By Cosmas Ekuwam
Isiolo County, Kenya: Meet Erupi Lobuin who is disabled and also a reformed cattle rustler from Kenya’s eastern region in Isiolo County.
Isiolo County is known for pastoralism as a way of livelihood with few people engaging in crop farming.
Cattle rustling is common in this region. It is among some of the reasons insecurity has persisted in some of the villages here.
Cattle rustling is the act of stealing livestock from one community or country to another, often using violence and dangerous weapons. It can also include planning, organizing, attempting, or aiding the theft of livestock
Lobuin, also commonly known as “mtu wa Mungu” loosely translated as “God’s person” is the epitome of resilience, and hope.
Lobuin accidentally deformed both his palm hands at burning ashes of cow dung while as a toddler while crawling, struggling, and learning to stand at the tender age of 1 year all his fingers were burnt.
The matter was further complicated as his parents did not enroll him in school but instead, he was sent to look after livestock.
However the sad reality and fate did not damper the spirit of the young growing boy, he scaled up insurmountable challenges to create his own path of success, where many had written off to unforeseen future.
“Being born is a gift from God, but your destiny lies in your own hands,” Lobuin begins during the interview with Talkafrica.
“I was born in a modest family background with few countable goats and cattle, but with God’s grace I have raised my extended Lobuin family to a respectable unit within the community,” he added.
It was not however an easy path, where he had to endure a lot of suffering in a childhood where he later veered into marauding moralism and into cattle rustling activities to fend for themselves.
Lobuin and other young warriors, commonly referred to as morans ventured into cattle rustling and raids among worrying Samburu and Turkana communities.
He explained that cattle rustling and raids by then, were mostly justified as a cultural habit among the pastoral communities.
“Morans from Samburu communities will raid and ‘take away’ cattle livestock from Turkanas and vice-versa with incessant retaliatory cattle theft” he confided. Adding that ” It was scripted like mind games between the worrying pastoral communities, but the scene has now changed into hostilities and commercial activity and thus a criminal enterprise.”
“It is no longer a cultural practice, but criminals taking advantage and moreso killing and butchering innocent people during such raids.” He lamented.
He observed that cattle raids and rusting have spiraled and metamorphosized into bigger security threats, bringing land questions and ownership into play.
Back to his story and childhood, moran activities and cattle rustling escapades were the lowest moments of his life, saying he watched as many of his childhood friends were killed or maimed during the period.
The turn around
His Damascus moment came when he saw his close family members killed children widowed and orphaned.
“I miraculously survived during one such raid, with my colleague shot, I resolved to quit cattle rustling for good.”
“The following day I went to church and confessed, and received Jesus Christ as my personal savior, and endeared myself to Christian teachings, that is how I got the name Mtu wa mungu which has stuck with me.” narrated Lobuin.
It was against that background that following his peace-building efforts among the worrying pastoral communities, he was elected to the board of Northern Rangelands Trust in 2014, where he carried out his peace mission.
During his tenure, he was involved in peace missions on security problems in north rift, revolving around Turkana, Samburu, and Pokot in troubled Kerio valley area.
His ambassadorial peace crusade opened doors, to his greater role in community development. Among the Community Development Fund(CDF) projects he was involved in was the construction of Manyatta Zebra Primary School and Ngaremara girls led by the members of the project committees.
His star seemed to shine when he engaged in community land rights where he succeeded in registering, titling, and overall adjudication process of land in Ngaremara rea, and especially manyatta Zebra where he was land committee chairman.
His greatest milestone is when President William Ruto came to hand over 1000 title deeds for the Ngaremara area where he was forced behind the momentous crowning event.
Community development projects work
Currently, he is very engrossed in the land adjudication process for the Tigania East. Close to over 500 families are set to be settled in the area upon sub-division and title deeds issuance.
Some of his latest development activities include putting murram on all-weather roads and feeder roads within the Daaba area.
Daaba and Tigani East corridor which has been in the past haven and highway for run away incessant cattle rustling activities.
Professionals under the umbrella of the Ngaremara Justice and Development Forum, are the force behind the unwavering conquest and gusto exhibited by Lobuin.
According to John Lopulo a civil rights activist who is the coordinator of the group, the civil society organization provides and compliments Lobuin’s efforts through technical and professional advice and know-how.
“We are working behind the scenes to oil the engine of development as propelled by Mtu wa Mungu by providing technical expertise in his endeavors,” Lopulo confessed.
The local community is very much elated by the work done by Lobuin, saying that it has proved that there are no limitations for all and sundry.
“Mtu wa Mungu has done much given his situation, without formal education and being physically deformed and succeeded where many have not.” exhorted Ambrose Apayo.
When all is said and done, when confronted with the question of what motivates him and if there are any future political aspirations, Lobuin is cagey.
“I am just passionate about helping the community, it is up to them to decide the next course of action. But I am hearing voices of the community prodding me to stand for elective position, but time will tell.”
Already his actions and moves are reverberating and causing local political turbulence, within and outside Ngaremara ward.
