The Battle for Laikipia
December 10th, International Human Rights Day, marks the anniversary of the 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the UN General Assembly. To commemorate this day, members of UNA Austin and UNYP at UT gathered to watch a documentary titled The Battle for Laikipia. Laikipia is one of Kenya’s 47 counties, located near the equator in the northern Mount Kenya region. This area is historically known for its sprawling plains, rare wildlife species, and remote wildlife conservancies. The documentary shares the experiences of both white and Black communities in Laikipia, highlighting the extreme impacts climate change has had on the region during what would otherwise be a regular drought season. Climate change has exacerbated drought cycles, causing intense famine for cattle while also drying the lands where wildlife inhabit.
In Laikipia, droughts have disparate impacts on different communities in the region, particularly between those who own ranches and nomadic or pastoral communities. The documentary underscores a central question tied to unequal climate impacts:
“Who has a right to this land anyway?”
Land injustice is not a new concept, especially in post-colonial countries where human rights groups and alliances continue to fight for reparations and the return of stolen land. In Kenya, land injustices began with the Land Title Ordinance of 1899, which gave the British claims to land they deemed “uninhabited” as they began colonizing the region. Maasai tribes in the Mount Kenya region were forced off their land, and these acres were given to the British, who signed leases extending up to 999 years. The British took over lands not only from the Maasai but also from Kikuyu and Laikipiak communities.
Kenya has a long history of struggles surrounding human rights, including social freedoms, government corruption, and entrenched tribalism, as articulated by Amnesty International. The country’s current political and social landscape reflects the legacy of imperialism it endured as a British colony until 1963. This colonial history dates back to the Berlin Conference of 1885, when Africa was divided into European territories. The British founded the East African Protectorate in 1895 and soon opened Kenya to white settlers. These settlers began claiming Kenyan land as their own, including Laikipia. The Mount Kenya region is also historically significant as the place where Queen Elizabeth II learned she would become Queen of the United Kingdom. As a result, the region has a complicated relationship with white settlers and their generational claims to land. Many British-Kenyan families still own property that was originally tribal land, yet due to land rights acts passed by the Kenyan government, these settlers legally retain ownership. In contrast, Indigenous Kenyan communities have ancestral claims to this land dating back centuries, in some cases to the first millennium.
In the present day, there are many individuals labeled as “squatters” in this region, primarily Kenyan tribes attempting to raise and herd cattle on land they have historically relied upon. The documentary presents testimonies from both white ranch owners and local pastoral communities. White ranch owners describe their family histories, their dependence on the land, and their efforts to conserve wildlife and prevent environmental degradation. At the same time, tribal communities describe their struggle to find grazing land and explain that cattle herding is both their way of life and their primary source of income.
White Kenyan ranch owners argue that their main goal is to prevent overgrazing and protect conserved lands and endangered wildlife, such as black rhinoceroses, elephants, and zebras found in Laikipia. Through additional research into the nuances of these conflicts, I encountered many differing interpretations of what is happening and what should be done to balance conservation with land rights.
To better understand these perspectives, I contacted a Kenyan friend and her family, who are Kikuyu and originate from the Mount Kenya region. In our conversation, she explained that while the conflict can be framed in many ways, the primary concerns should be climate change and overgrazing. The documentary depicts a meeting where ranch owners, conservationists, and climate scientists gather to discuss solutions, yet everyone present is white. While this is not coincidental, it is also not the sole issue at hand. The more pressing problem remains the ecological strain caused by overgrazing combined with prolonged drought, which threatens both wildlife and human livelihoods.
Herders and pastoral communities often move cattle into conservancies and protected areas out of necessity, placing wildlife at risk. One critical detail the documentary does not fully address is that although many conservancy owners are white Kenyans who received land through colonial-era leases, the ongoing conflict is less about race itself and more about climate change and environmental survival. Conservation efforts, particularly those aimed at protecting endangered species from extinction, are framed by ranch owners as essential for future generations to experience these animals and ecosystems.
Reflecting on the documentary, my research, and conversations with Kenyans, the conflict in Laikipia is larger than race alone. Climate change does not discriminate by race, gender, status, or class, and it will continue to affect all living beings. As global citizens, we share a responsibility to protect the planet and mitigate the damage humans have inflicted. There is only one Earth, and if we can work beyond entrenched social divisions, we may still secure a future where coming generations can experience its beauty.
Having seen the extraordinary wildlife of the African plains myself, I empathize with conservationists who seek to preserve these ecosystems. At the same time, I deeply empathize with pastoral communities searching for land to sustain their cattle and their livelihoods. As droughts intensify and land becomes increasingly barren, both herding communities and conservationists express growing concern over how quickly climate change is accelerating. Rather than remaining locked in conflict over land claims, there must be greater attention paid to the true “elephant in the room”: climate change and its increasingly dangerous force.
References
Amnesty International. (2024). Kenya 2023. https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/africa/east-africa-the-horn-and-great-lakes/kenya/report-kenya/
andBeyond. (n.d.). Why visit Laikipia. https://www.andbeyond.com/advice/africa/kenya/laikipia/why-visit-laikipia/
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. (2024, October 23). Kenya. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Kenya
Kenya Land Alliance. (n.d.). The history of land injustice in Kenya. https://kenyalandalliance.or.ke/index.php/welcome/blogpost/28
Mya Duncan
Edited by Marissa Ambat
