A severe drought in Lamu County, Kenya, has reignited violent conflict between Christian farmers and Somali Muslim herders over scarce grazing land and water.

What is unfolding in areas such as Witu is not merely an environmental or land-use dispute, but a pattern of targeted intimidation and persecution against Christian farming communities. Farmers report deliberate destruction of crops through livestock encroachment, threats to life, and sustained harassment, forcing many to live in fear and insecurity.

Lamu County has for years experienced recurring conflict between Lamu Christians, who depend on farming for survival, and Somali Muslim herders, who migrate with large herds of livestock.

While drought has intensified competition over resources, the conflict is deeply entangled with religious, ethnic, land, and governance dynamics. The security dimension is especially alarming. Al-Shabab has exploited this tension by infiltrating and weaponizing herder movements, using them as cover for terror attacks that have killed civilians, displaced entire communities, and disproportionately targeted Christian farmers. As a result, many Christian families have fled their ancestral lands, fearing both violence and religiously motivated persecution.

According to research conducted on Oct. 21, fear and tension continue to rise in Witu and surrounding areas. Christian farmers report a total breakdown of safety, citing threats from herders and cattle owners who operate with impunity. During a public address, Mama Amina Ali, a Christian farmer and resident of Kakate, made an emotional plea for protection.

“As a mother, any mother in her home needs security,” she said. “That is the very first thing. I want my security. But I am being threatened by the herders. I am being threatened by the cattle owners. I have no strength.”

Ali’s appeal highlights the central demand of Christian farmers: immediate protection and an end to intimidation tactics that appear designed to force them off their land. These actions — crop destruction, threats, displacement, and fear — amount to a form of religious persecution, as the victims are overwhelmingly Christian farming communities.

In response to the growing outcry, local authorities have pledged to intervene by enforcing the law and demarcating grazing areas to separate herders from farmlands.

The Lamu County Commissioner addressed the situation publicly, warning those undermining security.

“Regarding the matters of the Christian farmers and the Islamic herders, I would like to assure the mother that we will take action, and I, along with my team, will visit here,” he said. “Therefore, I want to issue a warning to anyone who undermines security or threatens the life or property of another that it will cease.”

Governor Issa Timamy further announced plans to formalize land-use boundaries by designating farming zones and grazing corridors.

“There is a plan to set aside areas for farmers and areas for herders,” he said. “There are grazing corridors that some farmers have encroached upon. Therefore, together with the County Commissioner and the security team, we will visit and mark those areas, and if there is a farmer there, they will have to leave.”

While the plan aims to reduce conflict, it raises serious concerns for Christian farmers who fear forced evictions without protection, compensation, or acknowledgment of the persecution they have endured. Without firm security guarantees and accountability for past abuses, demarcation alone risks further marginalizing already vulnerable Christian communities in Lamu County.

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email [email protected]. To support ICC’s work around the world, please give to our Where Most Needed Fund.