Moran’s tale of triumph amid haunting ghosts of the banditry menace

Pastoralism reigns supreme across the Samburu rangelands. It is a way of life that has dominated culture for the Samburu people.

Often seen by some as a form of an ‘isolated’ way of life, to the people that live and breathe this life style, as one pastoralist tells this writer, “solitude is a chosen separation to refine one’s soul.”

Naisunyai centre near Wamba town, Samburu county is what you would consider the equivalent of a transit town for this pastoralist community. Now however, it has morphed into a thriving township where the old world intersects with the new roaring for change. 

At one point, young men in this community referred to as Morans dominated the landscape and it was not uncommon for them to engage in cultural practices often considered ‘a coming of age’ rite of passage. This would at times be in form of cattle rustling. Those that successfully stole livestock from neighbouring communities would be considered ‘heroes’ gaining a form of social power and prestige.

Over time, however, the practice has been considered archaic and even retrogressive with communities now hoping to chart a better future for themselves, abandoning the so called ‘old ways’ that characterised and dominated their way of life.

Through Ujuzi  Manyattani programme, (a Mobile Vocational Training model that supports youth morans and young women) many have been equipped with alternative opportunities to diversify their livelihoods, mitigate on continued poverty and conflict cycles.

“Before I joined Ujuzi  Manyattani programme, I was a Moran. I used to heard livestock…life in the past was different, it was difficult because we really struggled to get food for our families,” says Simon Leparmare, a reformed bandit.

Leparmare, 28, like many youth in his age set was forced to fully embrace banditry, because in his mind at the time, it was the only way he could fend for his family amidst the harsh economic and even environmental situation he found himself in. “My friends would convince me not to stay at home as they went around stealing cattle. Sometimes, I would give in and join them.  At times, we would find that our lives was in danger... only God protected us,” he says.

Seen it all

In just a few years, engaging in the illegal practice, Leparmare has seen it all. How a cultural practice defined by crude weapons morphed into a sophisticated warfare with young men wielding weaponry such as AK-47 assault rifles while wreaking havoc across their community borderlines.

Samburu is no stranger to inter-community clashes, with various recourse action taken to combat the menace that has threatened lives and forced communities to flee their homes. Currently, amidst the worst prolonged drought season experienced in the country with scores searching for food and water for their families as well as pasture for their livestock, a multi-agency government team is undertaking a security operation in parts of the county following increased banditry.

Leparmare is all too familiar with this having encountered law enforcement officers in the wild Samburu rangelands. At some point, he was forced to go into hiding after learning that security officers were hot on his trail for allegedly possessing a firearm. 

A close encounter with death is said to have given him a different perspective of life. “We went for a raid to steal and on our way there, we were shot at by security officers, people started running and I found myself alone in the forest. Let’s just say it was God who rescued me,” he says

For days he roamed in the forest with no food, no water and on the brink of despair before he found himself amongst ‘civilization’. The experience he says was an epiphany to either change for the better or face what some amongst his peers did, death by their own doing or time in jail for bandit related activities.

“I regret my previous life, because when you steal, you end up being arrested or injured and since you can not go to the hospital, you just stay in the forest or bush and pray you get better…some of the people even die,” said Leparmare.

In 2019, after abandoning a life in crime, Leparmare joined 16 other young men from his community to receive basic vocational training from the Northern Rangelands Trust Training, which is a community economic empowerment programme targeting community run conservancies.

New lease of life

The training dubbed, Ujuzi Manyattani aims to provide mobile, village-based vocational training to people in community conservancies by partnering with polytechnic institutions. It is a response to a wider drive by community conservancies to diversify indigenous livelihoods and encourage entrepreneurship amongst women and young morans.

Within Naisunyai and Westgate Area, Leparmare has become a master of his own craft as a mechanic servicing and repairing hundreds of motorcycles alongside his team.

“The importance of this training is huge, no single day will you sleep hungry and you will make money to sustain yourself . Your life improves for the better. A lot of youth are already receiving training,” he says.

Since 2019, 546 people have graduated from the programme. “Ujuzi Manyattani basically helps youth who have never been to school or have had one to two years of schooling to acquire skills that they can use to make a living. Having a motorcycle mechanic within a homestead really helps because that person can make an income and the owner of the motorcycle doesn’t have to drive all the way to the town centre to have it fixed. It has really helped this community,” says Sammy Lesaita, Director Livelihoods.

The programme is tailored to the demands and lifestyles of the pastoralists it aims to serve. Courses in mechanics, masonry, mobile phone repairs, welding plumbing, carpentry, hair dressing and beauty, catering, tailoring and dress making among others are being offered in partnership with polytechnics. Students are mentored during course selection process. Additional mentorship and links to opportunities to practice their skills and by lobbying relevant stakeholders such as County and National Governments is also conducted.