• Police commanders to enforce disarmament and registration of guns used by NPRs.
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
More than 120 GSU officers have been deployed to the troubled Kerio Valley as Police IG Hillary Mutyambai moves to tame bandit attacks at the border of Elgeyo Marakwet and West Pokot counties.
Mutyambai directed police commanders in the region to act tough on illegal arms and arrest those inciting communities against each other.
Most villages along the border have been deserted and eight schools shut down amid an escalation of attacks in recent weeks.
Marakwet East police commander Vincent Kitili said police were camping in the region to pursue those involved in the attacks and ensure displaced families can return to their homes "as soon as possible."
“The bandits must surrender because we will still get them. They cannot be allowed to continue perpetrating lawlessness,” Kitili said.
Intelligence officers have also been deployed in the area to help detect and stop banditry attacks. Kitili said they would also enforce orders from the IG to ensure all illegal guns are seized. He asked those with firearms to surrender the weapons or risk being hunted down.
Sources said Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i was planning to visit the Kerio Valley alongside Mutyambai and top security officers. They will address security meetings along the volatile border where bandits have killed more than 32 people in the last three months.
Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos said he was happy with the tough measures being enforced by the IG. He said a tour of the region will help the officials with a better understanding of the situation on the ground.
Two weeks ago, Tolgos wrote to Matiangi and the IG complaining about the deteriorating security situation in the region. He said more than 2,000 people including school children have been displaced from their homes.
Liter, Kalya, Kabero, Kamelei, Tendererwa A and Tendererwa B primary schools have been shut after teachers fled due to insecurity.
Kenya National Union of Teachers official in Elgeyo Marakwet John Cheberi was leading a team from the union to assess the situation in schools in the region. Cheberi said more children were bound to suffer unless the government tackled banditry.
Rift Valley regional commissioner Mwongo Chimwanga visited the region and said the recruitment of new national police reservists would be done keenly so that only those who qualify are recruited, trained and armed to strengthen security.
“The recruitment of NPRs had earlier on been done haphazardly, but now the due process will be followed so that we get the right people,” Chimwanga said.
Edited by P. Obuya