[Livestock keepers have been pushing for them to be allowed to graze cattle in private ranches in Laikipia.] (thelocalafricanews.com)
Isiolo County Assembly Majority Leader Mohamed Tulu has asked the government to allow pastoral communities to graze livestock in national parks and ranches.
Tulu at the same time lashed out at the Kenya Wildlife Service for forcing livestock farmers out of ranches in Laikipia and Isiolo.
He said there was insufficient pasture for the farmers calling for the withdrawal of police officers deployed to guard the ranches.
There has been a tag of war between ranchers and livestock keepers in Isiolo and Laikipia over grazing fields in the two counties.
Whereas the pastoralists want to be allowed to graze their livestock in ranches, ranch owners are against the proposal saying the development could be ploy to take away their large expansive parcels of land.
“These farmers are not criminals,” Tulu said on Friday. Everyone knows that pasture is not available. We have received livestock from as far as Garissa. Government should be considerate enough to allow farmers graze cattle in the ranches.”
He said KWS officials use helicopters to scare away cattle from the ranches whose owners mostly stay in Europe. The ranches are too large to allow the grazing of thousands of heads of cattle at the same time.
Following fights between the pastoralists and the ranch owners Inspector General of Police ordered for the deployment of police officer to guard the large parcels of land.
Cattle keepers recently accused the police of shooting and killing the animals.