In Kenya, Land Is The Root Of Most Problems

In western Kenya, Masai warriors gather in a battle field armed with bows and arrows as they clash with members of the Kalenjin tribe in the Transmara district in March. As the East African nation struggles with food shortages, a sluggish economy and wounds from post-election violence, there’s a growing consensus that one issue rests at the heart of Kenya’s woes: land. Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP/Getty Images

From The L.A. Times:

Kenya's land is owned mostly by politicians who grabbed millions of acres in questionable deals over the last 45 years. Above, Masai warriors with bows and arrows clash with a rival tribe in a postelection land dispute in March. Now the new lands minister has an ambitious redistribution plan.

From his tented refugee camp, James Karanga Ngugi seethed as he scanned a vast horizon of fallow, unoccupied land -- most of it owned by two of Kenya's most prominent political families.

"Why do they have so much and I have nothing?" he asked.

His grandfather once prospered here, before he was displaced by British colonialists. After independence, villagers regained control, but were soon forced out again, this time by a rich Kenyan businessman with ties to the president.

Read more ....

My Comment: At the root of the problem is tribalism, and the issue of which tribe owns what land. This is never going to be satisfied amicably.