Why the problems of this remote Kenyan community are the problems that face us all
In the Kenyan wilderness, a bitter dispute is sounding the alarm for the future of the planet. The film’s co-director Peter Murimi explains why we all need to pay attention
by: Peter Murimi
9 Oct 2024
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The Battle for Laikipia follows two communities in Kenya grappling with devastating climate change and their unresolved colonial history.
We filmed during a time of extreme hardship, when millions across the Horn of Africa were struggling to cope with three consecutive years of severe drought. Most pastoralists were fighting for survival. Many communities lost all their livestock, which meant they could not afford food, medical treatment or education for their children.
The Samburu are nomads who have been living in Laikipia for hundreds of years. They move from place to place in search of grass and water for their animals. Cows, camels, sheep and goats mean everything to the Samburu. They feed and clothe them, and are a form of savings. When the Samburu need quick cash for an emergency, they go to the local market to sell some animals.
Our main character from the Samburu tribe is 31-year-old Simeon Letoole. He became the head of his large extended family in 2005 when his father was shot dead. The spring rains had failed and the family sought grass for their livestock on a privately owned wildlife conservancy. On a misty evening, his father was confronted by the ranch’s security guards during their nightly patrol. Shots were fired and Letoole’s father was killed.
Now Letoole is responsible for his household and their hundreds of animals. It is a heavy burden, and he used to travel hours by bus to seek advice from his ailing grandfather until he died in 2020. He offered deep wisdom about how to live on the rangelands, from the best migratory routes to making traditional medicine. Letoole still misses him.
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Laikipia is one of the world’s biggest wildlife havens and supports several endangered species. Laikipia is also home to third and fourth generation descendants of British colonial settlers who today own more than half of its land. As was so often the case with colonial settlement schemes, land in Laikipia was given by the British government to white settlers, many of whom were veterans of the First and Second World Wars, on the condition that they promised to cultivate the land.
After Kenya’s independence in 1963, many of these farms, cattle ranches and hunting lodges were converted to wildlife conservancies, supported by safari tourism. International wildlife charities have invested millions of dollars in Laikipia and it is also a top holiday destination for the global elite. But Western models of private land ownership often fail to support Indigenous interests. Fences designed to keep wildlife in also serve to keep pastoralists out.
As the frequency and intensity of droughts is increasing with climate change, wildlife and cattle are competing for pasture and water as they struggle to survive seemingly endless years without rain. White Kenyans who have spent decades creating sanctuaries for endangered species are coming into conflict with their pastoralist neighbours on a scale never seen before. Our filmmaking team wanted to understand why this crisis is happening now in Laikipia. We wanted to tell the stories of key individuals on each side of the spiralling conflict.
As a director, I am passionate about empowering marginalised people and giving them the opportunity to tell their own stories in their own words. The narrative of the Indigenous Samburu tribe has never been told to the wider public and their own government denigrates them as “bandits”. In this film, we worked hard to make sure that the perspective of the Samburu came across clearly and to correct negative perceptions of nomads. Rather than simply being outlaws, they are protecting their traditional migratory way of life.
The Battle for Laikipia is a complex and multi-layered story. To get it right, we had to embed ourselves in our characters’ lives to witness their intimate conversations and thoughts. We filmed in an observational style and let the action play out in front of the camera. Our subjects also used their phones to capture important moments that we could not access. This format allows the film’s audience to experience the protagonists’ perspective up close. The Samburu herders and the white farmers and conservationists live side by side but they rarely interact to try to solve their shared problems. During the five years that we filmed in Laikipia, it became clear that our story touched on other sensitive themes beyond climate change.
It was a great strength that Daphne Matziaraki and I, as Greek and Kenyan co-directors, come from different backgrounds. As filmmakers, we have both been drawn to shine a light on the vulnerable and unseen, from refugees crossing into Greece by boat to the secrets of queer communities in Kenya. Our diversity became a strength to enrich and nurture the divergent narratives we explore in the film.
In The Battle for Laikipia, our subjects fight to preserve what Laikipia means to them and, through this, their own identities. Both communities love Laikipia dearly. As the pressures on the fragile landscape increased, we saw its people become polarised, fearful, protective and violent. We also saw them question who they are and whether change is needed to overcome their differences. As filmmakers, we were confronted with difficult questions about our own identities, histories and unconscious biases.
While viewers might initially think that the problems of this remote Kenyan landscape are far from their realities, Laikipia is a microcosm of universal, often taboo, issues that we all face: identity, inequality, the legacy of colonialism and the climate crisis. The Battle for Laikipia reflects the global battle for the future of the Earth – which affects every community on the planet.
The Battle for Laikipia is in selected cinemas now.
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