Kilimanjaro RC flexes muscles as farmers, herders clash

Moshi. A spate of violent clashes between pastoralists and farmers in Siha District has prompted the Kilimanjaro regional commissioner to convene meetings of defence and security committees at regional and district levels.

Mr Stephen Kagaigai also directed yesterday that security organs should be ready, and conduct patrols in the area where clashes broke out after herders – believed to have come from Longido District in Arusha Region – had reportedly taken their livestock into 1,800 acres of farmland containing wheat and beans over the past few days.

“If need be, we will not hesitate to involve the Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) in this. The regional authorities will not tolerate these senseless clashes,” he said.

Mr Kagaigai said the law would take its course against those implicated, and directed regional police commander Simon Maigwa to take legal action against owners of impounded livestock.

“Both the regional and district defence and security committees are to convene as soon as possible and come up with appropriate strategies to address the situation...if necessary, the TPDF will be involved,” he said.

This is not the first time the country is experiencing a wave of clashes between herders and farmers in the scramble for pasture land.

Experts blame the trend on rising population growth and worsening impact of climate change which have put Tanzania’s natural resources under strain, leading to huge pressure on land, forests and water sources.

From Arusha in the north to Kilindi in the east, and Iringa in the south, deadly clashes have raged unabated as armed rival groups jostle for declining land and water resources.

In February this year, six people were killed in Kibirashi Village in Kilindi, Tanga Region, where herders armed with machetes, axes, swords and guns clashed with farmers.

But yesterday, Mr Kagaigai, who is also chairman of the Kilimanjaro Regional Defence and Security Committee, was told during his visit to the affected area that a total of 1,450 livestock, including 485 cattle and 965 sheep and goats, had been seized.

“We are supposed to respect and love each other. I direct that the seized livestock shouldn’t be released until the law is observed.

“The fate of farmers whose crops have been destroyed and herders whose livestock has been seized should be known because despite the confiscation, the owners’ whereabouts remain unknown,” he added.

Mr Kagaigai directed Mr Maigwa to ensure that police vehicles are ready for patrols, and that Siha and Longido district commissioners should convene a meeting to come up with a strategy to contain the situation.

Mr Maigwa said seven herders had been arrested in connection with the clashes.

Ngarenairobi councillor Patrick Kimario said nine farmers were wounded in the clashes, some of them severely.

“The wounded farmers are those who were beaten after protesting when livestock were taken into their farms,” he said, adding that farmers were now forced to harvest crops prematurely,” he said.

“The situation is tense in the area. People are spending nights in their farms because most farmers secured loans from financial institutions,” he said.

A wheat farmer who has secured a Sh70 million loan from a commercial bank, Mr John Moshi, said he was “devastated”.