Forgotten People of Northern Kenya ll – Moyale

Forgotten People of Northern Kenya ll – Moyale

Abdulkadir Gumi
August 24, 2007

Moyale is the name of the town at the main border crossing between Ethiopia and Kenya. Technically one could say there are two towns; Ethiopian Moyale (north) and Kenyan Moyale (south), with the border running between them.

IT is inhabited by the Borana Oromo, Gabra Oromo and other Oromos. It is the main border post on the Nairobi-Addis Ababa road, located at 3°-34°ŒN, 39°-5°ŒE.Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Dide Galgalu Desert is known for its traditional architecture.

During World War II, both parts of the town was captured by Italians from Ethiopia in 1940, and retaken by the British on 15 July 1940.

To the north, buses run on the tarmac road all the way to Addis Ababa. To the south, only private vehicles - in particular, cattle trucks - go along the unmade track to Marsabit, and then Isiolo - from where public transport is available on the tarmac roads the rest of the way to Nairobi.

we are a century and no dev elopment had happened in Northern Kenya region MOYALE since Kenya independent and nothing seems forthcoming . Northern Kenyan people are in a real disaster of ignorance and clan feud with foreign aggressors.unlike the other Kenyans tribes we have virtually no functional infrastructures, schools ,roads , hospitals , and extension service are not more than a stale reminder that of colonial time .

The Oromo Boranas of Northern Kenya along the border have been victims of widespread harassment, murder, torture, and detentions without trial and unexplained disappearances at the hands of Ethiopian government soldiers. The terror escalated as soon as the present Ethiopian regime of TPLF/EPRDF took over from Mengistu's Communist government. The TPLF government of Ethiopia would like the world to believe that this government is legitimate and democratic than previous regimes. Let their record speak for itself. It is exactly a decade ago and probably they would celebrate the 10th anniversary since ascension to power, but the Borans are grieving. They have buried their relatives and children and continue to bury the dead up to this day, and this brutal tyrannical regime has inflicted more pains and suffering to the Borans than any other time in the history of the Ethiopian empire. We have no idea how many Kenyan Borans suffered at the hands of the previous Ethiopian governments, but the evidence we have of the current Ethiopian government's participation in the killings of Kenyan Boran along the border is overwhelming. Every time one reads about the border clashes, the TPLF government would try the best they could to paint Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) as the cause of the problem. They would say their soldiers pursue OLF fighters across the border and the Borans are harboring OLF fighters. What a travesty. Shame! Are the Borans in Kenya OLF supporters? This has been speculated and Ethiopian government would like you to belief that the OLF they are fighting are also on the Kenya side of the border, but the reality is that there is no evidence to support the allegations. A mere sympathy or ethnic affiliation does not justify these heinous crimes against humanity, just because Borans occupy both side of the border. It is not crime to live along the border, as a matter of fact, the Borans were living in the area before the colonists (British & Ethiopia) ever set foot in the region and demarcated the borderline. However, the point of our contention is not to argue against or for border issue but to set the record straight that OLF do not need the support of Kenyan citizens to win their war.

It is true, Borans are part of the larger Oromo. The Oromo people are the majority in the Ethiopian Empire, (over 25 million) and yet they are being brutalized by this regime. Oromos have had a long history of suffering under past regimes and continue to suffer under this regime as well. The Ethiopian government is perpetrating daily massacres on Oromo civilians in all regions of Oromia. The plight of Oromo suffering is now recognized by Human Rights Organization and has been documented. OLF is no different from any other freedom fighters, fighting to gain independence from the yoke of colonialism. The Oromo people in Ethiopia had no choice but wage bitter struggle for their inalienable rights to self-determination, just like all colonized people ought to do. Many Kenyans may not understand, because they have always been told that Ethiopia is the only country that has not been colonized. How little do we know the country bordering us in the north! Colonists or dictators are color blind, just because most of colonial oppressors were white, does not mean that there are not black colonizers. In the case of Ethiopia, the Abyssinian empire annex all the regions bordering Abyssinia by force and made them subjects, the expansion would have continued and taken over the whole of northern Kenya, had it not been for the British who eager to expand themselves, quickly stopped the expansion. Thus, the birth of border line.

Far from the eyes of the world, the forgotten people of Northern Kenya are dying from ethnic violence, local banditry,living in fear and abuse by the provincial administration and international aggression. Murders, abductions, torture, rape and the disappearance of citizens are common occurrences. Insecurity and humanitarian need in this part of Kenya have reached staggering proportions.

To proceed. be in touch.

Victory To Justice and peace