Marsabit has historically experienced marginalisation, communal conflict, and underdevelopment.
The county, which shares a porous border with Ethiopia, covers over 70,000 square kilometres.
Despite its massive size, 12 per cent of Kenya’s landmass, it is home to just one per cent of the country’s population, about half a million people from some 14 ethnic communities.
The Rendille, Gabbra and Borana are the dominant communities in terms of population and areas settled.
The plurality of the county’s inhabitants belongs to the Borana ethnic group.
These three communities together influence and drive the social, political and economic agendas.
However, the Burji a relatively wealthy community has been co-opted into politically motivated alliances with Borana, Gabbra and Rendille to become the fourth most influential force within the county's ethnic politics.
Other minority groups sway between three options of actively taking sides in the fighting, remaining neutral, or most of the time doing nothing about the conflict between these communities.
Whilst the conflict patterns occur between various ethnic groups, the most inescapable conflict in Marsabit is mostly seen as an extreme contestation between the Borana and Gabbra with both accusing each other of playing hate-laced politics, resource use and expansionist agenda.
This competition has bred ethnic tensions.
Politics of ethnic supremacy, development projects, coupled with weak land tenure rights and the chronic failures of policing and justice, form the bedrock of militia activities under the guise of intercommunal violence.
Fierce competition for the control of political and economic resources in Marsabit and unequal access to land and natural resources are considered to be drivers of recurrent violence and key threats to security.
Traditional security measures such as disarmament and emergency deployments of security forces only serve as a temporary measure; communities feel that the national government has been ambiguous in its response to the conflict.
With the historical injustices not addressed and our man syndrome taking root, the mistrust between the two communities is growing by the day.
The violence involving the Borana and Gabbra has steadily moved away from traditional natural resource-based conflicts to more sinister criminal acts fuelled by efforts to sustain economic and political gains.
Historically, the conflict between the two pastoralist communities has been over water and pasture but more than a decade and a half of countless peace meetings have borne no fruit.
Communities that have co-existed peacefully for years and have a history of voting together are being turned against each other to cause political disunity.
While there have been early warnings of looming violence in Marsabit, the government security apparatus failed to respond in good time.
Residents and leaders accused the police and military of taking too long to respond and treating the incidents casually.
No arrests are made and when they are, no successful prosecutions follow.
Too many grieving families are left traumatised and permanently scarred, with no real closure. And the cycle continues.
But while the incidents of violence could be politically motivated, it would appear that the warring communities have been left to their own devices to make war or broker peace.
It is the responsibility of the national government to guarantee the safety and security of all citizens.
A long-term solution for sustainable peace in Marsabit requires empowerment, of an inclusive and equitable political system.
If Marsabit voters do not collectively reject those politicians who do not seem to value human life, who lie to them repeatedly and disastrously, who waste or misuse their resources with impunity, then it is incumbent upon them to decide their destiny.
Conflict in Marsabit is locally manufactured and the solution can only come from the communities themselves. Accepting death, suffering, and pain is not an option anymore.
The writer is a public policy and governance expert
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
