A National Police Reserve member and a livestock herder in Loreng, near the border with Uganda. Photo Georgina Smith /Al Jazeera

Turkana county, Kenya – Lying in his hospital bed, a bandage wrapped around his foot, Ekidor Esekon remembers little of the day he was shot. What he does recall is setting out early on an otherwise normal morning in early December, to herd cows with his cousin deep in the bush along Kenya’s border with South Sudan.

Then, they were attacked. Shots were fired; his cousin escaped and he found himself in an ambulance, with a gunshot wound near his abdomen and one foot swollen with pus. He knows that some of his animals were stolen but does not know how many are left.

Esekon is one of an increasing number of pastoralist herders caught in a conflict along Kenya’s border with Uganda and South Sudan over dwindling natural resources, exacerbated by severe drought and hunger ravaging the region.

The World Food Programme has reported that at least 2.4 million people in Kenya risk going hungry as drought hits the north and east of the country, a nearly threefold increase from last year. Two consecutive failed rainy seasons and multi-seasonal drought is expected to drive crisis and emergency across eastern and northern Kenya, as well as southern and southeastern Ethiopia and Somalia, where severe food insecurity is expected to continue into 2022, driven by the combined effects of conflict, drought, floods and economic shocks on household food and income sources.

The hospital where Esekon is receiving treatment in Lokichogio, located in Kenya’s northern Turkana country some 30 kilometres (19 miles) from South Sudan, is sparse with few facilities. In a bed near him, an older man rests his leg in a cast on an old piece of ragged foam; another lies on a plastic mattress without sheets attached to a catheter bag. In recent weeks, more gunshot wound victims have been referred to other hospitals in the county better equipped to cope with the wounds.

When there is water scarcity, more attacks tend to happen at water points, explains Esekon. “The bandits attack us frequently, and they come with guns,” he said.

‘Threatened by enemies’

Further southeast, in the centre of a wide, dry river bed, a group of camels and goats surround women wrapped in red and orange shawls with colourful beaded neck-dresses. In the midday heat, the women peer into a deep hole in the riverbed, searching for water. The communities in this area of Loreng, bordering Uganda, are taking it in turns to share water from the hole, making sure to bring their children with them so they too can quench their thirst.

“We are heading into the worst situation, we are not seeing any sign of rain coming,” said Kacimapus Ichor. “This one is worse because we don’t have water and also we are being threatened by enemies,” she added.

Usually, water is drawn in turns according to an agreement reached between local communities. But such arrangements do not exist with “enemies”, a broad term Ichor uses to describe tribes from nearby Uganda and South Sudan searching for food and water, making fetching water and finding pasture for their animals more dangerous.

Ezekiel Dida, the programme manager at the Lotus Kenya Action for Development (LOKADO), an organisation set up to address cross-border conflict, acute poverty and illiteracy in northwestern Kenya, said “a new trend” has emerged in recent months. People were now stealing animals to sell them for money, rather than in previous years where raids would occur to restock herds, he said.

“Between September and December, raids have increased from two or three a month to nine to 12 in different locations, not just in one location, mainly along the national borders,” he said.

A December bulletin issued by Kenya’s National Drought Management Authority warned that Turkana is among eight counties at the “alarm phase” of worsening drought. A forecast by Kenya’s Meteorological Department indicated Turkana among several counties experiencing below-average rainfall of less than 30-60 percent of the 40-year average in northern and eastern Kenya.

Unpredictable rainfalls are chief drivers of the conflict.

“Things have changed totally, so within the pastoral community, knowing when to be where, the formula is still not there,” said Dida. As people are forced to migrate to areas where they can find water and pasture, “those are the areas where a lot of attacks are as people struggle to share the same resources, especially with pastoralists from other countries”.

Slow gov’t and humanitarian response

In September, Kenya’s government released two billion Kenyan shillings ($17.7m) under the National Drought Emergency Fund to respond to the ongoing drought situation in the country. But this has been slow to trickle down to the areas where it is needed most.

At the Turkana pastoralist Development Organization TUPADO, an non-governmental organsation working with pastoralists from Turkana and in neighbouring countries including South Sudan and Uganda, programme manager Sammy Ekal said a more robust government and humanitarian effort is urgently needed in severely drought-affected areas.

“The county government has no budget; as of now, they are not able to provide feed,” said Ekal, adding that the lack of rainfall since last year had prompted a “mass movement” of pastoralists from Turkana to the cross-border areas of Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

“In 2019, there were flash floods; after that, there was no rain and the drought is biting even now,” he said.

By January, Ekal fears there will be deaths. “That is what we need to prevent.” - Al Jazeera

In Burundi's capital, drummers took part in the final of a drumming competition between participants from all of the country's provinces.

Listed as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO since 2014, the ritual dance of the royal drum is "a practice that shows happiness" and a tradition that Burundians hope to preserve and share with the world.

"What we are doing now is to put the Burundian drum in front of the whole world. So that Burundi is talked about everywhere and that people know that its drum is the number 1 in the world," said Kadende Leopold, a drummer.

This culture has been described as "a spectacle combining powerful, synchronized drumming with dancing, heroic poetry and traditional songs."

