A fascinating and astutely balanced look at an escalating conflict between Indigenous pastoralist settlers and British-Kenyan ranchers, The Battle for Laikipia by filmmakers Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi offers a nuanced look into the two factions involved, but offers no easy answers as cultural differences and climate change accentuate the disconnect between two divergent ways of life in Kenya. (The film won the Amazon MGM Studios Producers Award for Nonfiction at Sundance 2024.)
The area is long known for its traditionally lush landscape and breathtakingly diverse wildlife, but as drought hits the area the decades-long conflict between settler and rancher comes to a head, stoked by politicians and criminals and with the threat of violence hanging over the region.
The film also hints at the influence of cartels and corrupt businessmen impacting on the situation, but this is not really developed. At the film’s core is the binary conflict between pastoralists and ranchers as access to land, grass and water drives a wedge between them. The film further weaves the themes of environmentalism, colonialism, and conservationism and shows the impact of these on the Laikipia region.
From the settler side we meet Simeon, a Samburu pastoralist who fights for his tribe’s longstanding tradition of letting their goats and cows roam the plains, eating where the grass grows and drinking where there is water. Tribesmen debate their ancient traditions, their lack of interest in possessions and their relationship with the land. On the other side are Tom, who runs the 56,000-acre Loisabe Conservancy, attracting tourists to see the splendid wildlife, and Maria and her family who own a cattle ranch. Tom has only been in the region since 1992, but Maria and her family represent the community of Kenyans of British descent whose families have been there for four generations, and who believe in fencing and water rights.
Tom is filmed in his Landrover, calling up the army to chase off settlers and their cattle herds, while also proudly pointing out the elephants, zebra and gazelle that roam his land. “It is a huge space up here,” he comments, “one of the richest areas for endangered wildlife.” At the same time one herder comments (after one of their number has been shot): “We have less value than wild animals.”
Filming begins in 2017 as the delicate equilibrium is just about being maintained, but in subsequent years the drought gets worse and worse. Many white farmers had previously allowed the pastoralists to take their livestock to water on their ranches, but tensions begin to mount, developing into violence, with access to water as the catalyst. The army is called in by the ranchers to slaughter cows and goats straying on their land, and in response homes are raided and properties destroyed. When human lives are lost, both sides call for government intervention, but an election candidate calling on support from the Samburu pastoralists stokes further dissension when his comments are seen by the white ranchers as tantamount to inciting even more violence.
As observed by Greek director Daphne Matziaraki (an Oscar nominee for 4.1 Miles) and Kenyan filmmaker Pete Murimi (I Am Samuel) there are no real heroes or villains in this story. The directors’ resolutely objective stance (aided by smart editing from Sam Soko) sees the film present honest and often heartfelt perspectives from both sides as it charts the region’s ideological divides that are rooted in colonialism. Unresolved historical injustices are presented alongside climate change and political machinations, but no easy answers are offered up.
Kenya-US-Greece, 2024, 94mins
Dirs: Daphne Matziaraki, Peter Murimi
Production: One Story Up, We Are Not The Machine, Ford Foundation JustFilms, DocDociety Climate Story Fund, Wild LivesFoundation
International sales: MetFilms
Producers: Toni Kamau, Daphne Matziaraki
Cinematography: Daphne Matziaraki, Peter Murimi, Maya Craig
Editor: Sam Soko
Music: William R. Fritch
