ABSTRACT
Large amounts of hydrocarbons were discovered in Turkana, Northern Kenya in 2012. A consortium led by Tullow Oil is in charge of this energy project, which is still at the appraisal and drilling phase. Turkana County is one of the most marginalised and under-developed areas in Kenya inhabited mostly by Turkana people, the majority of whom still practice nomadic pastoralism. Even though poor or non-existing infrastructures as well as the low prices of oil of the last years have slowed down considerably the development of the oil operations in Kenya, unfolding events of economic, political and social nature have already affected the lives of the Turkana. Overall, Turkana people are facing increased conflict and friction within their own communities. This situation is not only aggravated by Tullow’s policies but also by both the national and county governments´ plans to accessing and controlling the oil and its future revenues. The oil below Turkana ground is fuelling a conflict of interest between the national and local politicians exacerbated by the 2017 national elections, and none-the-least oil is unravelling unresolved conflicts between Turkana and Kenya. The ways in which Turkana respond to a growing insecurity brought by the oil operations show how resource conflict becomes tightly interconnected with identity and indigenous rights makings at this historical moment.
