About West Pokot Way Back When

Brief History of West Pokot County

The place we now call West Pokot has for forever and a day been the homeland of the Pokot or Suk community. They migrated southward into Kenya as early as 2,000 years ago. The Pokot are part of the Kalenjin community, who are highland Nilotes originating from southern Ethiopia. The majority of Pokot are found today in Kenya, with smaller numbers residing in north eastern Uganda. In Kenya, the Pokot see themselves as indigenous to the region they live in, named after them.

Since their arrival here, the Pokot community began experiencing rapid growth, for both humans and livestock. At the same time, pastoralism, their congenial livelihood and preferred avovation, continued to flourish. At this time, the Pokot crossed with ease between the modern-day borders of Kenya and Uganda. A movement that would be restricted by the advent of national borders, grazing areas and land schemes favouring agricultural activities in the early 20th century.

The area has not changed much since. It is remarkable today how little the modern age has affected and effected the Pokot. They are still an indigenous, cattle-loving people. While some are primarily farmers, others only keep cattle, sheep and goats, but most do both, as they move from one area to another. Often, members of the same family will farm cooler, wetter highlands and seek pasture for their herds on the hot, dry plains, where cattle diseases may be less.

Life among the traditional Pokot life means tending to the herds or farm chores, performing rituals of passage or protection, protecting or enlarging one’s herd, and distributing the animals among family and friends for safe-keeping. Still and all, as a Pokot – young, old, male, female – you are expected to be generous and friendly, and to honor customs laid down by the ancestors and by Tororut (God).

The Pokot and their cattle-herding neighbors, the Karamojong, Turkana, Maasai, Samburu and Jie, are sometimes referred to as Nilotic peoples. Linguistically, the Pokot are related to the Nandi, Marakwet, Kipsigis, Elgeyo, Tugen, Terik and Sebei, whereas the Turkana, Karamojong, Jie and Dodoth form another cluster. The term Kalenjin was adopted in the 1950s-1960s by politicians, including the Pokot, to describe their shared ethnicity for the sole purpose of gaining political influence. The Kalenjin community now comprise about 12 percent of Kenya’s population.

Away from the classification, the fierce Pokot, armed with spears and bows with poisonous arrows, have long fought over cattle with their powerful neighbors, the Turkana, the Karamojong, the Maasai and others. In the last half of the 19th century, as the more powerful Turkana expanded, the Pokot began retreating further south to the Cheranganis, where they began to supplement their diet by farming. To the outsiders, they retained a ferocious reputation, and Swahili traders in the 1860s reportedly refused to enter Pokot lands. It is since this period that they attempt to hide their identity, so as not to suffer prejudice or harsh wars.

Joseph Thomson, in 1884, seems to be the first Westerner to personally encounter and write about the Pokot. Thomson wrote that the Pokot were “strong-boned, ugly-looking fellows … They went absolutely naked … A piece of flat brass hung from the lower lip of each and must have been both painful and awkward … The most remarkable feature of the Wa-suk, however, was the manner in which they dressed their hair [a large, decorated, bag-like chignon] … They are very warlike, and generally quite a match for the Maasai, in whose country they frequently make raids … They occupy a magnificent and picturesque range of mountains.

Four years later, explorers Count Samuel Teleki and Ludwig von Höhnel passed through the region after discovering Lake Rudolf, later renamed Lake Turkana. According to his diary of July, 1888, Teleki first encountered some short, weak-looking agricultural people on the mountains, but described the Suk of the lower valley as “pleasant looking handsome fellows of average height …” who, when given presents and promises of good fortune, “told me they like my talking as much as their oiling after a bath or drinking fresh milk after a good night’s sleep.”

The Pokot men were still naked, except for a large, black sheet of cloth draped over one shoulder. They also recounted of a red-beaded necklace, earrings and metal bracelets, and shaved head capped by an intricately painted clay head dress, accented by feathers, chains and pompons. They noted candidly that every other Pokot man carried a small wooden stool (also used as a headrest) and an impressive seven-foot spear. The Turkana men carried a similar stool; ekicholong.

Presently, renewed Pokot expansion began at the end of the 19th and early 20th century, as a result of mainly natural disasters. First, during the 1890s, rinderpest caused widespread losses throughout the eastern and southern African plains. Karamojong and Tukana herds were especially decimated. This was followed by a disease of small stock, a locust assault, and a drought. Smallpox swept through East Africa beginning in 1899. All of the pastoralists on the plains were diminished, and stock, in numbers. However, those of the isolated Pokot, living on the ranges, managed to survive in greater numbers, and many began to migrate to the plains.

