Democray the Pokot way

By Michael Tiampati

12. July 2006

“From the first time the white man stepped into our territory, our community has remained captive to systems of governance that have no semblance to our traditional administration”, observes a visibly disaffected 74-year-old Lomopit Musa, a resident of Tapach West Pokot district.

With visible anger contorting his already creased face into a mask, the Pokot elder tightens his grip on his walking cane that nerves pop up from his thin hand. He turns and retorts; “why should we be discussing this democracy issue when government agents are combing our land in pursuit of guns that we use to ensure our security and that of our livestock?” Adding, “Is this what you asking about?” “Now you have the answer, go back to Nairobi and say what I have said”.

The Pokot are an independent and extremely conservative people with a deep rooted cultural system of governance that has effectively served the people for millennia prior to colonialism. 

For a long time the Pokot have had an un happy kind of relationship with government owing to what, 23 year old Juma Kotum calls, “a dark and mean approach to Pokot issues”, by both the Colonial and post colonial regimes. He perceives democracy as an alien concept imposed on African communities with pre-existing traditional systems of governance without caring much about the drastic upsets that democracy might cause.

Community elites also concede that the Pokot are an independent and extremely conservative people with a deep rooted cultural system of governance that has effectively served the people for millennia prior to colonialism.  This system of governance, they say, is complex and involves age group leaders with senior elders at it’s apex. It is structured in such a way that it has no timeframe and elders meet only when issues that need intervention emerge. The elders may meet under a tree, deliberate among themselves and use emissaries to deliver their decision to the community, their decision must to be acceptable to the people. 

“Today, the Pokot practice a special blend of system of governance, there is the government democracy and the Pokot indigenous democracy”, reveals Hezron Ripko, Executive Director for Pokot Education and Development Programme (PEDP) an NGO based in Kapenguria, West Pokot district. 

However, he adds, the Pokot listen more to their elders, Members of Parliament (MPs) and civic councilors through a system driven mainly by community consensus. “When there is an issue”, says Hezron, “the elders listen to what elders from other regions are saying, then they call a meeting and reach a consensus”. He adds, “A decision made by these regional elders is binding to the whole community”. There are also the government chiefs, District Officers (DO) District Commissioners (DC) and departmental officials who represent and enforce government policy. According to Hezron, the community has a deep sense of respect for authority born of the strict cultural norms and discipline. 

This form of governance is like African socialism where everyone is, “his brother’s keeper”. 

Ripko expounds that the main problem is the existing general misunderstanding of the internal governance structures of the Pokot which are extremely powerful and efficient. This form of governance is like African socialism where everyone is, “his brother’s keeper”. This is in direct contrast to capitalism which is more individualistic and a threat to the close knit nature of not only the Pokot, but the entire pastoralists people.

Maria Namat from Chesogon, about 180 Kilometers from Kapenguria opines that democracy and “what it stands for” does not mean anything to the local people whose main preoccupation is pastoralism and defending their livestock and children.

Her sentiments are shared widely. Hezron says that democracy is still an alien concept among the Pokot community and all they know is that they have to participate in an election ritual every five years.

“If there is democracy, it is during the civic and parliamentary elections at the district level, democracy ends there, the rest is beyond them” he observes. Hezron notes further that there is major disconnect between central government and the Pokot pastoralists that, “they do not know democracy, they do not understand where it came from, where it is going and who benefits from it and what it’s short comings are.”

From a historical perspective, the more than 200,000 members of the Pokot community strongly feel that in a true democracy with a “government for the people and by the people”, opines Juma, “then it would have sought to address the historical injustices visited upon the community and the military operations would not be happening”.

There is a cross cutting feeling among the pokot that if what has been happening to the community is a manifestation of democracy, then they are better off without it. Maria feels that democracy is well practiced in her community’s traditional governance because it is, “homegrown, all inclusive, based on consensus hence acceptable”. “You want to know how much influence I have on government decisions that affect me,?, she asks. “The influence we have as grassroots folks is Nil”. She elaborates, “If we had any influence, we would be having a vibrant livestock trade, with links to the international markets, we would not have to arm ourselves to defend ourselves and our property, we would not be referred to as, hawa wahalifu (these criminals)”.

For democracy to work in these part of Kenya, then the indigenous governance structures must be recognize

Ripko says that for democracy to work in these part of Kenya, then the indigenous governance structures must be recognized and incorporated in the provincial administration and government departments because, “the traditional structures define the community and they will remain there even if the government introduces new models of democracy”. “The Pokot say that if you respect our leaders, our children, councilors, members of parliament, then they will support you”,  because, “they make their political, development and [democratic] decisions unilaterally” he adds.  When you consider the freedom of speech, this where the Pokot system of governance parts ways with Western democracy, whereas this is guaranteed by law, “each time our leaders speak they are intimidated, arrested, incarcerated, fired from political parties and even exiled” he says that this are the effects of democracy that the community knows”.

Democracy says retired teacher Ropiot Elijah, “is not the magic formula for the realization of Pokot people’s dreams and aspirations,” after all, he argues, the British colonial system de-humanized Africans, annexed their pasture lands and allocated it to themselves and ‘stole’ resources in the name of introducing and stilling democracy. His sentiments are echoed by Hezron, “in the Pokot context, when the word democracy is mentioned, they relate it with the central government and it brings back bad memories of land dispossessions, victimization, marginalization and harassment”. As such, he adds, democracy is a foreign concept hardly understood or even appreciated, “and it is treated as such, an alien concept”.

Ripko says that there is the perception in Kenya that the Pokot traditional system of governance is grossly misunderstood both by the leadership, he attributes this to limited information about it.  As such, he says, any discussion about democracy hardly lasts 5 minutes because of the injustices suffered under a democratic state. The Pokot have almost nothing to show for democracy and if there is, they say that they are minimal but accept that the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), School bursaries and the roads fund are making a desirable impact.

Despite existence of the Turkwell hydro power station at the heart of their countryside, only 2 divisions have electric power. The Pokot have a adopted a system where they sort out their issues internally and when it fails, says Ripko, it is forwarded to the political leadership to be highlighted at the national forums, like parliament.

Local Pokot feel that, for democracy to be appreciated and embraced, the government should understand and incorporate traditional systems in local governance at the sub location level in order for democracy to be experienced. There should be an amicable approach towards the issue of disarmament in order to build trust and the ever contentious historical injustices on land must be addressed once and for all.

An integration of both formal ad informal leadership in administration to foster the mutual synergy and the reversal of the quarantine in addition to development of livestock markets for the local livestock base. The Pokot also feel as a way to empower the community economically  a cement factory should be constructed at Ortum to prevent the current scenario where limestone is extracted and ferried to Uganda for processing. They argue that this is a waste of local resources and the government should step in and salvage the situation as well as provision of scholarships for school children from the area.

Pokot pastoralists are of the opinion that if the many questions continue to remain un answered especially on historical issues and dispossessions, harassment and marginalization, then democracy shall remain worthless to the community.