Attachments
Description of the Event
Date when the trigger was met
2024-04-02
What happened, where and when?
Baringo County in Kenya Rift Valley has been and continues to be marred with sporadic attacks of cattle rustling. However, since January 2024 the situation has escalated considerably. Escalating disputes over water, pasture, suspected boundary issues, and cattle rustling have led to significant displacement, overall impacting at least 4,500 households of which an estimated 2,951 households are displaced between January and March 2024. This has caused widespread fear and panic leading to population movement, livelihoods loss, several schools closed, disruption of markets/trading centers, and key access roads affected. From the onset, KRCS has been supporting the communities from the local Branch with the lead role in humanitarian work interventions.
On 2nd April 2024, the county steering group meeting took place to agree on the humanitarian response scale-up. KRCS was called to maintain its status as the lead organization in the response and was supposed to scale their response following the established role that the Governor of Baringo attributed to the National Society in this humanitarian situation. Since 28th March 2024, the Governor had already directly appealed to KRCS to scale up their assistance with increased needs expressed for food, non-food items, and WASH assistance.
Scope and Scale
Baringo County, South Rift region, is administratively divided into seven sub-counties namely: Baringo Central, Baringo North, Baringo South, Mogotio, Koibatek, Tiaty East, and Tiaty West. The county has a population of 666,763 (2019 census). The economy of the county is mainly agro-based.
Historically the Country has experienced disputes due to resource access and cattle rustling. But since January 2024 the situation has deteriorated considerably and there has been a significant escalation in attacks. The security situation in Baringo County presents a grave concern, as what were previously isolated incidents have now proliferated across various wards, including Saimo Soi and Bartabwa in Baringo North, and recently extending into Baringo South's - Mukutani ward, Tiaty East's Kolowa, and Ribko wards, as well as neighboring counties of Turkana and Elgeyo Markwet. This escalation stems from escalating social unrest among pastoralist communities, compounded by resource scarcity.
From January 2024 to date, escalating disputes over water, pasture, suspected boundary issues, and cattle rustling have led to significant displacement, impacting over 2,951 households. A total of 43 fatalities, 27 injuries, and 2 missing were reported. This has caused widespread fear and panic leading to population movement, livelihoods loss, several schools closed, disruption of markets/trading centers, and key access roads affected.
In response, a collaborative effort spearheaded by the National and county Governments and the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), is underway to provide essential aid encompassing food, WASH, and shelter support. These initiatives underscore a holistic approach aimed at addressing immediate needs while also addressing the root causes fueling the social unrest. KRCS is actively engaged in resource mobilization and forging partnerships with relevant stakeholders to effectively manage this crisis.
The current security situation remains dire, affecting lives and communities across multiple fronts. While there are reported cases of missing persons, instances of individuals fleeing due to attacks have also led to family separations, leaving vulnerable groups exposed to risks such as child labor, early pregnancies, and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). School closures worsen these challenges. KRCS is utilizing volunteers who have been trained on safer access and a clear branding is done to ensure the safety of staff and volunteers in these areas including using the Red Cross Flag.
The current situation is exceptional since the number of households displaced has increased compared to any recent years events and this calls for even more resources to support the operation. The social unrest in the area, though having occurred in previous years, has significantly affected the livelihood of the communities since even the accessibility of markets has been disrupted. The displaced are also being affected by the ongoing floods which has even caught the attention of the media. (See attached link.). KRCS has also been responding in the area resulting in the exhausting of the prepositioned materials, yet the needs are still increasing.