Words & Pictures from Northern Kenya

The Great North Road – A trip through the wild splendour of northern Kenya.

August 30, 2017 By Leave a Comment
DSC_6807

The 'great north road', also known (less romantically) as the A2, links Nairobi, and the rest of East Africa, with Ethiopia. It does so by traversing some of the most dramatic and inhospitable parts of the northern half of Kenya. The 507kms between Isiolo and Moyale take you through the Kaisuit Desert, over 1500m of volcanic mountain (topped by thick forest) and on through the Dida Galgalu Desert and the Shinil Plains, before climbing again into the low hills around Moyale, where the road passes into Ethiopia. When I first travelled this road you considered things were going well if you made the trip from Isiolo to Moyale in 2 days. The rough corrugated dirt road, strewn with either rocks or a fine clinging dust, was hard work in the dry season. During the rains however it was almost impossible. It wasn't unheard of for the journey to stretch to a week, as buses and lorries became stuck in mud over their axles, and completely blocked ... Continue Reading

An uneasy silence has settled over the village as we wait to see if the election will bring peace or chaos.

July 23, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Taking the livestock home

In the village on the border of Isiolo and Laikipia counties the last two weeks have been relatively quiet. With just a few minor livestock raids in the area and whole days without the sound of gunfire, by the standards everybody has become used to, this has been a peaceful time. It is a blessed relief to be able to walk a short way beyond the homesteads without searching the bushes constantly to see if a gun is trained on you. To even step outside at night, almost casually. The days are ... Continue Reading

Brazen and deadly: Today’s livestock raiders are often acting with extensive support and powerful backing.

June 7, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Cows Guns and Trouble

This morning's livestock raid in Burat, Isiolo County, was unusually brazen and ambitions. At around 7am a group of men attacked bomas at the western end of the hills that make the fine backdrop to Isiolo town. Reports suggest that there may have been as many as 100 involved in the raid and subsequent ambushes. Over 200 head of cattle were taken. Certainly they needed both a significant number of well armed men, and a great deal of confidence, to pull off such a large scale raid in broad ... Continue Reading

Could community buyouts help deal with the land problem in Laikipia?

May 21, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Storm over Laikipia

In an in-depth article for The Elephant I discuss whether the kind of community buyouts that have helped to deal with a history of land injustice in Scotland could work in Laikipia and elsewhere in northern Kenya. https://www.theelephant.info/dispatches/2017/05/18/land-reform-could-the-scottish-model-work-in-kenyas-northern-rangelands/ ... Continue Reading

Focusing on the violent attacks against white ranchers in Kenya is a dangerous mistake

April 29, 2017 By 38 Comments
Guns and Cows

The shooting of Kuki Gallman was a terrible thing and it made international news. It was not terrible because she is white, or Italian (though now a Kenyan citizen) or because she is famous (Kim Basinger played her in the movie) or because she is rich (I don't actually know if she is but it certainly appears that way). It's not even terrible because she has made an important contribution to wildlife conservation in Kenya. It's terrible because it was a violent crime and all violent crime is ... Continue Reading