Members of the Siria clan of the Maasai community have apologised to the government and Kenyans for the violence in Nkararo area in Transmara West sub county of Narok county.
Elder Davis Dikirr said his people are now ready to embrace peace with their neighbours -the Uasin Gishu clan- with whom they fought over the Nkararo-Enoretet border.
He made the remarks at Moita Primary School when the clan handed over six guns and 16 bullets to area deputy county commissioner Mohammed Hassan Noor on Friday.
“I want to apologise on behalf of Siria community to all the people and government for the shame caused during the skirmishes. It is totally unacceptable what happened,” said Dikirr.
He said they decided to respect the state directives by surrendering guns in time among their people.
“We heeded the government directive to surrender illegal firearms and we will not allow a recurrence of such violence in future,” said Dikirr.
The elder said that normalcy has returned to the area and hit out unnamed politicians who are still propagating hate message through social media.
“The state should investigate these politicians who are undermining the peace process being undertaken by the government and the two communities,” said Dikirr.
Community representative Leshan Sakaja said clan members voluntarily surrendered the firearms in an effort to embrace lasting peace with their brothers from the Uasin Gishu clan.
“As Siria community, we have embraced peace and urged our brothers uasingishu to do the same so as to co-exist in harmony for the better good of us,” said Sakaja.
He appealed to the state government to lift curfew imposed on them saying they have suffered a lot during this time.
“Our people are pastoralists and it has become almost impossible to graze their livestock given the extended curfew,” he said.
Kimintet MCA Kuyo ole Kijabe condemned the incident saying that peace is paramount and spur development.
“The move to surrender guns is good and I am for this. The two groups should embrace peace because they have been living together as neighbours for a long time,” said Kijabe.
While thanking the community honouring for the directive, Noor said that only police officers and licensed firearm holders are the ones allow to be in possession of guns.
“The move is commendable and urged others who are still holding back firearms and other crude weapons to hand them to before the ultimatum period on surrendering guns to state comes to end,” said Noor.
He said if those still holding firearms will not surrender them in time, they will conduct the second phase of operation to ensure that all illegal firearms are not in the hands of civilians.
Last week, Narok county commissioner Samuel Kimiti gave two days to the two clans to surrender illegal firearms to state if they want 4pm-7am curfew imposed to them be lifted.
Over 50 houses have been set on fire in the area in the last one month, leaving hundreds of people displaced and without food.
Two people were shot dead while several others sustained gun and arrow injuries during the last week's skirmishes.
