for linking me to IFRA. To those whom I have not mentioned here, may the Almighty God bless you all. ABSTRACT 4 This study is on Turkana-Dassanech Relations: Economic Diversification and Frequency of Inter-communal Conflict, 1984-2015. The focus is on induced economic diversification and its influence on frequency of inter-communal conflicts between the Turkana and Dassanech communities of north-west Kenya. The study sought to assess four hypotheses, namely; that the Turkana and Dassanech communities have historically been in conflict: there has been a gradual decline in pastoral activities in the study area; that there has been diversification of livelihoods as a response to the continual decline of pastoral yields to bellow subsistence levels; and fourthly, that the adoption of the ‘new’ economies has increased the frequency of conflict in the study area. The study used Eco-scarcity theory in analysing the nexus between supply-induced resource scarcity, economic diversification and frequency of communal conflicts. Thirty five respondents were interviewed in Lodwar, Kalokol and Illeret regions. Focused group discussions were also held in these areas. Documentations from Kenya National Archives and Reports by agencies working in the area played a key role in reconstructing the history of the relations between the Turkana and the Dassanech. The research brought about a number of findings. It revealed that Turkana and Dassanech communities have a long history of conflict that could be traced back to early 20th century. The main cause of the early conflict was the nomadic nature of their pastoral livelihoods which necessitated reliance on climate-sensitive resources like water and pasture, and mobility as a mean for maximising resource exploitation in a region characterised by uneven resource distribution. Scarcities brought about by changes in ecology could, therefore, result in conflict as the communities raided each other to replace stock lost to droughts and diseases. From 1984, however, a combination of factors, including, recurrent droughts, constant cattle rustling, sedentarisation and loss of traditional grazing lands and drought reserves to national projects compelled several pastoralist households to abandon pastoralism or augment it with other livelihoods including agriculture, fishing and trade. The adoption of these livelihoods as adaptive strategies created new areas of competition in the Turkana-Dassanech economic set up. In an area already characterised by dwindling water levels, constant droughts and vicious cycle of cattle raids, the adoption of these 5 activities exacerbated the scarcities as demand for biological assets like arable farmlands and marine resources surpassed the available supply. This compounded by the steady recession of Lake Turkana due to the damming of river Omo have induced new scarcities, and increased competition resulting in a vicious cycle of conflict and violence. The conflicts have rendered the two communities vulnerable and in constant need of humanitarian assistance especially for women and children. TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATIION………………………………………………………………………i DEDICATION……………………………………...………………………………….ii 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………….……………………………………...iii ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………iv TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………...………………………...vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS………………...………………………………………ix DEFINITION OF TERMS……………………………..……………………………..x MAPS OF THE STUDY AREA…………………………..…....…………………….xi LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………...xiii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction to the Study..…………………………………………….…………….1 1.1.2 Background to the Turkana and Dassanech Inter-communal Conflict………...….4 1.2 Statement of the Research Problem………………………………….…….……….6 1.3 Key Research Questions……………………………………….…………………....8 1.4 Objectives of the Study….……………………………………….………………...8 1.5 Justification of the Study…….……………………………………….……………..9 1.6. Scope and Limitations of the Study…………..…………………………..……......9 1.7 Literature Review……………………………………………………….….…..….10 1.8 Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………......…...20 1.9 Hypotheses…………………………………………………………………….…...22 1.10 Methodology………………………………………………………………….......23 CHAPTER TWO THE HISTORY OF TURKANA-DASSANECH CONFLICT IN ILEMI TRIANGLE 2.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………….……..26 7 2.2 The Area and the People of Turkana………………………………………...…….26 2.3 Causes of Turkana-Dassanech Conflict……………………….………………..….36 2.4 Militarization and “Warlordism” of Banditry and Cattle Rustling…..………….....39 2.4 Conclusion……………….………………………….…………………….……….46 CHAPTER THREE CHANGING NATURE OF PASTORALISM IN TURKAKANA-DASSANECH ECONOMIES 3.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………..…………....48 3.2Traditional Coping Mechanisms by the Turkana and Dassanech Pastoralists….….48 3.3 Factors for the Decline of Pastoral Activities in Turkana……………….…….…...57 3.4 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..…..66 CHAPTER FOUR FACTORS INFLUENCING DIVERSIFICATION AMONG TURKANA AND DASSANECH HOUSEHOLDS 4.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….....68 4.2 Diversification: Conceptual Understanding…….....………………………………68 4.3 Farm-based and Off-farm Activities ………………………………………………69 4.3.1 Farm-based non-Pastoral Activities …………………………………......69 4.3.2 Off-farm Activities and Strategies………………………………………74 4.4 Household Characteristics that Influence Diversification……...…………….........80 4.5 Significance of Economic Diversification.…………………………………….......84 4.6 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………...88 CHAPTER FIVE 8 IMPACT OF ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION ON TURKANA-DASSANECH INTER-COMMUNAL CONFLICT 5.1Introduction………………………………………………………………………...90 5.2 Transformation of the Turkana and Dassanech Conflict ……….…….…………...90 5.3 Livelihood Diversification-Induced Conflict …..…………………………….…....91 5.4 Centrality of Lake Turkana to Turkana-Dassanech Conflict….………...………..102 5.5 Recorded Timelines of the Turkana-Dassanech Conflict.…………..……………108 5.6Impact of the Conflict on the Communities…..…...………………………………109 5.7Efforts towards Resolving the Conflict……………..…...………….…………….112 5.7 Conclusion…………………..……………………………………………………118 CHAPTER SIX CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………….120 References ………………………………...…………………………………………127 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ASAL Arid and Semi-Arid
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