Kenya's Turkana and Samburu people fined 50 cows per death Published duration 22 June 2015

image copyright AFP image caption Many people have been killed in cattle rustling between the semi-nomadic Samburu and Turkana communities

Two rival communities in Kenya have agreed to pay a fine of 50 cows for every person killed in recent violence, as part of a ceasefire deal.

The Turkana and Samburu communities in northern Kenya have fought for decades over cattle, grazing rights and access to water.

About 15 people were killed in renewed clashes in May, local media reported.

The peace deal covers the same area where at least 42 police officers were killed in 2012 by cattle rustlers.

image copyright AFP image caption Local communities have asked the government to increase security in Samburu County

It was the deadliest attack on the police in Kenya since independence.

Communities living in and around Baragoi town in Samburu county have also agreed to return weapons stolen from police during the 2012 attack, Kenya's Capital FM reports

The ceasefire between the minority Turkana community and the Samburu people, who make up 80% of the county's population, was signed after three days of negotiations between local community leaders, MPs and Kenya's National Cohesion and Integration Commission, it says.

image copyright Damian Zane

Related Topics Kenya