West Pokot and Turkana Sign Inter-county MOU on Peace and NRM

West Pokot and Turkana Sign Inter-county MOU on Peace and NRM

By Koech Cheruiyot Denis

Pokot and Turkana counties have signed a MoU on peace and natural resource management. The agreement was born out of a two day West Pokot and Turkana County leaders’ exchange forum in Kapenguria PEARL partners – Mercy Corps, Turkana Pastoralists Development Organization and West Pokot Youth Bunge County Forum organized the forum that brought together county and national government officials, MCAs, civil society, elders, women and youth representatives. The leaders were led by West Pokot Deputy Governor, Titus Lotee and his counterpart from Turkana, Peter Ekai Lokoel.

Turkana and West Pokot National and county government leaders sign the MoU. 

 The MoU is made up of eight resolutions that a joint 10-member Working Committee will work on. The Working Committee will harmonize all existing intra-community and inter-community resolutions and develop an inter-county agreement on peace and natural resource use and sharing that governors from the two counties are expected to sign during the International Day of Peace on September 21, 2016.

The continuous conflict between Pokot and Turkana communities has been attributed to long standing boundary and natural resource use wrangles in the area. The land in dispute stretches between Marich Pass area and Kainuk. The dispute area is also joined with the Turkwel River which is rich in fertile soil and water hence conflict over the same.

Livestock rustling, which Nicholas Domokwang, the Secretary of West Pokot County Senior Citizens Organizations calls a ‘traditional game of life and death’, has aggravated the conflict. The conflict has led to loss of life, displacement of tens of thousands, destruction of property and arrested development along the West Pokot-Turkana border.

Speaking during the event, West Pokot Deputy Governor Titus Lotee recognized the role of peace actors in dispelling conflict in the region. He urged authorities in both counties to view Pokot and Turkana communities as one when handling criminals. He said criminal cases should be prosecuted on an individual level to avoid them from escalating into community affairs.

“We have made a step forward and we are now discussing openly. We are no longer going to use guns to seek peace, but our ability to talk and agree,” Lotee said.

On his side, Turkana Deputy Governor Peter Lokoel called on governments, the private sector and NGOs to sensitize reformed warriors on alternative sources of livelihood. He called for pooling of resources so as to enable the formers perpetrators of conflict to make a living from.

“Politicians should say no to conflict. We have to sacrifice and compromise some of our interests for the sake of peace. This forum is a chance for us to reflect and discuss what we need to do together,” Lokoel said.

Deputy Governors Lotee (left) and Lokoel (right) exchange the agreements. 

The Working Committee will also develop intra-community agreements and policies that will be forwarded to respective county assemblies for legislation. Intra-community agreements will be drawn from kraals where leaders agree on deterrent measures to livestock raiding as well as grazing patterns.

The Working Committee will, in addition, seek Pokot and Turkana communities’ proposals on interventions and measures that will enable the communities live in sustainable peace. Further, the team will work with the provincial administration to sensitize the communities on the importance of registering firearms.