By Isaiah Lucheli

Torn uniforms, worn out boots and thatch-roofed huts begging for repair is the welcoming sight at police posts and Administration Police camps in Northern Kenya.

Police officers in the region continue to draw a salary but do not discharge their duties as prescribed. But there is no mutiny or insubordination. They are virtually a forgotten lot in a strange land.

Their employer has over the years failed to provide vital facilities and equipment needed to police the vast areas.

The officers have resigned to fate and for them, each dawn ushers another day of agony and uncertainty as marauding bandits in their hundreds continue to wreak havoc and terrorise hapless villagers. Police just watch helplessly.

Working in Arid and Semi Arid Lands (ASAL) of Turkana, Pokot, Samburu and Isiolo is not a favourite place even for the most dedicated officer. It is more of a punishment than work.

Whenever there is a bandit attack, politicians complain that the police have failed to stop the raiders or recover stolen livestock.

Cattle rustling is on the rise but the raging tribal and clan wars have complicated the situation. Sadly, police are unable to respond and stick in their camps helpless and sometimes defenceless.

"Police officers deployed in these areas are a big let down. Recently, suspected Pokot bandits raided Kainuk where they killed one person and stole over 2,000 goats whereas we have a GSU, police and AP camps nearby," said John Ekwam a resident.

The complaints are the same in Turkana North where over 400 people have been killed and 4,000 livestock stolen in the recent past by suspected Toposa raiders from Sudan. There is a police and AP camps in Lokichogio.

That is the tainted image of the force in the affected areas.

Last week 11 people were killed in Samburu and Isiolo and livestock stolen despite claims that the police and provincial administrators had intelligence information of an impending attack.

CCI ventured in the vast Northern frontier and witnessed officers working in deplorable conditions.

In the vast Pokot and Turkana districts police are demoralised, seriously understaffed and are easily outnumbered by bandits during attacks and in most cases chicken out.

With minimal policing in the interior, raiders have a field day trading arms, recruiting and training young boys on how to use rifles. War lessons are a way of life for the pastoralists.

CCI established that police and AP camps in the Asal areas have between three and seven officers manning a vast area without a vehicle or communication equipment.

Heavily armed raiders move in groups of at least 50 people and at times the number is higher depending on the nature and magnitude of the intended attack.

"Officers deployed in the area cannot counter such a group. You would need 100 police officers to effectively counter such number of criminals. The few officers at the camp are unable to respond," said a senior police officer.

The officer told CCI that they are deployed to maintain law and order and not to fight. "That role has changed and we are always at war in these areas," he says.

"In the 1960s police used to have an air wing that used to pursue cattle rustlers who were then armed with bows and arrows but ironically bandits nowadays are armed with guns and other sophisticated weapons. But police now pursue them on foot. How do you expect them to contain banditry?" the senior officer posed.

He explained that when the military is deployed near the borders or for other operations they are given vehicles, communication equipment and supplies such as fuel and food. But police operations are starved of such facilities forcing them to trek in pursuit of criminals.

Turkana Central District Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri confirmed that lack of mobile telephone communication network was another major setback in the fight against banditry.

"Poor state of roads has hampered efforts to combat banditry in the district. When pursuing bandits and there is no communication among the police officers and no vehicles, the efforts are always futile," said Kanyiri.

Kanyiri explained that the Asal areas are vast and added that his office had made a requisition for more vehicles and also have approached mobile phone providers to establish services in the area.

"It is true that the officers are working under very harsh conditions but we are in the process of opening up roads and deploying more officers to combat crime," he said.

CCI learnt that some politicians assist their supporters and other voters to buy arms to counter attacks and at the same time threatening the police and government officials working in the areas.

"We have cases of civil servants and even police being killed or wounded by bandits under instructions from politicians. People work in fear. This has made it impossible to stamp out banditry in the region," said a civil servant in Pokot.

Police also grope in the vast region without updated maps to guide them. This has been cited as a major hitch in fighting bandits. The officers depend on old maps, which has led to majority of them getting lost in the bushes for days putting them in additional danger.

When asked about the welfare of police officers in Asal areas, Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe quoted Bertrand Rusell’s Road to Freedom, 1918: "I think it must be conceded that much necessary work must always remain disagreeable or at least painfully monotonous, and that special privileges will have to be accorded to those who undertake it."

Kiraithe termed the working conditions of police officers in the bandit prone areas as a case of ‘historical injustices’ but expressed optimism that the proposed police reforms would go a long way in correcting the injustices.

"The police carry out their duties diligently and the workload and risks involved are many. The Government has not been able to pay them accordingly. But it is time for the pay and working conditions to be addressed," said Kiraithe.

He conceded that there were many challenges facing the officers working in Northern Kenya ranging from lack of vehicles, communication equipment and even motivation but added that the issues would be addressed.

"The aspect of staffing has been raised. All these challenges will be a thing of the past if proper reforms are carried out, which would ensure that people are adequately protected together with their property," he said. He noted that only a joint disarmament exercise involving Kenya and neighbouring countries would curb the proliferation of illegal arms and stop cattle rustling.

"We are concerned about the ownership of illegal arms and we have had meetings with the neighbouring countries in preparation for a joint mop up exercise," he said.

"Cattle rustling among the pastoralists communities is now heavily militarised. Initially bows and arrows were used but the proliferation of illegal arms and ammunition has changed the trend," said Peter Moru of the Catholic Justice and Peace in Lokichogio.

"Failure by the police to protect the people has driven pastoralists to take up arms to protect their property. The gun is seen as the only way to protect one’s family and have a livelihood," said Moru.

The Pokot Central AP Commandant Patrick Mwaniki has opted to involve elders to prevail upon the youth to disarm and surrender stolen livestock.

"The use of force has led to the death of both the warriors and even police officers, that is why I resorted to dialogue. Through this initiative we have been able to re