Herders overrun dead Briton’s Kenyan lodge

A LODGE owned by a murdered British rancher in Kenya’s northern Laikipia region yesterday announced it had closed after being overrun by nomadic herders for months, ahead of August polls in which some politicians have made land reform a campaign issue.

Tristan Voorspuy, a British Army veteran, was shot dead on Sosian in March, one of dozens killed and injured in Laikipia as armed herders – searching for grazing not available on poor-quality communal land – have driven their cattle on to private farms and ranches.

“Since the beginning of the year Sosian, amongst other properties in West Laikipia, has been battling mass land invasions, violence and vandalism,” the Laikipia Farmers Association (LFA) said in a statement yesterday.

Many residents of the area accuse local politicians of inciting the violence before elections in August. They say the men are trying to drive out voters who might oppose them and win votes by promising supporters access to private land. Herders have illegally grazed more than 100,000 cattle on Sosian over the past five months, the LFA said, while also killing 13 elephants and shooting zebra, impala and buffaloes.

Laikipia is the second most important wildlife area after the Maasai Mara and many landowners earn money from tourism as well as ranching. Richard Constant, a Sosian director, said: “We had a lot of serious shooting incidents in the last four months so it is not safe to bring any tourists.”