Brutal Attack of Samburu Villages by Kenyan Police
Overthe past three weeks, Kenyan government forces have launched a seriesof ongoing assaults on the indigenous Samburu people in the remotenorthern region of the country, using helicopter gunships and armedground forces to attack several villages. The police, claiming to beafter cattle bandits, strafed unarmed villagers from the air and usedclubs to beat villagers on the ground. The attacks have so fardisplaced more than 2,000 Samburu and government forces confiscated allthe communities’ cattle, leaving them with no food source. According toRaphael Letimelo, member of parliament for the Samburu district, theassaults are not finished yet. “There have been reports and threats ofpossible mass executions and removal from of indigenous people fromtheir traditional homelands throughout the Samburu District in the nextfew weeks,” he said. On March 5, unidentified assailants in Nairobiexecuted two prominent Kenyan human rights activists who planned topublicize the situation in Samburu District.
“Atfirst, the community thought the police were here to help us and ranout to greet them,” said Sammy Lepurdati, one of the villagers presentduring the attacks. “When they initially started shooting, everyonetried to convince them they were making a mistake, but instead thepolice kept circling the bomas in helicopters, firing deliberately atinnocent people. It was a nightmare. People were screaming, running inevery direction. Those who survived fled to the bush and nearbymountains.” The Samburu, who are cattle-herding people closely relatedto the Maasai, shocked by these unannounced attacks. The number of deadis not yet known because police are preventing outsiders from enteringthe area.Helicopters drop soldiers near a village after shootingvillagers
The government claims it was trying to flush outbandits and seize illegal guns used in cattle raids that are common inthe area. But the particular cattle raid that prompted this series ofattacks appears to have been staged. It was ostensibly committed bySomalis trying to reclaim cattle taken by the Samburu earlier. But thenature of the raid is atypical of Somalis, and the cattle in questionwere documented animals that had been donated to the villages bynonprofit organizations in the wake of the devastating drought of 2006.The government’s instantaneous and substantial response in such aremote area also calls the claimed motivation into question.
Themore likely motive for the attacks appears to be a desire to clear outindigenous tribes to make way for burgeoning development in the area.The Chinese are funding a major highway through the area to allowtransport of oil from their fields in Ethiopia to Kenya’s ports, andthey have dramatically increasing trade with Kenya to $1 billion ayear. Profits from poaching also may be involved. In the three weekssince the attacks, 57 elephants have been poached in the area (greaterthan the number taken in the country as a whole over the 12 months of2007). China is the top market for illegal ivory, and the kickbacksfrom that trade may be prompting some Kenyan government officials toremove local environmental control. The Samburu maintain severalwildlife conservancies in the area, and part of the police actionincluded shutting all of them down and confiscating all communicationsequipment and anti-poaching gear.
Overthe past three weeks, Kenyan government forces have launched a seriesof ongoing assaults on the indigenous Samburu people in the remotenorthern region of the country, using helicopter gunships and armedground forces to attack several villages. The police, claiming to beafter cattle bandits, strafed unarmed villagers from the air and usedclubs to beat villagers on the ground. The attacks have so fardisplaced more than 2,000 Samburu and government forces confiscated allthe communities’ cattle, leaving them with no food source. According toRaphael Letimelo, member of parliament for the Samburu district, theassaults are not finished yet. “There have been reports and threats ofpossible mass executions and removal from of indigenous people fromtheir traditional homelands throughout the Samburu District in the nextfew weeks,” he said. On March 5, unidentified assailants in Nairobiexecuted two prominent Kenyan human rights activists who planned topublicize the situation in Samburu District.
“Atfirst, the community thought the police were here to help us and ranout to greet them,” said Sammy Lepurdati, one of the villagers presentduring the attacks. “When they initially started shooting, everyonetried to convince them they were making a mistake, but instead thepolice kept circling the bomas in helicopters, firing deliberately atinnocent people. It was a nightmare. People were screaming, running inevery direction. Those who survived fled to the bush and nearbymountains.” The Samburu, who are cattle-herding people closely relatedto the Maasai, shocked by these unannounced attacks. The number of deadis not yet known because police are preventing outsiders from enteringthe area.Helicopters drop soldiers near a village after shootingvillagers
The government claims it was trying to flush outbandits and seize illegal guns used in cattle raids that are common inthe area. But the particular cattle raid that prompted this series ofattacks appears to have been staged. It was ostensibly committed bySomalis trying to reclaim cattle taken by the Samburu earlier. But thenature of the raid is atypical of Somalis, and the cattle in questionwere documented animals that had been donated to the villages bynonprofit organizations in the wake of the devastating drought of 2006.The government’s instantaneous and substantial response in such aremote area also calls the claimed motivation into question.
Themore likely motive for the attacks appears to be a desire to clear outindigenous tribes to make way for burgeoning development in the area.The Chinese are funding a major highway through the area to allowtransport of oil from their fields in Ethiopia to Kenya’s ports, andthey have dramatically increasing trade with Kenya to $1 billion ayear. Profits from poaching also may be involved. In the three weekssince the attacks, 57 elephants have been poached in the area (greaterthan the number taken in the country as a whole over the 12 months of2007). China is the top market for illegal ivory, and the kickbacksfrom that trade may be prompting some Kenyan government officials toremove local environmental control. The Samburu maintain severalwildlife conservancies in the area, and part of the police actionincluded shutting all of them down and confiscating all communicationsequipment and anti-poaching gear.
As bad as the attacks have been, for the Samburu the moredevastating aspect will likely be the loss of their cattle, which arethe basis of their culture and their economy. “Without milk from theircattle, the community members will die.” Dan Letoiya, Director of WestGate Wildlife Conservancy stated. “We are experiencing another severedrought and this is their only source of protein and liquid. The milkfrom their livestock makes up 90 percent of their dietary intake.”
RosemaryLekali from Save the Children urged public government officials tointervene. “The Samburu are certain to perish from dehydration andstarvation in the absence of their livestock,” she said.“Cattle notonly represent their most important food reserve, but it is also theirprimary livelihood and currency. When a parent wishes to send a childto school, the bursary or tuition is paid with the sale of cattle. Whena family member has to be hospitalized, a cow is sold. These livestockprovide cultural and traditional ceremonial purposes as well, whichKenya should embrace and preserve as part of its cultural heritage.”
“Manyof us,” says Letimelo, “feel as if the police are treating our districtas a foreign country they are invading, not as their own northerndistrict and citizens, which they are assigned to protect.”
Samburu Emergency Response Fund
RosemaryLekali from Save the Children urged public government officials tointervene. “The Samburu are certain to perish from dehydration andstarvation in the absence of their livestock,” she said.“Cattle notonly represent their most important food reserve, but it is also theirprimary livelihood and currency. When a parent wishes to send a childto school, the bursary or tuition is paid with the sale of cattle. Whena family member has to be hospitalized, a cow is sold. These livestockprovide cultural and traditional ceremonial purposes as well, whichKenya should embrace and preserve as part of its cultural heritage.”
“Manyof us,” says Letimelo, “feel as if the police are treating our districtas a foreign country they are invading, not as their own northerndistrict and citizens, which they are assigned to protect.”
Samburu Emergency Response Fund
Online credit card or paypal donations: http://www.lionconservationfund.org/donate.html
Donations can be made through the Lion Conservation Fund website but should note in donation memo "Samburu Emergency Response Fund". A special account through the site has been established for this purpose.
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