Kenya: Lamu herders ask to access private ranches amidst drought situation

Pastoralist communities in Lamu County are pleading with county officials to initiate talks with ranch owners so they can be allowed to graze their livestock on private land. Almost all pasture in Lamu has been depleted by the drought and the growing number of animals migrating daily from Tana River and Garissa counties. Speaking to journalists in Witu, Khalifa Hirbae, the chairman of the Lamu branch of the Kenya Livestock Marketing Council and Witu Pastoralists Community spokesperson, urged Governor Fahim Twaha to start talks with private ranchers. Lamu has large tracts of land classified as ranches, which are fenced off for conservation and private development. Some of the most notable are Amu, Koreni and Mkunumbi, Kibokoni, Nairobi and Bar'goni. Mr Hirbae said that instead of watching their livestock die, they should be allowed to graze in the ranches, which he said have enough vegetation to sustain them for some time. "Our animals are dying almost every day due to lack of ...