The Impact of Policing Strategies in Combating Cattle Rustling in Tot Division, Marakwet District

Abstract

The people of Kerio valley have for a very long time greatly suffered from Marakwet–Pokot cattle rustling which has defied all manner of interventions from all stakeholders. This study assesses the effects of policing strategies on cattle rustling in Tot Division, Marakwet County. It involved 49 respondents stratified selected from the local youth, women and elders, and 28 police respondents from various police units in the area. Some 14 key informants purposely selected from provincial administration, local churches, NGOs and CBOS dealing with conflicts, participated in the study. Closed and open ended questionnaires, key informant guide and field observations, were used for data collection. Results showed that peace building and restoration, police officers deployment, disarmament, arrest and prosecution, intelligence gathering, stopping illegal arms and livestock trade, laws and policy framework, community policing and free and compulsory education, were used to deter rustling. Cultural support for cattle rustling, political influence, illegal arms and livestock trade, poverty and youth unemployment, were found to impede policing in the area. The study concluded that policing strategies employed in Tot were not very effective and did not adequately address conditions that encourage cattle rustling among pastoralists. The study recommended that the government conduct continuous disarmament and man Kenyan porous borders to prevent fire arms entry so as to guarantee the security of the pastoralists living along the border.

Key words: Pastoralism; Cattle Rustling; Policing Strategies; Peace Building; Tot Division; Marakwet District