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.
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