SLDF It had its own system of administration which included kangaroo courts. It also imposed taxes on the locals, killed and kidnapped those who refused to cooperate and those suspected of working for the government. It is estimated that around 600 locals were killed by militia group. It was almost like Joseph Kony’s LRA.
However looking at it from a different perspective SLDF was birthed out of genuine concerns I.e. unfair allocation of land during resettlement. The area around Mt Elgon was occupied by White Settlers who displaced the Sabaots to make space for huge farms. They were taken to Chepkitale and Chebyuk.
In 1932 Sabaot elders appeared before the Kenya Land Commission convened by the British to address land grievances by the natives. Even though the commission agreed that the Sabaot had been unfairly treated and should be compensated, nothing was done.
As the white settlers left after independence, instead of the land being returned to the natives, the new African colonialists stepped in and grabbed almost everything as the Sabaot continued to live as squatters.
To make it worse in 1968, the new African government designated Chepkitale where some of these Africans (the Mosop) had been dumped by the colonialists as a game reserve and forced them to leave. It was double suffering. Imagine being displaced by the colonialists and made to live as a squatter. But just when you thought things would be better following independence your own government comes to evict you from your squatting place without giving you any alternative.
Nevertheless, because of the loud complaints, in 1971 the Mosops were moved to Chebyuk where they invited the Soy clan. The two clans would later have a fallout. Meanwhile other communities , prominent people and politicians had also penetrated the scheme putting pressure on the limited land and influencing the allocation. The government was also threatening them with eviction on claims that Chebyuk was a gazetted forest so they should find somewhere else to go.With time as the rich headed to courts , young people formed the militia group SLDF to fight for their land rights.
