small arms and light weapons among pastoral groups in the kenya ...

SALW AMONG PASTORAL GROUPS 61
There appears to be a growing trend for the chewing of miraa by young
warriors 71 in many small towns in border areas, a habit that has spread from
Somalis. Miraa grows wild on Mount Kadama and Mount Napa in Iriri,
Uganda. Evidence suggests that it is one of the best miraa in the region and
that the harvesters are Somali. This trend then facilitates the small arms
trade. Traders from Sudan sometimes pass through Turkana villages in
Kenya and sell small arms to them directly. Turkana traders then often take
the arms into Upe Pokot areas in Karamoja region in Uganda for sale. From
there, arms may once again be taken back across the border and re-sold in
Kenya. Because of the rivalry between the Turkana and the Samburu, most
arms that reach the latter come directly from Sudan to Lokichogio.
Some characteristics of the demand for and use of small arms
Close examination of the demand for arms reveals a complex interplay of
environmental, cultural, historical and governance issues. Remoteness and
environmental scarcity have contributed to the difficulties of pastoral peoples
and their dependence upon a mobile, cattle-rearing lifestyle and to
marginalization, underdevelopment and insecurity. In former times, pastoralists
had coping mechanisms for times of extreme scarcity, which
included mobility into other areas, alliances and agreements with other
groups, and raiding. Raiding was usually small-scale and did not involve
modern weapons, and cattle circulated between groups in the area. 72 However,
colonial and postcolonial governments have gazetted large tracts of
pastoral land such that pastoralists compete for increasingly small areas of
pasture and scarce sources of water. From the 1950s, both the Kenyan and
Ugandan governments sought to introduce private land tenure, which discriminated
against non-settled peoples who were not adapted to owning
land. Pressure on land and other resources has increased since independence,
partly because of the regularity and severity of droughts. From 1999
to 2000, drought affected West Pokot, and severe drought affected
Karamoja in 2003. Raids escalated as a result. 73 From 2005 to 2006, West
Pokot was again facing severe droughts, and the pastoralists have moved
across the border to Uganda. 74 To date, pastoral land in Nakapiripirit in
Karamoja is still under threat, having been offered to private investors
for agriculture and ranching. This land is vital to pastoralists in times of
drought, and the issue has led to arming by the Karimojong. 75 Karamoja is
71. Observed in Namalu and Kangole in Uganda and in Alale in Kenya.
72. Sandra Gray, ‘A memory of loss: ecological politics, local history, and the evolution of
Karimojong violence’, Human Organization 59, 4 (2000), pp. 401–18.
73. Mkutu, ‘Pastoralist Conflict and Small Arms’, p. 11.
74. Father Joachim Omolo Ouko, ‘Clearly famine caught govt napping’, Kenya Times,
5 January 2006 (5 January
2006).