When “Security” Becomes the Mask for Land Grabbing By Peter Lolem

Last Updated on October 21, 2025 by Turkana County News Online
The animosity exhibited by the Pokots today is no longer about livestock. What we are witnessing has evolved into an expansionist agenda — one that seeks control over land. Coincidentally, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) are also demanding large tracts of land in the same regions. That, it seems, is the common denominator.
Insecurity has been turned into a weapon — a carefully crafted illusion meant to make communities feel vulnerable. Once fear sets in, the call for “protection” follows, often accompanied by requests for more land. Our people cannot continue losing their ancestral soil under the pretext of security.
When land grabbing hides behind the veil of “security,” it ceases to be about protection and becomes about possession. The KDF came under the pretext of securing our borders. Yet in places like Loturerei, Lokichoggio, Kapedo, and Kainuk, they occupy vast tracts of land and still, insecurity persists.
If the land was truly for security, then where is the security?
Today, there are fresh demands for more land along the lake for the Kenya Navy — even after large portions were already taken for the airport in Kangatosa. The question remains: Why only Turkana? Why keep taking and never giving back?
Is this really about protecting Kenyans, or about the oil and minerals buried beneath our soil?
We must remain vigilant. Every acre lost today is a heritage stolen from tomorrow. This creeping acquisition looks less like protection and more like occupation. Our ancestors paid for this land with their blood; our children depend on it for their future.
We may not resist with violence, but we must respond with unity, truth, and courage. If this menace of insecurity continues, our silence will be our undoing.
Some argue that security is not the role of the military. But there comes a time when the use of the military becomes a necessity. Even former U.S. President Donald Trump once ordered the deployment of troops to protect American cities from violent groups threatening public safety. His reasoning was simple: when ordinary law enforcement can no longer contain lawlessness, the military must step in to protect lives.
In our context, those who perpetuate conflict and kill innocent people are not mere criminals — they are terrorists, and they must be treated as such. In Aroo, killings continue unabated, even in the presence of the so-called KDF. While one may argue that this is not their direct mandate, it is morally indefensible for them to sit back as Kenyans slaughter one another. The protection of life should never be optional.
I speak not as a politician, but as a troubled chairman along the riverine. Every day, we gather not to plan development, but to raise money to bury the dead. This is the painful routine of our existence and it unfolds under the watch of our security agencies.
How long will we live in fear on our own land? How long will “security” be used as a weapon of dispossession?
History will remember not only those who grabbed land, but also those who remained silent when the people cried for justice.
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Peter Lolem is the Chairperson of Aroo Professionals.