Efforts by the government to end the bandit menace is a step in the right direction.
Dealing with bandits isn’t easy and it’s not something that can be done in a day. Worse still, if bandits have the local community support, it is not a walk in the park.
The strategy employed must flush out the bandits without violation of human rights of the communities living in the areas affected. If the society feels tortured and violated, that works against the ability to gather intelligence from those who are willing. It breeds bad blood.
It is good that the state gave communities in the North Rift amnesty to surrender illegal firearms. What the government needs to do is give incentives by buying the illegal guns back.
Second, it needs to rethink the directive to local communities to vacate certain areas in the next 24 hours failure which they will be considered bandits and dealt with.
Dislodging people from their homes puts a responsibility on the state to find them an alternative place and put up temporary structures since times are hard and most families are not able to build new homes.
It is important that the government also ensures these families are moved to a place with basic amenities such as schools, hospitals and markets.
It is for this reason that the state needs to rethink and develop a strategy that does not undo its gains in the fight against the bandits and one that doesn’t violate human rights.
