For the past 8 months, the Kenyan government has carried out a brutal campaign of violence against the Indigenous Samburu People in north-central Kenya.
The most infamous attack took place in February 2009, when the Kenyan police reportedly sprayed a caustic chemical onto group of children, severely burning them. The children were hiding in the bush at the time, while the police "strafed the unarmed villagers with machine guns” from the air and “used clubs to beat them on the ground.” Following the cruel and unwarranted attack, the police confiscated 4,000 head of cattle--robbing the Samburu of their main source of food and wealth.
In the weeks leading up to this attack, "Government forces brutally shut down" several wildlife conservancies the Samburu pastoralists managed in collaboration with environmental organizations, explains Cultural Survival, who just received "reports of further air and land attacks on the Samburu by hundreds of Kenyan police troops during the week of November 16."
Though unconfirmed, there have been reports that a Kenyan military officer has leaked documents suggesting this ongoing campaign is aimed at forcing the Samburu to abandon their way life.
The documents are said to explicitly mention the intent to "bring these people into the modern era" and show that the attacks, including the one just described, were planned months in advance.
PHOTO CREDIT: lionresearch
What You Can Do
To support the Samburu people, please send letters to government officials in Kenya, asking them to:
- Immediately withdraw the police forces from northern Kenya and initiate a community-based process of disarmament under the direction of community elders, chiefs, district peace committees and human rights groups.
- Work with the communities to develop a process to curtail cattle raiding and resolve disputes about cattle ownership among pastoralist tribes.
- Investigate and prosecute the police responsible for the human rights violations against the Samburu people, and bring an end to police impunity.
- Recognize and respect the Indigenous rights of the Samburu, as well as the Borana, Rendille,Turkana, Somali, Meru and Pokot Peoples; particularly their rights to self-determination and to participace in matters of development and land use in their territories.
A list of contacts and a sample letter can be found at http://www.culturalsurvival.org/take-action/kenya/stop-police-brutality-against-samburu-people
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Geez and they wonder why they have been in such bad droughts in the last while.I pray that the they leave these good traditional tribal people alone and learn to live in harmony or bad luck will continue to follow Kenya which is truly sad.
What none sense is the government is doing? Is this for the sake of the people, the land, the power or for other outsiders. They are the proud of the country while government is doings its shame. They are employing themselves and their families, which is one way of supporting the country. What the government has to do is to transfer them into a better, planned and productive way if there is better. Otherwise this may lead to the dismantlement of the so called power, which seems to them “POWER” but the reality of power is the PUBLIC.
GOD BLESS EVERY BODY.
I really think this is spot on and timely reporting. Especially the nexus between conflict/state sponsored violence and resource extraction. Am sure the Government will not admit so, but we have classic examples of how low intensity conflict is used to drive away local communities to open up for entry of FDI/MNCs, etc. I suppose anyone with more details on this should share it. ANy chance we can get the area MPS to raise this issue in Parliament. Especially with the running theme that accessible military records show so. I watched the local MPs on TV last night but they seemed to make the case that its the usual communal pastroal conflict but now we are getting new leads.
[...] – John “Ahniwanika” Schertow, “Stop Killing and Starvation of Samburu People in Kenya,” Intercontinental Cry, November 20, 2009, http://intercontinentalcry.org/stop-killing-and-starvation-of-samburu-people-in-kenya/ [...]
[...] The story, chosen to be #7 in the top 25 most Censored Stories for 2009-2010 is “Stop Killing and Starvation of Samburu People in Kenya,” published November 20, 2009, http://intercontinentalcry.org/stop-killing-and-starvation-of-samburu-people-in-kenya [...]
[...] The story, chosen to be #7 in the top 25 most Censored Stories for 2009-2010 is “Stop Killing and Starvation of Samburu People in Kenya,” published November 20, 2009, http://intercontinentalcry.org/stop-killing-and-starvation-of-samburu-people-in-kenya [...]
[...] 20 – Stop Killing and Starvation of Samburu People in Kenya! For the past 8 months, the Kenyan government has carried out a brutal campaign of violence against [...]