A Marsabit county resident whose three family members were killed by cattle rustlers has asked the government to return arms to police reservists.
Stephen Lekalgitele expressed fears that his community was at risk of attacks by cattle rustlers who acquire illegal guns from Ethiopia.
He blamed the government for last week's murders at Arapal village and for failure to control insecurity in the region.
Lekalgitele spoke at Wamba Mission Hospital in Samburu East where one his relatives had been admitted after she survived the attack.
“I ask the government to return guns to the NPRs because my community is vulnerable to the attacks by bandits,” he said.
Jonathan Lesingiran, a relation of the affected family said the government had failed to seal the borders where illegal guns are smuggled into the country.
Lekalgitele also asked the government to instruct leaders in the region to campaign for peace and stop the violence.
The remarks come after pastoralists holding illegal firearms were last week urged to voluntarily surrender them.
Rift Valley regional coordinator George Natembeya assured residents that after the firearm mop-up exercise, the government will train more reservists.
The new team will reside in a barracks and respond to emergencies under the command of a senior police officer.
“After disarming civilians, the government will not leave anyone unprotected. It will train more NPRs who will work under a central command,” he said.
He said that the mop-up exercise will also target senior civil servants and politicians who are known to arm herders of their cattle.
Natembeya said that cattle rustling activities in Samburu and other pastoralist counties are fueled by bandit-friendly chiefs who fail to do their job.
Addressing chiefs in Maralal town on September 18, the administrator threatened to sack those who are friendly to cattle rustlers.
(edited by O. Owino)
