Unreported World (Friday 2 December 2022 Kenya’s Bandits and Poachers on Channel 4)

Tonight Friday 2 December 2022 the show Unreported World airs a new episode.

Tonight, Friday 2 December 2022, the episode Kenya’s Bandits and Poachers airs at 19:30 on Channel 4.

Episode Summary

Given that the Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years, food-related tensions in Kenya are becoming lethal. Seyi Rhodes, a reporter, travels the entire length of the nation pursuing poachers, farmers, and herdsmen who are all vying for survival on a limited amount of arable land. For more than two years, Turkana in the north hasn’t experienced regular rainfall. Seyi comes across a dystopian scene where the grasslands have turned to dust and farming and raising livestock are impossible. During the drought, up to 85% of farm animals have perished.

‘I will definitely die’, explains Rebecca. ‘Even the children that I have will die because there is no one I can leave them with.’

The only course of action is south. However, that causes conflict with other communities that are also in need of food. Rhodes discovers how this deadly conflict is playing out in a community under attack in Laikipia, the breadbasket of Kenya. Gunfire is heard almost every night as bandits enter the area.

Rhodes locates the Pokot, a rival group allegedly responsible for much of the violence. Concerns about poaching replace tensions over cattle further south. Food costs have risen as a result of the war in Ukraine. Ordinary families in Kenya are struggling to survive due to a lack of local crops.

Poaching has become a necessity for many people. One of the largest game reserves in the world, the Tsava National Park, is home to numerous animals that Rhodes tirelessly works to protect while on night patrol with government rangers.

Airdate and Episode Count

Friday 2 December 2022 at 19:30 on Channel 4

Season 2022 Episode 10

Show Info

Unreported World is a foreign affairs programme produced by Quicksilver Media Productions and broadcast by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. Over the course of its twenty-six series, reporters have travelled to dangerous locations all over the world in an attempt to uncover stories usually ignored by the world media.

Featured image credit: Channel 4