Lokichogio
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Lokichogio (also ''Lokichoggio'' or ''Lokichokio''), is a town in the
Turkana District Turkana County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It is Kenya's largest county by land area (followed by Marsabit County), and also its northwesternmost. It is bordered by the countries of Uganda to the west; South Sudan an ...
in northwest
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
(). It is often called Loki for short. The town lies on the
A1 road A list of roads designated A1, sorted by alphabetical order of country. * A01 highway (Afghanistan), a long ring road or beltway connecting Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar * A1 motorway (Albania), connecting Durrës and Kukës * A001 highwa ...
, and is served by the
Lokichogio Airport Lokichogio Airport is an airport in Lokichogio, Kenya. Location Lokichogio Airport is located in Turkana County, in the town of Lokichogio, in the northwestern corner of the Republic of Kenya, close to the International borders with South Sudan ...
. It is about 30 kilometers from the international border with
South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...
and hosts the UN offices (part of the
Operation Lifeline Sudan Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) was a consortium of United Nations agencies (mainly UNICEF and the World Food Programme)NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
s, and a large orthopedic hospital run by the
ICRC The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signator ...
.


History

During the war (1983-2005) between what is now Southern Sudan to include Nuba Mountains, South Kordafan Province (technically now in Sudan), Loki was the singular re-supply logistics point for the SPLA. Many flights originated from Loki to re-supply SPLA units in Nuba Mountains under the leadership of Abdel Azziz. IO and NGO's to include support from Uganda, Kenya, USA, Norway (Norwegian People's Aid/NPA) and others were most prominent in supporting the SPLA/M . (Note: "M" or "movement" denotes the political representation of the Sudan People's Liberation Army) During the interim cease fire in early 2002 in Nuba Mountains, non-lethal logistical supplies were authorized by the government in Sudan at that time, termed the National Islamic Front (NIF) and now termed the National Congress Party (NCP). The only medical facility, as previously mentioned, was in Loki; anyone requiring medical attention had to be flown from Nuba Mountains, near Kauda to Loki. In one case in early May 2002, a double stacked anti-tank mine(s) detonated just prior to the visit of Abdel Azziz killing two and wounding three other SPLA advisers. According to Randolph Hampton, an adviser on the ground in Nuba Mountains with the Sudan People's Liberation Army/SPLA; one of the injured was Major Tutu, SPLA's higher ranking officers. Major Tutu and two others were air evacuated after stripping the plane of seats; unfortunately, Major Tutu and one other died en route to Loki's ICRC hospital due to lack of blood. Today, Nuba Mountains remains aligned with Southern Sudan and Abdel Azziz is currently in Nuba Mountains, as late 2019 supporting the efforts to bring sustained peace and security to the nearly 1.5 million Nuba Mountains population.


Geography

Loki is the outermost Kenyan town on the border with South Sudan. Kenyans from the southern part of Loki, however, maintain that
Lodwar Lodwar is the largest town in north-western Kenya, located west of Lake Turkana on the A1 road. Its main industries are basket weaving and tourism. The Loima Hills lie to its west. Lodwar is the capital of Turkana County. The town has a popul ...
is the last truly "Kenyan" town in the region, about 200 kilometers south. At the north end of Loki, beyond the noted dry river bed, the
Kenya Defence Forces The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) ( sw, Majeshi ya Ulinzi ya Kenya, stylized as "KENYA ARMED FORCES" capitalized on its coat of arms) are the armed forces of the Republic of Kenya. They are made up of the Kenya Army, Kenya Navy, and Kenya Air Forc ...
had set up a
border checkpoint A border checkpoint is a location on an international border where travelers or goods are inspected and allowed (or denied) passage through. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. Access-controlled borders ofte ...
. This was initially considered the "true" border between Kenya and Sudan but was later moved in 2009 to a new checkpoint 2 km to
Nadapal Nadapal is a community in the south west of Kapoeta East County, South Sudan near the border with the Rift Valley province of Kenya. The Nadapal belt is an area stretching southward from the border with South Sudan to Lokichogio in Kenya. The v ...
, the new checkpoint is manned by the
Kenya Police ) , formedyear = 1906 , formedmonthday = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = approx. 101,000= , volunteers = , budget = , country = Kenya , ...
officers, Border police unit and the Immigration department. The Sudanese checkpoint is 2 km away from this newly constructed checkpoint. The area known as "
no-man's land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...
" is situated between these two checkpoints. The Middle East Reformed Fellowship maintains a base here to administer diaconal aid to Sudan, a training centre for pastors and elders from Sudan, Kenya, and surrounding areas, and a broadcasting centre that prepares messages in the Dinka and Nuer languages.


Demographics

Local people are mainly
nomads A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...
of the Turkana tribe and derive their livelihood by looking after indigenous
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
. Ninety kilometers south of Loki is
Kakuma Kakuma is a town in northwestern Turkana County, Kenya. It is the site of a UNHCR refugee camp, established in 1992. The population of Kakuma town was 60,000 in 2014, having grown from around 8,000 in 1990. In 1991, the camp was established to hos ...
, one of the largest
refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
camps in Kenya. Refugees from
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
,
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
,
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, the
DRC The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, and several other surrounding countries can be found in Kakuma.


Education

Lokichogio Mixed Secondary School Lokichogio Mixed Secondary School, also known as Lokichogio AIC Secondary School, is a secondary school in Lokichogio, Turkana County, Kenya. Attack In October 2017 a militia attacked the school, killing six students and a security guard. The accu ...
is in the community.


In fiction

The town has been mentioned several times in pieces of fiction dealing with UN and NGO aid activity there. It was featured in the John Le Carré book on which the 2005 film ''
The Constant Gardener ''The Constant Gardener'' is a 2001 novel by British author John le Carré. The novel tells the story of Justin Quayle, a British diplomat whose activist wife is murdered. Believing there is something behind the murder, he seeks to uncover the t ...
'' was based, and served as the setting for much of
Philip Caputo Philip Caputo (born June 10, 1941) is an American author and journalist. He is best known for '' A Rumor of War'' (1977), a best-selling memoir of his experiences during the Vietnam War. Caputo has written 16 books, including two memoirs, five b ...
's novel, ''Acts of Faith''.


References


External links


The town on Kenya map

Photos of Lokichokio from Rob Rooker

Photos of Loki by Dave Warner

Photos of Loki by James Witteveen
{{Authority control Populated places in Turkana County