Sunday, April 8, 2012

The new Happy Valley: Why British are flocking back to Laikipia


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Army’s movement outside training grounds has been restricted following increased compensation demands from traders whose property has been destroyed by drunk soldiers. Photo/NATION
Army’s movement outside training grounds has been restricted following increased compensation demands from traders whose property has been destroyed by drunk soldiers. Photo/NATION 
By MUCHIRI GITONGA mgitonga@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Saturday, April 7  2012 at  22:30
IN SUMMARY
  • Their increased military presence in the county has seen the local economy boom as soldiers spend millions on curios and real estate, but residents are still trying to come to terms with their rather hedonistic lifestyles
Last week a company called Mount Kenya Wildlife Estate placed an advert in the dailies for what it called wildlife homes in Laikipia — 1,000 acres of pristine grassland teeming with game in the eastern corner of Ol Pejeta Conservancy, about 15 kilometres from Nanyuki town.
The main selling points for the developers are game drives, a peaceful, scenic, secure environment, accessibility and Nanyuki town and the airstrips that ensure fast links to Nairobi and the world.
The 90,000-acre Ol Pejeta Conservancy targets wealthy tourists and gives them the chance to live with wildlife in the bush. The conservancy has made Nanyuki a focal point for tourists visiting game reserves in Samburu and Laikipia.
The proposed estate, with house prices starting at Sh27 million, is the latest development in an area that is experiencing a rapid return of Europeans in numbers last witnessed during the colonial years and just after independence.
Lured by the good weather that prevails year round, game in the nearby conservancies and expansive parks and other attractions like Mt Kenya, Ol Daiga Hills and the Aberdares, Europeans, particularly the British, are either settling in the county or buying holiday homes around Nanyuki town.
Rustic cabin
Indeed, the romantic relationship between the British and Laikipia County is epitomised by Prince William’s decision to propose to his long-time girlfriend, now wife, Kate Middleton in a rustic cabin on the slopes of Mt Kenya.
Prince William and Kate Middleton secretly flew into the country in October 2010 and headed to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.
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“Kenya has always been very close to Prince William’s heart. He’s been coming here for many years. He loves it,” Mr Ian Craig, the founder of the Lewa conservancy and owner of the cabin, told CNN after the historic visit. Prince William is the second in line to the British throne.
Among the notable personalities said to have returned to Laikipia is Mr Ian Henderson, an influential figure in the crackdown on Mau Mau operatives before independence.
Although Mr Henderson lives in Berlin, he is reported to have bought a holiday home at Mukima Ridge, about 10 kilometres from Nanyuki town.
The development of luxury homes that targets wealthy Europeans is becoming a trend among ranch owners. Houses on Mukima Ridge cost anything upwards of Sh25 million.
“There is a strong comeback of Europeans to Laikipia, and it appears as if the area is experiencing a new scramble all over again,” said Mr Johnson ole Kaunga, a land rights activist in the area.
Although there is no official data available to support his observation, Mr Kaunga says those settling in the area are inspired by the large white population, many of whom are engaged in wildlife conservation together with raising livestock on their ranches.
There are also many horticultural and flower farms in Timau and Narumoru in neighbouring Nyeri County now in the hands of the white community.
“It is easier for those wishing to stay in Kenya to settle for Laikipia since they will not feel likes strangers due to the presence of other people of European descent,” Mr Kaunga said.
The increasing number of land disputes involving the new generation of settlers, pastoralist communities and land-buying firms are a good indication of the demand for land in Laikipia.
Among the pieces of land under dispute are the 1,000-acre Lekiji Farm and another 1,000-acre ranch in Kimugandura. The two were bought from a settler by a land-buying company, but its attempt to sell the pieces of land to white families has been met with protests from pastoralists who claim it as their ancestral land.
But the biggest factor behind the recent comeback is the presence of British Army soldiers who train for combat in Laikipia and Samburu. According to Mr Kaunga, many of those coming back are former soldiers who fell in love with Nanyuki town and the local people when they came for training.
“First they love the climate. And then the people; that’s why many of them want to come back and experience Laikipia all over again, especially when they retire from the military and become civilians,” he said, giving examples of former soldiers who have bought houses in the upmarket Muthaiga estate in Nanyuki.
After years of operating from the Nanyuki showground, which they have been renting from the Agricultural Society of Kenya for Sh800,000 a year, the British military is now building a permanent base on an expansive area near the Laikipia Airbase, about four kilometres from Nanyuki town.
Over the last six years, the British Government has increased the number of soldiers coming to Nanyuki for a training session from 800 to around 3,500.
Most of the soldiers coming to Kenya under the British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk) are deployed to hotspots like Afghanistan.
