Why police brutality? .., please help me understand.
Thoughts to ponder:
It’s difficult to say why Samburu East is facing so much pressure. Is it a coincident that oil drilling and a move to development of the region parrallel these constant attacks against the community? Is it an effort by Somali, who have a deep and open opposition to the Samburu people and wish to overtake their land and resources (as well as those elsewhere across Kenya– See Mombasa and Tsavo), by empowering themselves to strategically seek positions of power?
What about their past involvement in lucrative wildlife poaching, the presence of a Chinese market (examine arrest records), the Samburu’s impressive and success in developing [nature] conservancies, stabilizing security and reducing poaching to nearly zero in the past decade? Paralleling these attacks was a huge surge in poaching here; 25 elephants butchered just prior to the Feb 09 attacks, 2 rhino just recently. Could there be illegal black market wildlife poaching, oil, and cattle trading cartels behind the scenes —land-based piracy—- similar to what’s happening on the Indian Ocean?
Does cattle raiding occur? Certainly, but historically not at this level or using these tactics. Usually, they are more similar to petty theft, do not use sophisticated weaponry (admittedly supplied by the Kenyan gov), lorries to offload cattle, and organized militias. Children are not commomnly kidnapped, hung and skinned. [The raiders] usually do not enter bomas at dawn to behead the familes asleep, as has been the case in Samburu East. It doesn’t seem to fit normal cattle raiding practices.
Is it due to drought and competition for dwindling resources? Could it be an extension of post election violence?
What drives these attacks? Who is responsible? What are the hidden agendas? Are there other stakeholders, hidden from view, who may be allowing these attacks, if not encouraging them? Some say, follow the money…. others say, look at the past.
This week’s operation is an attempt to disarm the Samburu in the name of securing the area. It began on Christmas Eve, an unusual date for a country that is on holiday for a full week around the Christmas holiday. The police agreed to delay this operation until Jan 20th, without violence, but began it early and violently, in violation of the agreements. Is this because on Christmas Eve women fled to avoid being raped, beaten and killed? Or are there other reasons?
But are all tribes being disarmed? If not, why not? Why would one tribe be left exposed and defenseless and their opposition not be? Are any being armed? Why? Some say for border control, but is that accurate?
A key question is who caused the region to become unstable and why? Prior to this there was a great deal of security through the conservancies in that region and their antipoaching units, which is well-documented to have greatly reduced crime of all sort. Yet, they were the first disarmed by the police in Feb. ['09] before they began operations against these very same communities. At that time, there were [police] operations ‘to recover stolen cattle.” 6000 [cattle taken by police]??? For 200 [reported to the police as stolen]??? Even the ones I purchased and had receipts for? Those we legally purchased for orphans and widows, also receipted?
Ever since [the theft of these Samburu cows by police], this relatively quiet and unnnoticed area has been strife with violence and death. At that time, every visible cow present was taken and driven to other markets, leaving these people with no ourside source of income, food (protein and liquid) or savings, as it is a livestock economy. Why would a government do that as a drought looms, knowingly pushing theie citizens into famine and not responding with alternative sources of food, water, transportation, or assistance? Some feel it suggests passive genocide, others ignorance, indifference, or retaliation.
Every person has a right to certain fundamental human rights, such as food, freedom from fear, the right to protection, and so on. When one people [or] group has these rights denied, all humans are threatened.
We ask the media of Kenya and throughout the world to take notice of the complex events happening in the Samburu East and the tragedy that is befalling the Samburu people. Meanwhile, you in the media and you others who simply want to understand what is happening to the people and why, please go to this blog’s sister, news site, www.samburuwatch.org, and find out what has been happening in recent days as the Kenyan police once more move in on the Samburu people.
