‘It was a challenge to film both sides’: the struggle to portray Kenya’s age-old land dispute

From dodging bullets to sleeping on goat skins, film-makers Peter Murimi and Daphne Matziaraki faced unique challenges when documenting the conflict between white farmers and Indigenous herders

The Laikipia plateau in Kenya is a wildlife conservation haven, and a popular safari destination featuring all the big five animals of Africa. As yet, a simmering local conflict between the Indigenous pastoralist communities and long-established white farmers has remained largely unnoticed by the international community. But The Battle for Laikipia, shot by two seasoned film-makers – award-winning Kenyan documentary-maker Peter Murimi and Daphne Matziaraki, a Greek director with a short film Oscar nomination – walks a tightrope to show the delicate balance in a conflict that has become increasingly violent in recent years due to the climate crisis.

“While making the film, we were surprised by the fact that the people who share that same landscape barely knew each other and did not truly understand one another,” says Matziaraki. “A lack of empathy, fear and sometimes refusal to acknowledge the historical context are the reasons why this conflict has escalated to that point. Climate change is bringing to the surface issues that were buried under the rug for decades.”

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