Deadly revenge arson trend threatens peace in Elgeyo Marakwet

On Tuesday evening, a Grade Three pupil was hit by a vehicle in the Marichor area on the Chesoi-Sambalat road in Marakwet East sub-county.

She succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment at Kapsowar Mission Hospital.

The following day at dawn, the girl’s clan went on the rampage, descending on the driver’s property and those of his relatives and setting all of them ablaze. It was a mission to avenge the girl’s death.
Luckily, no one was hurt.

In an age-old Marakwet practice that continues to defy modernity and baffle law enforcers, whenever there is a disagreement and – in extreme cases – death, the aggrieved party usually torches the property of their perceived aggressors, sometimes carting away the property.

Authorities and peace crusaders estimate that more than 5,000 houses were burned in the last decade and property worth over Sh20 million destroyed and countless residents displaced.

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Torching houses is an unwritten rule in the region, with the criminal practice passed on from one generation to the next, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

Elgeyo Marakwet Police Commander Patrick Lumumba admitted the greatest impediment to bringing the perpetrators of such actions to book is when no one officially lodges a complaint.

“In all these arson attacks we have never had a complaint lodged at a police station. Arson is a criminal offence punishable by law and what we have been dealing with is a vicious cycle of counter and retaliatory attacks,” he said.

He said at times, they have been left in a dilemma owing to pressure from the community, demanding that elders arbitrate such matters, but often it has proved futile.

“In case of death, the deceased’s relatives will set on fire all the assailant’s property, including that of his entire family and even relatives,” explains Richard Ruto, a Marakwet elder. 

“This is a tradition that has been passed on for ages. It is a form of deadly retaliation that has caused a lot of property destruction even though it is believed that it wards off bad omens.

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“It is believed the deceased’s ghost will come back and haunt his relatives if they do not avenge the killing. This makes the practice widely accepted and revered even today.”

Security personnel, local leaders, the clergy and the local council of elders agree the practice is a threat to peace and development in the area that has enjoyed relative calm for over a decade.

Marakwet East Deputy County Commissioner Simion Osumba concurs, stating that anytime people get agitated in the region over an issue they burn houses.

But security agencies are at a loss as to whether to allow traditional arbitrators, known as assis, to resolve the issues or take legal action against the perpetrators.

On the incident involving the 11-year-old pupil at Marichor Primary School, Mr Osumba said it was being investigated.

Ms Vivian Jebet is lost for words, trying to describe how she lost all her valuables in an inferno when her house was burnt by a rival clan in a land dispute a year ago.

“What happened is heart-wrenching and it will take some time to be erased,” she told Nation.Africa.

“All our property was reduced to ashes, thanks to the entrenched custom of burning houses because of a disagreement,” said the mother of three.

Ms Jebet said the attacks are one too many. It is usually brought about by a range of issues pitting a clan against their counterparts or even families.

“In our case, our houses were burnt because of a land dispute with our neighbouring clan. Our houses have been burned twice in one month, but the attack was vicious the second time. We blame all this on the traditional belief of burning houses to settle scores,” she lamented.

Ms Shallyne Biwott, another victim, said such skirmishes leave women, children and the elderly suffering in internally displaced camps and families have been shattered.

“About a year ago, over 50 families from Kisimai village, whose homes were torched in land skirmishes, suffered a lot in the cold at Marichor dispensary's maternity hall, where they sought refuge,” she said.

Inter-clan skirmishes are usually witnessed in the region during the rainy season, most notably between March and June over land boundaries.

Among the clans that have been feuding for decades are the Kapsiren and Kabisyoi, Ketut and Kasagur, Kasegei and Katemuge, Karel and Kapkau, Kabasiran and Kapkeny, and Kakisoo and Biyaa.

In 2020, a protracted land conflict between Kasagur and Kapsiran clans ended in a court battle.
In November 2019, the court had sanctioned the eviction of one of the clans, resulting in a house torching spree affecting one of the clans.

“Issues such as land rows should be left to the traditional council of elders known as assis. There have been instances where the elders have successfully arbitrated on land issues and settled them amicably, but not law enforcers,” said Mr Jackson Yano, one of the local elders.

He said the destruction of property in such attacks erodes development gains made by individuals and the community.

Ms Salina Chesir, a peace crusader, said that on land matters, the elders have been overpowered by the youths who always launch attacks.

“Each year we experience attacks, but there were times almost all clans in the region turned against each other. We are not complaining about our neighbours from other counties attacking us but ourselves,” she said.

She observed that elders should be impartial.

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