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 indigenous Samburu People in north-central Kenya, using their own police and military forces as well as government-funded mercenaries from Somalia.
The most infamous attack took place in April, when military forces sprayed a caustic chemical onto group of children, severely burning them. The children were hiding in the bush at the time, while the military “strafed the unarmed villagers with machine guns” from the air and “used clubs to beat them on the ground.”
In the weeks leading up to the 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.”
According to documents released by a Kenyan military officer, the campaign is in large part an attempt to force the Samburu to abandon their way life. The documents explicitly mention an intent to “bring these people into the modern era.” They also showed the attacks, including the one just described, were planned months in advance.
Then, in October, the Kenyan government announced it had awarded a set of 18 oil leases to Chinese companies. The lease areas are located within the Samburu’s territory.
PHOTO CREDIT: lionresearch
What You Can Do To Help
Cultural Survival has initiated an urgent campaign to bring an end to the government’s ongoing, genocidal assault of the Samburu.
Cultural Survival explains, “the Commonwealth nations, including Kenya, will meet in Trinidad-Tobago November 27-29. The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth has invited citizens to send him their comments and concerns in advance of the meeting.”
“Please send a message today, urging the Commonwealth to demand an immediate end to the campaign of terror being waged against the Samburu people, and an independent investigation and prosecution for these atrocities.”
Send your message to:
Mr. Kamalesh Sharma
Commonwealth Secretary-General
asksharma@commonwealth.int
and info@commonwealth.int
Sample Letter
Dear Mr. Secretary-General,
Please bring to the immediate attention of the Commonwealth ministers an ongoing humanitarian and human rights crisis in Kenya. The Samburu Indigenous People are being systematically killed, terrorized and deprived of their livelihood in an apparent effort to remove them from their lands so that Chinese companies can conduct oil explorations there. I urge you to undertake immediate investigation of alleged acts of mass murder, torture, terror and theft of Samburu cattle (their primary food source) by Kenyan military and police forces and by mercenaries in their employ. These atrocities have been reported to Kenyan government authorities to no avail. The international community, and particularly the Commonwealth nations, must act to prevent genocide of the Samburu people.
Thank you for your immediate attention to this issue of grave concern.
Sincerely,
- About
- Spread the Word
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.