Violence unabated in Mt Elgon district

Sporadic killings are continuing in western Kenya's Mt Elgon district where a dispute over land ownership sparked violence and widespread displacement of people in 2006.

"Sometimes, at least one person is killed daily, with one or two people being killed per week," Hezborn Wekola, an assistant relief officer with the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) in western Kenya, said on 19 February.

A militia called Sabaot Land Defense Forces (SLDF) had been blamed for most of the killing. The motive of the group is reportedly to seek redress for alleged injustice during land distribution in the Chebyuk settlement scheme.

By the end of 2007, at least 45,000 people had been displaced by intra-clan fighting, which mainly pits rival clans of the Sabaot community.

"Three days ago some livestock was stolen by militias alleged to belong to the SLDF in [neighbouring] Bungoma West District, with some families also being threatened," Wekola said.

Wekola said displaced people were desperate because they were no longer able to run businesses or grow food on their farms.

He said the displaced people wanted to be relocated to other areas if security in their home areas could not be guaranteed.

"If this goes on it will no longer be about fighting for land but for survival," he said.

In the Chepkitale area of the district, schools remained closed as fighting continues in the nearby Endebess area, according to a local teacher, Sokwony Laikong.

"Children who qualified for form one [high school] have not reported to school," Laikong said.

Moreover, he said, some key roads have been closed by militiamen so people were unable to go to important market areas such as Chepkitale. Most people in the district are subsistence farmers, deriving their livelihoods from the sale of food crops, livestock and milk.

"If there is no market there is no cash so the people cannot afford to pay school fees," said Laikong.

"Our security is at the mercy of the militia," he said. The militias seemed to be taking advantage of the redeployment of security officers to other parts of the country to deal with the post-election violence, according to a survivor of a militia attack who was rescued by the police.

"Right now I am living in one of the police stations after being separated from my three children," said the survivor, who asked not to be named.