Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Mohammed Maalim has said the National Police Reservist will be deployed in Turkana and Samburu.
According to Maalim, the concerted efforts put in place including the deployment of police reservists in the troubled Kerio Valley has borne fruits as no incidences have been recorded in the last three months.
However, the criminals have relocated to parts of Turkana and Samburu necessitating the recruiting, kitting and arming of NPRs to those areas.
“This is work in progress and it is a matter of me getting the recommendation of our subcounty and county security teams and then I will push it to the Inspector General of Police. Those are directives and it must be done in the shortest time possible,” Maalim said.
The commissioner also lauded the security agencies for countering 150 armed bandits in an incident that happened on Monday in Turkana East and parts of Tiaty.
He added that the response by the security agencies is timely and it is a matter of time before they get to the criminals.
“We are telling these criminals as it has been committed by the leadership of this country, it is a matter of time before we catch up with them. They better look for other livelihood and surrender these vice of cattle rustling and banditry,” he said.
“We cannot also allow other agendas such as expansionist tendencies in some areas and we are going to deal with these things extensively.”
He assured the country that discussion are ongoing and that the Interior Cabinet secretary will issue a statement soon on the way forward in terms of combating banditry in those areas.
Maalim was speaking on the sidelines of a four-day retreat where security players are meeting in Nakuru to embark on developing a framework that will see county and national government work together to fight terrorism.
This is geared towards combating terrorism in Kenya where county governments have been roped in with a framework being developed for the two levels of government to collaborate.
The retreat has brought together the Ministry of Interior, Council of Governors, civil societies and the national counter terrorism centre to deliberate over the matter.
According to Rift Valley Regional Commissioner, the efforts are in the right direction towards the fight against radicalisation and violent extremism.
The retreat will culminate in a memorandum of understanding for developing legislation aimed at stopping terrorism and related activities in Kenya.
The memorandum will thereafter be discussed in all the 47 counties for further adoption and amendments.
“The risks and fight against terrorism are unique to each county. We need a legal framework so that the county government can actively play their role on security concerns,” Maalim said.
“At the end of this exercise we shall come up with a tripartite memorandum of understanding for developing legislation to stop terrorism and related activities in Kenya.”
