KENYA: LIFE IN THE TRIANGLE.
In the heart of the Ilemi Triangle, a disputed region in East Africa, live the Turkana, a tribe of traditionally nomadic pastoralists.
The Ilemi Triangle, sometimes called only Ilemi, is an area of disputed land in East Africa. Arbitrarily defined, it measures between 10,320 and 14,000 square kilometres. Named after Anuak chief Ilemi Akwon, the territory is claimed by South Sudan and Kenya.
The dispute over the land, which is claimed by South Sudan and Kenya and also borders Ethiopia, resulted from the unclear wording of a century-old treaty seeking to grant the nomads free movement.
Kenya now has de facto control of the area. The dispute arose from the 1914 treaty in which a straight parallel line was used to divide territories that were both part of the British Empire. However the Turkana people—nomadic herders continued to move to and from the border and traditionally grazed in the area.
The perceived economic marginality of the land as well as decades of Sudanese conflicts are two factors that have delayed the resolution of the dispute.
