Newly appointed Rift Valley regional commissioner George Natembeya has vowed to end cattle rustling in the region.
Speaking during the handing over ceremony from outgoing commissioner Mongo Chimwaga on Thursday in Nakuru, Natembeya said his office will ensure residents live in peace.
Chimwaga has been redeployed to the Ministry of Interior as secretary of national administration.
“We cannot sugarcoat criminals that they are cattle rustlers. These are thieves stealing animals. We will deal with you as criminals. You cannot kill innocent women and children and claim you are a hero. This is primitive and a backward trend which we will not condone,” Natembeya said.
He attributed the vice to excessive firearms in the region.
The commissioner promised to engage with local leaders and residents to restore peace.
“We want to make such areas habitable. We will involve everybody to eliminate all illegal firearms because they are to be held by the security agencies,” Natembeya said.
Chimwanga said he had discussed issues affecting the region including insecurity and contraband goods.
“He has a good background of the region, is conversant with the issues affecting the region. He has been working in Narok county serving the expansive Rift Valley,” Chimwanga said.
Over the years, Baringo, Turkana, West Pokot, Samburu and Elgeyo Marakwet counties have been experiencing insecurity.
Former Kapyego MCA Benson Kiptire was kidnapped, murdered and his body dumped in a forest in West Pokot.
The administrator said he is determined to stop further encroachment of the Mau Forest water tower and warned that government officers found engaging in unauthorised logging activities would be arrested, prosecuted and dismissed from service.
He said he will be committed to restoring the forest system and particularly the Mau Mau complex, warning any encroachers of dire consequences.
Natembeya added that he will work closely with other state agencies charged with the responsibility of forest management to ensure they achieve the national target of 10 per cent within the shortest time possible.
“I will engage communities and individuals to also participate at a personal level in tree planting and ensure forests are restored."
Tough-talking
Natembeya has been in the limelight for initiating the eviction of illegal settlers from the politically emotive Maasai Mau Forest, which spreads to Narok, Bomet, Kericho and Nakuru counties.
In 2015, Natembeya got into a crossfire with human rights bodies after ordering police to shoot and kill anyone found carrying illegal firearms in Isiolo.
This directive thrust the tough-talking administrator into the public limelight amid condemnation by the rights groups including the Independent Medico-Legal Unit, which urged the Director of Public Prosecution to probe him over the remarks.
The commissioner also hit the headlines in November last year after ordering tests to establish whether schoolgirls in Narok were pregnant or had undergone female genital mutilation.
This resulted in a furore from the public with organisations such as the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers terming the order demeaning and in violation of rights.
Natembeya, however, defended the move saying was aimed at identifying and prosecuting parents who force their daughters to undergo the cut and facilitating the punishment of the men responsible for teen pregnancies.
In 2003, while he was a district officer in Mulot, Narok, when he declared zero tolerance to FGM. Residents held strong traditional beliefs about the outlawed practice.
Natembeya has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degree in anthropology from the University of Nairobi.
The North and Central Rift regions have in recent times been flashpoints for resource-driven conflict between pastoralists and crop farmers and as Natembeya rolls in office, the expectation for better tidings in the sphere of security is high.
The outspoken administrator comes to office with a message of peace and cooperation for meaningful development.
Edited by R.Wamochie
