Banditry to be classified as terrorism – MPs

Lawmakers have acceded to calls by the national and key county governments to classify banditry as an act of terrorism.

The National Assembly Security Committee has announced it would recommend changes to the anti-terrorism law to include banditry.

Security committee chairman MP Gabriel Tongoyo (Narok West) said this in a brief of a tour of the banditry-prone counties in the North Rift.

“We are in the process of compiling our report after today’s visit. We have so far visited the six counties prone to banditry and witnessed first-hand the effects of the decades-long menace.”

“We shall be making a recommendation that banditry be treated as an act of terror to curb impunity,” Tongoyo said.

The declaration could give a shot in the arm to calls by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki that bandits should be treated no different from al Shabaab and ISIS terror groups.

“What we are seeing in those areas is not banditry, but terrorism. The government will treat them as terrorist groups such as Al Shabaab and ISIS,” the CS once told a committee of Parliament.

Anti-terror laws spell out tough measures, including 30 years in jail for a person who carries out a terrorist act, and life terms when such acts result in death. In the terror-prone regions, bandits have left scores dead through gun attacks and billions of property has been lost in arson and theft of cattle.

The House team said the classification would go a long way to finding a lasting solution to the perennial cattle theft that has left hundreds dead and property worth billions destroyed.

“We cannot continue to talk about the impact of banditry and cattle rustling in the 21st Century. This has to stop if this region is to experience economic transformation,” the MP said.

A bill currently before the Senate by Nandi Senator Samson Cherarkey has proposed that theft of livestock and farm produce be classified as acts of terror. 

The committee raised concerns that there were political leaders from the region who were perpetuating banditry and other forms of insecurity for political expediency.

“This committee will not hesitate to name any such leaders and to recommend serious action, including prosecution be instituted against them,” MP Gabriel Tongoyo of Narok West said.

The committee travelled through Samburu, Turkana, Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, and Laikipia counties to assess the security situation.

West Pokot Governor Wisley Rotich said banditry, which was initially regarded as a cultural sport, has degenerated into a full-blown criminal activity with many casualties.

He told MPs that while many security operations had been carried out in the area for years, they had not yielded much.

The governor lamented that the cattle rustling vice had only escalated leaving many dead and impoverishing residents.

“Why would Parliament not classify it as an act of terrorism yet it has the same impact?” the governor asked.

Some members of the committee said there was a need for serious strategies to tackle the menace.

It was the feeling of many MPs that the terrain and other challenges require special units and sealing of Kenya’s borders with Uganda and South Sudan.

For areas that currently don’t have Kenya Defence Forces personnel, MPs called for effective deployment of police reservists.

The committee restated the need for the NPRs to be properly vetted, and remunerated, lest they turn into bandits themselves.

The committee was also briefed on reports that show that state-issued bullets have been used on banditry victims.

It also emerged during the deliberations that the NPS take a long time to be paid, and that they lack vehicles and armoured personnel carriers.

It also emerged that each police station is provided 450 litres of fuel per month, quantities they call insufficient.

“Some of the insecurity hotspots are way too far. Such fuel can only serve for a week,” a member of the security apparatus told the committee.

Local leaders want affirmative action to enhance literacy levels within the areas prone to cattle rustling.

Governor Rotich said this would systematically eliminate the practice from the region.

“Efforts to support education initiatives in West Pokot and Elgeyo Marakwet have led to a significant decrease in the number of young people who want to join the banditry trade,” the governor said.

Area deputy county commissioner John Chirchir told the committee the security situation had improved.

He cited the flourishing of economic activities along the Kerio Valley and Kolowa markets as signs of an improved security situation.

The administrator, however, warned the current situation could be short-lived.

MPs Dido Rasso, Caroline Ng'elechei, Mburu Kahangara and Fred Kapondi called on the government to change tactics and deploy new strategies to fight crime in the area.