Traditional African Culture and Communication: The Missing Link in Cattle Rustling Interventions among Pastoralist Communities in Northern Kenya

Abstract

Cattle rustling among Kenyan and non-Kenyan pastoralists remains the oldest, persistent, and most complex conflict. It is a violent, intermittent and often unpredictable warfare where communities raid each other for livestock. These raids cause human and material loss, displacement of families, fleeing teachers, school closures and student dropouts. Attempts to solve this problem either exacerbate the conflict or just produce short-term peace. The perpetual failure of successive governments and other actors to bring about conflict resolution for cattle rustling point to a missing link. This chapter explores the embeddedness of cattle rustling in the deep roots of pastoralists' traditional culture and communication. The chapter examines selected cattle rustling interventions in northern Kenya in the last three decades. This analysis has been synthesized with ethnographic research findings and Social Penetration Theory to explain the persistence of cattle rustling. Finally, the chapter proposes a culturally appropriate model to address cattle rustling.