THIS AND THAT ...

 

THIS AND THAT…

The Northern Frontier District. (North Eastern Province)

My friend Mervyn Maciel knows more about this subject than I do. He served there in the colonial civil service. A neighbour of mine, Mohahmed Asgar in Eastleigh, was a native of Isiolo, one of the key centres in the NFD. Asgar was a native of Isiolo. In Nairobi, he worked for Coca-Cola, driving huge land trains supplying the NFD towns with a variety of soft drinks.  During the school holidays, I would go with Asgar on his travels. Isiolo used to be 260 km from Nairobi, probably one of the worst untarred roads in Kenya of the 1950s. Most roads where white folks did not live were always hellish, because most other folks walked and did not own trucks or cars. Drought, ever-present, is just part of life until the next rains.

The NFD was carved out of southern Somalia in 1925 (in an era when white folks were dividing Africa amongst themselves).

According to “Global Security”, A treaty drawn up in 1920 and ratified in 1924 provided that Italy take over the area west of the Juba River up to 41° east longitude, including the port of Kismaayo. Known as Jubaland, it was incorporated into Italian Somaliland the following year. The new colonial boundary left a Somali-populated area within Kenya equal to the ceded territory. Although a number of Somali had settled in towns or as farm workers elsewhere in the colony, British authorities prohibited the nomads from moving over the internal frontier of the NFD as a precaution against ethnic conflict and the spread of interclan warfare. Other barriers (including taxation at a higher rate) were erected as well, setting the Somali apart from the rest of the African population.

These distinctions, all of which indirectly recognized the Somali as an alien element in Kenya and therefore emphasized their ties with Somalia, remained in effect until Kenya's independence and continually reinforced the Somali sense of exclusiveness. The Somali in the NFD were convinced that their interests were neglected by colonial authorities, and they expected them to be similarly neglected by an independent Kenya. They looked to fellow Somali across the border for political leadership, particularly after Somalia's independence.

The NFD should have been christened Kenya’s Wild North. Violence in all its shapes was always on the daily menu. It was an American Wild West kind of place. First of all, most of the NFD was carved out of Somalia by the British and in 1963, after independence, there was no way Kenya was going to give it back to Somalia. It was not long before, Kenya’s armed forces were entrenched in a guerrilla war with the Shiftas, who sought to return the land to Somalia. Many people died from both sides but Kenya held firm.

“In the 2009 Census, Isiolo County had a cosmopolitan population of 143,234, with Borana, Samburu, Gabra, Sakuye, Turkana, Meru and Somali being the main ethnic groups in the region. From late 2011 into 2012, hundreds of people lost their lives and livestock was stolen in intense, well-organised violence as the Borana and Somali communities violently clashed with their Turkana neighbours. The conflict led to widespread internal displacements, the torching of several villages and schools and market disruption, with grave knock-on effects on people’s livelihoods. According to reports by the Isiolo District Peace Committee (DPC), from 2009 to January 2013, the Isiolo violence claimed 165 lives and about 9,000 livestock were stolen; an estimated 2,900 were displaced (Huka 2013; AlterNet 2011)”. The Politics of Pastoral Violence: A Case Study of Isiolo County, Northern Kenya.

Most of the NFD was almost always hot, dusty, and dry as hell. However, the various tribes called it home and managed to eke out a living. Most of them were nomads, herding their animals to the next water hole or next feed. I spent many nights with them, sitting by the campfires, listening (but not understanding a word) to the old men. Asgar would occasionally offer a translation or two.

While the wazee (old men) seemed grumpy most of the time, there was lots of laughter everywhere else.

 

Marsabit National Park, the land of large tusked elephants

The Somalis of the NFD were originally returning soldiers of World War One. Little wonder that in Kenya’s southern cities that were some of the best nightwatchmen. Ferocious fighters. Folks who did not know them said it was all because of Miraa (or Kat/Qat) which every Somali seemed to enjoy. As a result, and winning more fans south of the border, Miraa is a very profitable industry.

Marsabit has always been famous for its national park, and even more famous for its longest-tusked elephant. However, I found this excerpt from a larger charming piece by Dalle Abraham. A treaty drawn up in 1920 and ratified in 1924 provided that Italy take over the area west of the Juba River up to 41° east longitude, including the port of Kismaayo. Known as Jubaland, it was incorporated into Italian Somaliland the following year. The new colonial boundary left a Somali-populated area within Kenya that was equal in size to the ceded territory. Although a number of Somali had settled in towns or as farm workers elsewhere in the colony, British authorities prohibited the nomads from moving over the internal frontier of the NFD as a precaution against ethnic conflict and the spread of interclan warfare. Other barriers (including taxation at a higher rate) were erected as well, setting the Somali apart from the rest of the African population.

These distinctions, all of which indirectly recognized the Somali as an alien element in Kenya and therefore emphasized their ties with Somalia, remained in effect until Kenya's independence and continually reinforced the Somali sense of exclusiveness. The Somali in the NFD were convinced that their interests were neglected by colonial authorities, and they expected them to be similarly neglected by an independent Kenya. They looked to fellow Somali across the border for political leadership, particularly after Somalia's independence.

In all its torrid weather, its eternal drought, and all the ingredients of a hell on earth, Kenya’s Northern Frontier District has a lot of beauty to offer, you just have to let your eyes and your heart focus on it. You will find it, I assure you.