Sub-Saharan Africa

Conflicts over water are increasing in the Pangani River Basin in northeastern Tanzania between farmers and herders over dwindling water resources. In 2011 in Mbuguni village, four farmers are hacked to death by angry Maasai morans (warriors) as they tried to stop a group of cattle from trampling on maize seedlings.

Protests and violence over water shortages occur in the capital of Mauritania, Nouakchott. By July 2012, over 70,000 Malian refuges were seeking asylum in Mauritania, putting pressure on scarce food and water supplies.

In August 2012, fighting between two clans in the Lower Juba region of south Somalia kills at least three people and wounds five. Reports from the village of Waraq (near the border with Kenya) indicate that the dispute began over the ownership of new water wells.

Tensions lead to violence between Uganda and Kenya after Kenyan Pokot herdsmen cross the border seeking water and pasture. In October, the Ugandan government sends 5,000 soldiers to control violence among pastoralists from the two countries.

Violence between farmers and pastoralists expands in Tanzania’s southeastern Rufiji valley, a region hit by drought. A farmer is killed in a conflict with a herdsman over access to water in the southern regions of Lindi and Mtwara. Five more people die and many more are injured in subsequent violence. According to local sources, violence has worsened during the prolonged drought.

Protesters in poor communities of Cape Town, South Africa riot over inadequate water and power. Hundreds burn tires, destroy cars, and throw rocks at police in anger over the lack of basic services.

Demonstrations over water and power shortages in Conakry, Fria, and Dinguiraye turn violent, with dozens injured.

Extensive violence over water is reported in Kenya, with approximately 50 deaths in clashes between farmers and cattle herders. The conflict is part of a long-running dispute between Pokomo farmers and Orma, semi-nomadic cattle herders, over land and water. The current conflict is being exacerbated by Kenyan and foreign investment in vast tracts of land for food and biofuel cultivation, putting pressure on local resources. (See also entry in 2001.)