The persisting drought in Kenya has led herders from the Pokot and Turkana communities along the River Kerio to form a resource-sharing agreement, the East African Standard reported on January 16. The two communities have been engaged in ongoing clashes over water and pastoral resources for their cattle, but have agreed to form a committee to ensure equal access to the country’s scarce resources. The committee will also assure that herdsmen from surrounding communities do not prevent others from accessing water and pasture during regular dry seasons. Although the longstanding tension between the two groups remains, this is not the first incident of collaboration. In 2003, Pokot and Turkana pastoralists announced they had formed a joint security force to address cattle rustling and violence across their shared border. According to the East Africa Standard, previous attempts at a permanent peace agreement have broken down due to the failure of the governments of Kenya and Uganda to implement the peace-talk resolutions, including instituting a greater government presence in the area and disarming both the Pokot and Turkana peoples.
