In the Grip of the Vampire State: Maasai Land Struggles in Kenyan Politics

Abstract At the point of colonial conquest, Kenya's Maasai entered into a treaty with the British that signed away their land rights to seasonal grazing lands in the Rift Valley. A second treaty, replacing the first, then moved them from the prized pastures of the Laikipia plateau, confining them to a poorly watered ‘Native Reserve’ in the southern portion of the country. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the campaign for the restitution of these lost lands has been revived, amid a political clamour in Kenya for the revisiting of history to confront past wrongs. This article provides a personal account of the unfolding of this campaign in Kenya and the response of the NARC government to the Maasai challenge, drawing upon both first-hand experience of the events described and newspaper reports. The final section reflects upon the seemingly unchanging character of Kenya politics even in this ‘new age’ of liberal democracy.