"When I play the drum, I don't know how to explain the joy I feel. It's joy, it's a feeling deep inside. I feel something rising in me, the drum is joy and love," said Mugisha Fabrics, a drummer.

Today, the drums are played for entertainment: but for centuries they were a sacred rite, symbolic of a united kingdom - a powerful memory for a country whose recent history has been scarred by civil war and political crisis.

Today, the drums are played for entertainment: but for centuries they were a sacred rite, symbolic of a united kingdom - a powerful memory for a country whose recent history has been scarred by civil war and political crisis.

In the country's Kirundi language, the word for drum -- "ingoma" -- is the same as that for the kingdom.

In modern times drumming groups have flourished, performing at weddings, graduation ceremonies and baptisms.

While traditionally a male-dominated field, several female drumming groups have emerged in recent years.

The presidential decree, signed on October 20, 2017, said that if an organizer gets permission to have drummers perform at an event, he must pay the Treasury a fee equivalent to 245 euros ($280).

This figure is to be paid daily if the group performs abroad.

Burundians on Twitter slammed the decree as an "authoritarian slide" and a "sign of increasing efforts to control Burundian society".

"This decree means the drums no longer belong to Burundian citizens but to the government", said Pacifique Nininahazwe, an exiled civil society leader. - Africanews with AFP

“This donation is important not only for the value of the food going to refugees,” said Michael Dunford the Regional Director for the World Food Programme (WFP). “It also represents a different way of packaging and delivery, as we try to reduce wastage en route and reduce WFP’s carbon footprint.”

Shipments in bulk provide cost efficiencies by reducing transit damages and allowing packaging in sizes suited to given contexts, such as a refugee camp. The oil shipment will be transported from the USA to Mombasa in 12 shipping containers fitted with flexi-tanks. From there, WFP’s Kenyan Country Office will transfer the oil to Kampala where it will be packaged into 900ml bottles for onward delivery to support aid operations in South Sudan.

“We are creating economic impact in Uganda by outsourcing packaging to a local supplier as opposed to importing it already packaged. If scaled up, it will be economically beneficial to the Ugandans as they will earn money through this local processing arrangement,” said Barbara Vanlogchem, the Regional Logistics Officer for The World Food Programme (WFP).

“We’re grateful for the generosity and consistency of the U.S. Government,” added Dunford. “East Africa is on the front line of climate change, and floods in South Sudan have uprooted the lives of millions of impoverished farmers and townspeople. The aid pipeline provides help where none would otherwise exist.”

About WFP

The 2020 Nobel Peace Laureate, WFP is also the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impact of climate change. The United States Government is the single largest donor to the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) globally. Since 2018, USAID has supported WFP’s Innovation Accelerator to encourage ground-breaking solutions to food insecurity.

WFP works in more than 80 countries around the world, feeding people caught in conflict and disasters, and laying the foundations for a better future.

About USAID

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) leads the U.S. Government’s international development and disaster assistance efforts through partnerships and investments that save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance, and help people emerge from humanitarian crises.

Follow us on Twitter @wfp_media @wfp_Africa - World Food Programme

Photo via United Nations

Across South Sudan, crime is rising due to the dire economic situation and a breakdown of law and order.

It’s a huge challenge for the country which is emerging from civil war on a slow but steady journey towards peace and recovery. The United Nations Mission in South Sudan is supporting this effort by helping build the capacity of the entire justice chain to crack down on crime and end impunity.

United Nations Police are training local officers to investigate crimes, sensitively interview survivors, and to prepare cases for prosecution. Local legal officers and the judiciary are being provided with technical assistance.

The Mission is also focusing on what happens to those who are found guilty of a crime. It recently dedicated a two-day workshop to training prison officers in the Upper Nile region how to respect the rights of offenders transitioning through the justice system.

“When those who have been successfully prosecuted come to you, it’s a significant part of the administration of justice and the due process,” Human Rights Officer Christian Mikala told the 15 prison officers at the workshop. “The more knowledge that you have of human rights, how to protect and promote those rights, the better equipped you are to do your job.”

The workshop for male and female officers focused on the basic principles of human rights, abuses and violations stemming from conflict-related sexual violence, accurate management of records and prison files, the legal framework in South Sudan, international standards for prisons, as well as the protection and appropriate management of inmates.

 “We have acquired valuable knowledge on how to manage cases as they come to us and to ensure that prisoners are treated in accordance with their own human rights inside Malakal Central Prison,” said participant, Lieutenant Colonel, Ajeith Padout.

The officer-in-charge of inmate affairs, First Lieutenant, Angui Ayiik Thon, said the training would help him carry out his duties to take better care of prisoners under his command.

“We have learnt a lot about human rights and how it applies in the corrections service. We even learnt new things, such as how to calculate the duration that each inmate should actually serve in prison.”

Sergeant Najat James, the controller of the women’s section of the prison, was particularly interested in ensuring appropriate treatment and care of women inmates.

“I learnt about sorting out inmates and how to deliver my duties effectively in terms of establishing separate programs for female and male prisoners.”

Similar workshops will be held to train personnel working at other prison facilities across the Upper Nile region in the coming months. - SAMSON LIBERTY, UNITED NATIONS