Pastoralists depend on access to communal rangelands but ongoing privatisation of land threatens their access. Further, globally, proponents of pastoralism call for state-sanctioned communal land rights to secure pastoralists access. In Kenya, the government has enacted the Community Land Act to secure communal land rights. This article examines how the implementation of this law affects pastoralists access to communal rangelands in Samburu county. Contrary to expectations,the legislation undermines pastoralists' customary institutions and their authority in relation to land. It also speeds up subdivision of communal lands into private individual plots. This constrains rather than secures pastoralists access to communal rangelands.