The new colonial government, arriving in West Pokot around 1900, also helped to make Pokot expansion possible. In 1907, British soldiers quashed Maasai raids on the Pokot. Then, between 1913 and 1918, the irked government officials sponsored punitive attacks against the powerful Turkana, seizing their cattle and weapons. Pokot warriors were glad to assist with this effort. After that, some Pokot began to move westward, settling on previously dangerous lands. However, before long, the Turkana were attacking again, and the affected Pokot tried to move to their southern pastures, only to be denied access by the recently settled white farmers.

Before independence West Pokot was hitherto dubbed West Suk District. Kara Suk (later Karapokot) was the area to north and west of Suam River, and East Suk, later East Pokot, the northern part of Baringo District. Large swathes of land to the south of Kapenguria town, in present day Trans Nzoia County, had to be duly abandoned in the wake of new governance, when the Pokot People were forced to make room for European settlement, from 1920. The decline was on, again.

This period is still known to the Pokot elders as the time of “Konyi Kwenda” or the “Period of Kwenda”, which is Kiswahili for “Go”. West Suk District of Kenya was administered from Kapenguria and Sigor, and in Karasuk which, though part of the Turkana District of Kenya and subject to the Kenya mining laws, was administered from Moroto in Uganda through an Assistant District Commissioner at Amudat. A small part of the area in the north-east, within Turkana District, was administered from Lodwar. Likewise to the rest of Kenya, reserves were created for the Pokots.

The history of Pokot-government relations has not always been easy. Although the first government station was set up in 1903 in Baringo District, the colonial presence was almost nonexistent throughout the entire remote, inhospitable Pokot countryside, and those officials who were assigned to the few government outposts rarely stayed long. Taxes were imposed around 1910, and headmen and chiefs were appointed to collect them and to provide forced labour for the roads.

All the same, during the 1930s, efforts were made to introduce agricultural tools and techniques, with little success. The seizure of traditional Pokot land for white settlement greatly restricted grazing land for herders. The Kenya government later declared that arid pastures were being overgrazed and mandated annual quotas of cattle sales for each area. Christian missions were established in Kenya Pokot areas during the 1930s and in Uganda’s Karamoja District in the 1950s to boot.

The introduction of so-called group ranches and the privatization of pastoral lands had furthermore exacerbated the pressure on range land with overgrazing and land degradation as a result. Both in Uganda and Kenya, the areas inhabited by the Pokot generally remained poorly developed when it came to modern physical infrastructure, such as roads, commercial townships, water supply, and schools.

The current quagmire and differences, coupled with the hilly landscape, meant that many parts of West Pokot District were accessible. The only means was of several days by foot safari across narrow and tortuous trails crossing many steep bouldery drifts impassable to anything larger than a Land-rover. Public services was also limited to a weekly Somali-owned bus from Kapenguria to Sigor, and few Asian-owned and Somali-owned lorries and African bus services along the Lodwar highway who rarely interacted, with much trepidation, with the Pokot.

As a consequence of all these factors, combined with prolonged drought periods, the Pokot began yet another decline. The greatest challenge today is still endemic poverty. This, in turn, means that insecurity remains a major issue with frequent clashes over grazing areas and theft of livestock. The unchecked increase in the availability of guns in the region poses a huge threat to local people and livestock.

Despite its challenges, West Pokot County has significant tourism potential due to its natural beauty and cultural heritage. Its attractions that include scenic scapes, wildlife, cultural festivals, and traditional ceremonies are still untravelled. Its challenges, including food insecurity, limited access to healthcare and education, limited infrastructure, and occasional conflict over resources such as land and water are continually being improved, with gains. A new history is being written.

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Touring West Pokot County in Kenya offers a chance to explore a region known for its iconic, rugged landscapes, vibrant cultures, and rich traditions. Located in the extreme northwest part of the country, bordering Uganda, West Pokot County is primary inhabited by the Pokot community, known for their pastoralist lifestyle.

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About West Pokot Way Back When

32 Destinations in West Pokot County, arranged as one would visit these - south to northeast - with the aid of narratives, images, strip maps and distance chart: 

Kaisagat Viewpoint, Barnley's Guest House, Kapkoris Hill Viewpoint, Dini ya Roho Church, Mount Murpus, Chewoyet High School, Kapenguria Museum, Kapenguria Town, Chelanga Gardens, Tartar Falls, Kacheliba, Holy Cross Church Kacheliba, Alale Gold Mines, Suam River Beach, Kamatira Forest, Lounon Village, Cherangani Hills, Marich Pass, Marich Pass Center, Kang'alan Escarpment, Kolloa Cross Monument, Weiwei Irrigation Scheme, Tamkal Valley, Mount Koh, Sekerr Range, Mount Mtelo View Lodge, Nasolot National Reserve, Turkwel Dam, Turkwel Gorge, State Lodge, Riting

Know More About West Pokot County: Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads - including a distance chart, Airports, Climate & National Monuments

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