Wednesday February 1, 2023
FILE - Herders from Lagdera water their animals Image: /STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Nairobi (HOL) - At least three people have been killed following clashes between armed herders from Isiolo and Samburu Counties in the Mlango area.
Three victims remain hospitalized with gunshot wounds.
Following the confrontations, Isiolo County Governor Abdi Guyo has asked for the urgent repatriation of armed herders from adjacent Samburu County who had set up camp in the Mlango area in search of water and pasture, sparking the current unrest.
During a peace meeting in Mlango on Monday evening, Governor Guyo blamed the ongoing conflict on the presence of armed herders from Samburu County, citing numerous atrocities committed against the local host communities every dry season. Guyo said that the Samburu country herders forcefully graze, steal, and murder before returning to their home county when it rains.
He added that while providing a helping hand to neighbours during drought has always been beneficial, it is no longer possible to do so if people are killed in the process.
Leaders from the affected areas identified armed herders from the adjacent counties of Samburu and Marsabit as the root cause of the violence, adding that Somali and Turkana herders are vehemently opposed to the presence of the herders from outside the county. They said it was impossible to share the meagre amount of pasture left.