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One of the consequences of hosting the British soldiers at the showground is the interference with the holding of the annual agricultural show.
Last year, the Mt Kenya ASK branch said it incurred a loss of about Sh2 million after the army requested it to change the date of the fair from May to August to enable them to accommodate soldiers on training. A dispute arose after the army refused to compensate the branch for the loss, demanding that an audit be carried out first.
The ASK turned down a request from the army to change the date again this year.
Transformation of lifestyles
The presence of the soldiers has triggered a transformation of lifestyles with a number of businesses focusing more on the white and wealthy clientele. For instance, a number of bistros, upmarket coffee houses and shopping malls targeting the soldiers have sprung up in Nanyuki town.
Hawkers specialising in sunglasses, DVDs and computer games also do well whenever the soldiers are in town.
According to the Batuk chief of staff, Maj James Clark, the army trains seven groups of its soldiers a year, which means about 24,500 soldiers visit the town annually. Each group spends six weeks in training.
Three infantry battalions visit the country for the six-week exercise under an agreement with the Kenya Government. The soldiers conduct live fire exercises as well as experience a wide variety of climatic conditions — from desert to rain forest. The training takes place at Daiga Hills in Laikipia and Archer’s Post in Samburu.
While the high number of soldiers in the area has favoured the local business community, some Nanyuki residents find the lifestyles of the Britons excessive.
Just last weekend, soldiers engaged in a bloody brawl at a hotel in Nanyuki at a time when some Commonwealth diplomats were patronising it.
The fight left five soldiers seriously injured.
“Many of the soldiers facing criminal and traffic offences have been escaping back to their country after they are given cash bail,” Mr Mwangi Wanjohi, a lawyer, told the Sunday Nation.
But apart from their rather hedonistic lifestyles, many residents have little to complain about as they recognise the impact of the soldiers’ spending on the local economy.
The soldiers occasionally engage in charitable activities like building classrooms, police posts, libraries and helping out children’s homes.
“They are critical for local businesses since their spending has a ripple effect on almost every aspect of business in Nanyuki. Their absence for two years on allegations of rape in 2002 and 2003 was felt by everybody as there was hardly any money circulating in the town,” Mr Wanjohi said.
About 200 local youths also get casual jobs whenever the soldiers are around for training. But Mr Kaunga says the impact of the soldiers’ presence is not big since they do most of their procurement in Nairobi.
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“Other than the common man in Nanyuki, there are larger players out there who benefit, especially those who supply construction material and food stuffs,” he said.
Soldiers’ movement
A week ago curio traders in town claimed they were on the verge of shutting down after authorities moved to restrict the soldiers’ movement within the town.
One trader, Mr Richard Kioko, said during their six-week stay the soldiers would spend millions of shillings on curios and handicrafts.
“All that money is now going to a cartel of 10 individuals who have been allowed to open shops inside the military camp as the soldiers are rarely allowed out of the camp during their stay,” Mr Kioko said, indicating the importance of the soldiers to the local economy.
But the British Army area manager Mr Alfred Muita said the training unit was receiving many demands for compensation from local traders whose property had been destroyed by drunken soldiers during their visits to town. Nevertheless, more and more businesses focusing on the soldiers as the main clientele are coming up.
A more notable effect of British presence in the county is the unprecedented bubble in the real estate sector. Four years ago, the British army decided to outsource residences for its senior staff. This has seen rent for a modest family house near training areas increase by more than 1,500 per cent.
A three-bedroom house that used to rent for between Sh12,000 and Sh15,000 a month now goes for between Sh150,000 and Sh180,000 a month. A four-bedroom house is going for up to Sh280,000 a month, a spot check by the Sunday Nation found.
Those benefiting most from the British are people with homes in prime areas such as the upmarket Muthaiga, Mugambi, Mukima and Sweetwaters.
The increase in prices has seen many homeowners rent out their homes to live in cheaper areas of Nanyuki town, which has subsequently increased the demand for lower-priced apartments.
The British army is also setting up headquarters in the town, and already multi-million-shilling homes are coming up around the designated area.
Other businesses that depend on the construction industry like plumbing and hardware shops have also benefited from the boom with the municipal council licensing 40 new hardware shops last year.
The number of the soldiers opting to settle in Nanyuki has also led to an increase in the price of land. An acre of land around the Jua Kali area that sold for Sh35,000 two years ago now goes for at least Sh2 million.
“Many soldiers, especially the senior ones, are coming back and buying retirement homes,” real estate agent Abel Marite said, adding that most of the soldiers who visit Kenya speak glowingly of the country, popularising the area among British citizens, which explains the increased investment in luxury homes.

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