- Says disarmament will be decisive and swift to stem further killings by bandits
- Anyone with an illegal gun urged to surrendering it before start of crackdown
Image: FILE
The government plans to carry out forceful disarmament in Marsabit following the Tuesday night slaughter of 13 people, among them three policemen.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i accused a section of the area political leaders of fanning the violence.
Speaking in Borabu in Nyamira , Matiang'i said the disarmament will be surgical, decisive and swift to stem further killings by bandits.
The CS asked the residents to cooperate by surrendering illegal guns to avoid a brutal crackdown.
"If anybody has an illegal gun in his possession let him begin surrendering it before we get to what we are about to do. As the government, we are there to ensure every Kenyan sleeps inpeace," said Matiangi. He expressed disappointment over the turn of events in the region.
Matiangi said the government will not want to see anarchy in any part of the country even as he promised massive deployment of specialized police units to hunt the killers.
" Everything is being done to tackle the situation and, trust me, it will not take long," Matiang'i said. The CS said already advance security detachments had been sent to track down thugs involved in the Tuesday attacks.
He said a new border patrol unit will be established in the area as part of broad efforts to maintain law and order in the region.
Matiangi said he had already met leaders from the region to discuss conflicts in the larger northern region.
"We have already met and mapped out modalities to deal with this issue once and for all," he said.
At least 13 people were killed in two separate attacks in Kukuta and Chalbi desert during the Tuesday night raids.
Three policemen responding to the attacks were among those gunned down. The incident has since been condemned by Marsabit Governor Mohammed Mohamud who raised the alarm over the growing spare of attacks on the residents by the bandits.