A couple of Garissa elders have urged communities to talk out problems to resolve intercommunal conflicts.
They asked elders to take the lead in resolving conflicts between pastoralists who have moved to Kitui and their host community.
Herders from Garissa and Tana River looking for water and pasture have clashed with locals in Kitui.
In Kitui South, for instance, leaders have started an operation to drive out camel herders following the killing of a resident.
Mutuku was hacked to death a few days after he reported herders for assaulting his pregnant wife for refusing to give them water.
A Std 6 pupil from Kalambani was also killed. The two are among nearly 50 people said to have been killed by the herders.
The herders have also let loose their animals on locals' farms, destroying crops. They have also been accused of raping women and girls.
In retaliation, residents have started killing the camels.
Elder Dubat Amey said the drought should not be used as an excuse to invade other people's farms.
“The owner of the livestock should first engage elders from the communities where they are looking for water and pasture instead of living young headers to fend for the animals," he said.
"It is the owner of the shoes who feels the pinch. The small boys have nothing to lose when conflict arises.”
Dubat, who is the Livestock Marketing Council vice chairman, and Garissa peace committee secretary general Hassan Osman Shurie addresses the press in Garissa town on Thursday.
“As elders, we want to first and foremost admit that there is a problem we must all sit down and solve. If the communities involved cannot sit down and discuss their issues and identify the problem, then it will be difficult to find a lasting solution,” Dubat said.
