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Govt is blamed for tribal clashes

Details

Published on Saturday, 07 July 2007 07:09

The government's failure to stop cattle rustling aggravated tribal clashes which flared up in 1992 between the Kisii and the Maasai along the Gucha and Trans Mara district borders, a witness told the Akiwumi Commission yesterday.

Mr Josiah Oundi Onyancha, the chief of South Mugirango Location, Itago Division in Gucha District, told the commission that when the government failed to stop cattle rustling, members of the two communities decided to take the law into their own hands.

He said the provincial administration withdrew officers from the location despite escalating cattle rustling and tribal clashes in which members of the Kisii community were killed and livestock forcibly taken away while regular police officers watched helplessly.

The witness told the commission that members of the two communities took up arms to protect their animals. Mr Onyancha, who is the 281st witness and who was being cross-examined by the Law Society of Kenya lawyer, Mr Richard Onsongo, also accused politicians of fanning tribal animosity by using the clashes as a campaign tool during the 1992 and 1997 general elections.

He said some politicians promised the electorate that if they were elected to Parliament or to the local authorities, they would fight to stop the clashes, a promise the witness said he viewed as incitement to violence.

At the same time, the witness accused former Assistant Minister Reuben Oyondi of influencing the withdrawal of the APs from his location to enable him carry on with his "illegal" campaign meetings.

He claimed that the former assistant minister, who was also the local MP, prevailed upon the then DO, a Mr Hassan, to remove administration police officers attached to the chief's camp. The officers were taken back to the divisional headquarters at Nyamarambe.

He argued that the withdrawal of the policemen was a political move because Mr Oyondi did not like him as he was supporting another candidate, Ms Rose Okemwa, who was vying for the seat on a Kanu ticket.

The witness told the commission that he attended one of Mr Oyondi's campaign rallies and heard him tell the electorate that if they elected him, he would strive to stop the clashes that had flared up in the area since 1992.

Bosire: But in 1997 the requirement that politicians apply for a licence to hold rallies had been done away with.
Onyancha: Still, they needed to notify the provincial administration and they had to get a permit from the local police officer before holding such a meeting.

Bosire: Do you mean to say that it is illegal now to hold a meeting without informing the police?
Onyancha: One is required to obtain a notification pass from the police.

Mr Onyancha said he took great exception to the laxity exhibited by the officer commanding Nyamaiya Police Station, a Mr Nguru, whom he accused of failing to stop Maasai raiders from attacking the station and removing 14 head of cattle and driving them away under the noses of armed policemen.

He explained that in November 1997, Kisiis who were tracking their stolen cattle raided Kenyan Group Ranch and confiscated 40 head of cattle. The Maasai pursued the stolen animals into the Kisii area.

The witness told the commission that Maasai morans raided the police station where the stolen and recovered animals were kept and took them away.

He said he reported the problems of the Kisii to Trans Mara District Commissioner Wilson Litole, who, he complained, only gave him empty promises.

The witness also told the commission that he made several requests to the Gucha DC to return the administration police officers to the camp but that the pleas were ignored despite sporadic cases of cattle rustling in the location.

Onsongo: The withdrawal of the administration police officers was not rescinded even after the General Election. You insisted that they be returned. What is the government's explanation for this?

Onyancha: They keep telling me that there are few administration police officers.
Onsongo: Was there political violence in your area.
Onyancha: No.
Onsongo: Is it true that there were more cattle rustling problems in 1997 than ever before?
Onyancha: In my area, there were no more problems except the two cases I mentioned earlier.
Onsongo: Were there tribal clashes in 1992?
Onyancha: Yes, because of cattle rustling and rampant illegal harvesting of Kisii crops by the Maasai.
Onsongo: What do you think made the problems worse?
Onyancha: Because people took the law into their own hands after the government failed to protect their lives and property.
Onsongo: Is it true that clashes went down after the 1992 General Election and restarted again in 1997?
Onyancha: Yes, my lords.
Onsongo: In 1992 and 1997, there were general elections and two incidents of tribal clashes. Did you see any relationship between the two?
Onyancha: Yes, I did.
Onsongo: Who is your MP?
Onyancha: Enock Magara Nyakeya.
Onsongo: Did you vote for him?
Onyancha: I voted for a person of my choice.
Onsongo: Who asked you to vote?
Onyancha: No one asked me to vote. I did so voluntarily.
Onsongo: MP Nyakeya was voted in on which party ticket?
Onyancha: Ford-Kenya.
Onsongo: Was he also using the clashes to lure votes from the electorate?
Onyancha: Yes. They took advantage of the clashes to talk like that.

Earlier, Mr Onyancha told the commission in his evidence-in-chief that the Maasai from the Keyan Group Ranch lodged a complaint with the police and the provincial administration that members of the Kisii community had raided the ranch and stolen 40 animals. They claimed that the animals were driven to Gucha District.The witness said two other APs from Mosocho Police Post, which was closed down after the officers were removed by an order issued by the DO, were also yet to be returned.

Chunga: You said the post was on the route of cattle rustlers?
Onyancha: Yes, my lords.
Chunga: Did you complain about it to the DC?
Onyancha: Yes, my lords.
Chunga: Which DC?
Onyancha: The Gucha DC.
Bosire: Did the authorities say there was no need for administration policemen there?
Onyancha: There is need and I still need them back.
Chunga: When did you complain?
Onyancha: I complained even last month.
Bosire: Is it illogical for the administration policemen to be removed?
Onyancha: Yes, my lords.

The witness also narrated to the commission how members of the Maasai community harvested crops from Kisii farms without authority. He said the Kisii leased the farms from the Maasai and paid Sh1,000 per crop season.

On Thursday evening, the commission heard that a ruthless gang calling itself Chinkororo took over an entire location in Kisii District after chasing away provincial administrators, police, and politicians at the height of tribal clashes in 1991.Mr Onyancha said the Chinkororo, using sophisticated firearms brought in from Tanzania, chased away a squad of heavily-armed police and GSU personnel called in to flush them out of South Mugirango Location.