Turkana cultural festival achieves what leaders of four countries could not

For decades, communities living on Kenya’s borders with Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia have never known peace, with frequent cattle rustling and killings.

The pastoralist Ateker communities - Dassanach and Nyang'atom of Ethiopia, Toposa of South Sudan, Karamoja of Uganda and Turkana and Iteso of Kenya - have been fighting over water and pasture for their livestock.

Sounds of gunshots are common, with children growing up to believe that the only economic lifeline of the region is cattle rustling.

To find lasting peace, the Tourism and Cultural Festival, called Tobong'u Lore (Welcome Home), was started and is now in its sixth edition.

Started in 2014 by Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok, the annual event is a platform for the five communities to meet and celebrate their cultures while embracing one another by developing measures to curb insecurity along the borders including the oil-rich Elemi Triangle.

The area is claimed by both Kenya and South Sudan, and clashes occasionally flared up between the Toposa of South Sudan, the Turkana of Kenya and the Nyang’atom of Ethiopia. But locals now say the fighting has stopped, crediting Tobong’u Lore.

“As neighbouring communities, we are one and there is no need to fight one another. This event has enabled us to ensure that whenever there is war, either on Kenya’s side or Ethiopia, we can sit down and agree,” Lolaar Ekeno, a resident of the Elemi Triangle in Ethiopia, told the Nation when he attended the cultural event in Lodwar.

Mr Ekeno, from the Nyang’atom community, said the event helps the communities build better relations with one another.

“We have been attending Tobong’u Lore since its inception to preach peace and collaboration so that we can put down the guns. All the governments should play their part by creating awareness among locals,” he said.

Lore Kakuta, head of pastoral affairs in Ethiopia, told the Nation that since the Ateker communities share the same culture and understand one another’s languages, they can come together to talk about ending hostilities.

“We share water and pasture; why should we keep fighting. Now there is peace in the Elemi Triangle and we will continue supporting Governor Nanok in this peace initiative because peace is important for countries to prosper,” Mr Kakuta said.

Diplomacy vehicle

Mr Nanok said the event is a diplomacy vehicle for fostering peaceful coexistence among the communities.

“The event has contributed to regional stability by bringing together cross-border communities from four different countries to develop joint peace and conflict mitigation initiatives,” he said.

“The key objective of Tobong’u Lore is providing a platform for communities which share a common ancestry, border and way of life but have been in conflict before to chart a common path towards peace, stability and regional development.”

For peace to last, he said, the Kenyan government needs to implement agreements reached 2019 when President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni shook hands at the Naitakwae playgrounds in Moroto, Uganda, after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding for cross-border peace and development.

“Both the national and county governments should implement development projects like constructing dams and joint schools for our children because insecurity along the borders has prevented many from going to school. Roads and businesses are also needed,” said Mr Nanok.

A year after its inception, Tobong’u Lore aided the first peace agreement between Kenya and Uganda.

For years, border communities have fought each other over pasture and cattle in conflicts that have often led to deaths.

“This agreement will help us ensure long-lasting peace for our people. It is not only about peace but sustainable development,” President Kenyatta said then.

For his part, President Museveni said his administration had initiated a range of projects to improve the economy of the region.

The biggest challenge is cattle rustling, fuelled by readily available guns.

Uganda has tried to take away guns from the Karamojong in disarmament drives but other countries, including Kenya, have failed in similar missions.

In 2001, the Ugandan government seized at least 40,000 illegal guns in a mop-up campaign pushed by President Museveni in the region.

Kenyan Turkana who had been living in Uganda for years were said to have escaped to Kenya in droves to avoid losing their guns.

The two governments signed the MoU to improve peace and encourage cross-border trade that were often disrupted by distrust and frequent inter-community attacks.

No significant attack has been reported along the border for a while and business is booming as traders from Lodwar in Turkana cross over to buy vegetables and grains from markets in Moroto, which enjoys rains most of the year unlike the semi-arid Kenyan side.

However, bad roads on the Kenyan side have been blamed for hampering business activities.

“There is a need for more businesses along our borders because it will cement peace, which this event has been promoting since 2013,” said Rose Loyar, a resident of Turkana.

On Saturday, Ugandan government official Francis Okori, with more than 20 MPs, urged the four countries to embrace a disarmament programme so as to eliminate illegal firearms that were fuelling conflicts.

Deputy President William Ruto also said that Tobong’u Lore has played a vital role in ending ethnic conflicts in the region, saying that it should now be celebrated nationally.

“(Tobong’u Lore has done) what we could not do for many years in bringing leaders from Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia together through diplomacy,” Dr Ruto said.

"Most of the communities on the border share a common culture, language and a way of life and we will bank on the festival to preach peace that will encourage cross-border trade,” Governor Nanok said.

“This is already bearing fruit as most cereals, vegetables and fruits are coming from Uganda through Moroto after communities embraced peace."

It is expected that the Lochwaang'ikamatak-Nakodok road, now under construction on the border of Kenya and South Sudan, will improve transport and business activities if the communities embrace peace.

Despite the spirited efforts to end insecurity along the border, occasional fresh attacks have claimed many lives.

Clashes were reported recently between the Toposa of South Sudan and Turkana of Kenya in Eastern Equatoria state as drought bites.

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