379 herders arrested after British farmer shot dead in Kenya

Kenyan officials said 379 pastoral herders have been arrested for invading ranches in the wake of the fatal shooting of a British farmer.

The arrests come after rancher Tristan Voorspuy was shot dead while inspecting some of his lodges, which had been burned by attackers.

His body was found Sunday 118 miles north of Nairobi.

A severe drought in Kenya is causing tension because of the scarcity of water and pasture, as some communities move into other properties in search of the resources, said domestic security minister Joseph Nkaissery.

He said criminals have taken advantage of the situation to steal.
Kenya has declared its drought a national disaster.

Ranchers, however, say the land invasions are politically motivated and part of plans to take over their land.

The British High Commissioner to Kenya said he was "deeply saddened" by Mr Voorspuy's killing.
Nic Hailey said he had repeatedly expressed his concern to Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta's government over the situation in parts of Laikipia.

Kenya has been affected by a cycle of violence including land invasions and evictions during the 1992, 1997 and 2007 elections. Kenya will hold general elections in August.

More than 1,000 people died after the 2007 elections, the deadliest clashes in the country's history.
A majority of the deaths were in the Rift Valley, where Laikipia is located. More than 600,000 were evicted from their homes during the violence.

A 2008 government commission found that historical injustices such as unequal land distribution were partly responsible for the violence.
A 2013 report reinforced those findings, saying long-standing grievances over land constitute the single most important driver of conflicts and ethnic tension in Kenya.
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