RESTORATION OF CALMNESS

Rebuilding of razed homes in Laikipia begins

CS Matiang’i supervised the distribution of more foodstuffs and building materials to displaced families.

In Summary

•Matiang’i kick-started the construction of the base for the newly-formed police division commander.

•CS Matiang’i supervised the distribution of more foodstuffs and building materials to displaced families.

Residents of Kisii Ndogo village in Ol Moran, Laikipia West, look at what's left after 50 houses were set ablaze on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
DESTRUCTION: Residents of Kisii Ndogo village in Ol Moran, Laikipia West, look at what's left after 50 houses were set ablaze on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Image: ELIUD WWAITHAKA

The rebuilding of homes razed down by bandits in Laikipia has begun.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i who spent a second consecutive day at OlMoran supervised the distribution of more foodstuffs and building materials to displaced families.

The CS expressed confidence with measures undertaken so far to restore calm.

Matiang’i kick-started the construction of the base for the newly-formed police division commander.

“I'm glad that there was no single incident was reported last night, and that is what we envision for our people. We have stepped up our presence here, and we have begun constructing the Ol-Moran Police Divisional Headquarters, and the basic feature of such a station is that it will have more than 100 police officers,” he said.

He said the Kenya Police Reservists will be deployed to escort teachers and learners in OlMoran beginning Monday when schools that had closed due to insecurity reopen.

On Friday, education and security officials in the area were holed up in planning meetings for the resumption of normal schooling.

It was a beehive of activities in some parts of the county worst hit by the violence as families returned to their farms to reconstruct their homes.

The CS who was accompanied by Deputy Inspector of Police (APS) Noor Gabow, Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya and Laikipia Governor Nderitu Murithi said more officers and the two additional police stations will secure residents from incursions by bandits.

"This part of Laikipia needs a much more sustainable policing than we have done before. This is not one of those places we come in to stabilize and leave. We are going to be here for a long while. The issues surrounding the Laikipia Nature Conservancy and the border with Baringo will be solved. We are going to come up with a more comprehensive framework of addressing the challenges," he said.

The new police structures will be a joint project between the National government and that ofLaikipia county that has committed Ksh20 million.

At the Sipili trading center, the CS warned residents flouting the dawn to dusk imposed in the area that they risked being caught up in the ongoing crackdown

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