Tension has gripped Marigat town in Baringo County after police fired teargas to disperse herders who stormed Marigat Police Station demanding the release of their livestock.
The herders had invaded the station after their animals were seized for allegedly destroying crops within the Perkerra Irrigation Scheme.
Police were forced to use teargas after the situation escalated, with large crowds gathering outside the station.
Residents said the animals wandered into farms in the Kiserian and Musuro areas, destroying crops that were already mature and nearing harvest.
Irate farmers are said to have seized the animals and taken them to Marigat Police Station, a move that triggered protests from the herders.
Due to the large number of herders amassing outside Marigat police station, Banice Arugut, a farmer in the Perkerra Irrigation Scheme, expressed concern about the aftermath of the incident.
“We do not even know where to go because they are everywhere,” Arugut voiced. “Their cows behave as if they are directed. Once they enter a farm, they can destroy an entire acre in just ten minutes. We are asking the government to help us.”
According to Fridah Kiplagat, another farmer at the Perkerra Irrigation Scheme, the consistent invasions had left farmers feeling hopeless.
“You plant crops hoping to support your children, but instead you end up crying,” she said. “If you steal, the police arrest you. So what are we supposed to do as farmers?”
A third farmer at Perkera, John Lekidor, shifted the blame to local leaders, accusing them of abandoning farmers during the crisis, and that farmers were suffering immensely.
“We do not even recognize our leaders anymore,” Lekidor lamented. “When farmers have problems, no leader shows up. It feels like we have no leadership.”
This incident has highlighted the long-standing conflict between farmers and pastoralists in Baringo County, with residents of Perkerra Irrigation Scheme calling for urgent government intervention to prevent further destruction and unrest.
