• Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot and Baringo will team up with churches, the state, elected and opinion leaders in a series of peace meetings.
• The three counties had withdrawn most staff from the Kerio Valley region but some resumed work after Interior ministry deployed extra security personnel.
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
Three North Rift counties will resume operations and projects in the Kerio Valley region that had stalled for a month because of banditry.
Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos says they have identified common areas to work with the national government to enhance security and development programmes.
The counties of Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot and Baringo will also team up with churches, the state, elected and opinion leaders to carry out peace meetings.
The counties had pulled out most staff from the Kerio Valley region but some of them have resumed work after the Interior ministry deployed extra security teams to fight bandits.
“We will work with our people to ensure peace prevails," Tolgos told the Star, citing both short-term and long-term security measures.
Some leaders have been meeting Rift Valley regional coordinator George Natembeya to discuss the security plans.
Natembeya has indicates the government will relocate some police stations in Tiaty constituency, Baringo county, as one measure to reduce banditry.
He said Tiaty was a major hideouts for bandits in the Kerio Valley and the government will take improve security.
Natembeya said Tiaty represented 40 per cent of the county and the area is extensive and underdeveloped, making it ideal for bandit hideouts.
Baringo county is seeking support from external and local partners to develop marginalised areas where poverty and illiteracy have forced many young men to turn to banditry.
Deputy Governor Jacob Chepkwony says areas like Tiaty constituency lack schools, roads and other facilities that can uplift the lives of residents.
Residents need support to stop relying on cattle rustling to earn a living, he said.
The counties in the region also want the government to recruit, train and deploy about 3,000 National Police Reservists to help fight banditry in Kerio Valley.
The NPR programme has been suspended for four years but will be revived, new recruits will be trained, older ones vetted. They will live in police barracks and have police commanders.
Leaders from Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot and Baringo have urged Interior CS Fred Matiang'i to revive the programme.
The government had said it was unable to pay for NPRs who were also accused of teaming up with criminals and cattle rustlers.
Tolgos said the affected counties are ready to pay NPR allowances if they they are hired by the state.
“We are in discussion with my colleagues on the matter because banditry is again increasing yet our security teams seem unable to deal with the situation," Tolgos said.
He said it was pointless for the counties to invest money in development projects that cannot benefit residents who are being killed almost daily.
“We would rather secure the lives of our people first, then we can resume development programmes,” he said.
Before the NPRs programme was terminated, more than 3,000 reservists had been deployed in the area and were to be paid about Sh5,000 a month.
They were to be trained, given uniforms and report to police commanding officers in the region.
Tolgos and his counterparts John Lonyangapuo of West Pokot and Stanley Kiptis of Baringo are proposing the programme be revived.
(Edited by V. Graham)