Kenya tourist lodge shuts after land invasions, following murder of owner
Nairobi — A lodge owned by a murdered British farmer in Kenya’s northern Laikipia region announced its closure on Monday, after being overrun by herders for months, ahead of August polls in which some politicians have made land reform a campaign issue. Tristan Voorspuy, a British army veteran, was shot dead on Sosian in March, one of dozens killed and injured in Laikipia as armed herders searching for grazing have driven their cattle onto private farms and ranches from poor-quality communal land. "Since the beginning of the year, Sosian, among other properties in West Laikipia, has been battling mass land invasions, violence and vandalism," the Laikipia Farmers Association (LFA) said in a statement on Monday. "Attempts by government forces to rebuff the invaders on a large scale have been unsuccessful thus far." Many residents of the area accuse local politicians of inciting the violence before elections in August. They say the men are trying to drive out voters who might oppose the...
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