Act decisively to avert security crisis and restore calm in Baringo

The spectacle that greets someone visiting Baringo County is that of fresh graves, closed schools and shops, destruction to property and deserted villages. This is occasioned by simmering animosity between the Pokot on one hand and the Samburu and Turkana on the other. It is a problem that has persisted for decades. Kenya faces serious security challenges, not only from the threat of terrorists, but from banditry and warring communities. Cattle rustling has become synonymous with the Pokots in Baringo County. During this year’s Labour Day celebrations, the President admitted the country was still a long way from being secure.

From December 2014 when the Kainuk Bridge between Lodwar and Kitale was blocked by angry residents seeking to draw the Government’s attention to rampant insecurity in the area, the inability by security forces to take charge has emboldened the Pokots to intensify attacks on other communities. It is instructive that, while speaking to journalists last week, Internal Security Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery denied any knowledge of attacks by the Pokot and asked anybody with information to volunteer it to the police.

Such a cavalier attitude to security issues cannot be excused because it goes counter to the Government’s pledge to its citizens on security.

In the sporadic attacks in Baringo, property worth of millions has been destroyed; at least 27 primary schools have been permanently closed, locking out more than 38,000 children, yet the Government promises to eradicate illiteracy.

More than 20,000 residents have been forced to flee the area, resulting in the disruption of social activities. So far, 30 civilians and 21 police officers have been killed in the area.

In 2005, the same Pokot raiders torched houses, vandalised boreholes, shops and homes and displaced 8,000 people after killing many others and made away with thousands of livestock.

The visit by President Uhuru Kenyatta to Kapedo in November last year to witness the atrocities committed by raiders who killed civilians and security personnel on patrol in the cattle rustling-prone area should, other than showing empathy, have heralded the Government’s seriousness in tackling a situation that has assailed the residents of Turkana and Pokot for decades.

While elected leaders in the area have a responsibility to reconcile the communities, some make inflammatory public statements that only compound a dire situation. The Turkanas, convinced the Government is insensitive to their plight, are said to be arming themselves to repulse future attacks from the Pokots, who are increasingly becoming expansionist while claiming the Turkana are living on their ancestral land. The possible descent into anarchy must be arrested now if the Government wishes to avoid a stretched-out war between the neighbouring communities.

The Government must act decisively. After the President’s visit last year, some local leaders requested that KDF be deployed. While this might cool down tempers, the Government should not relent in its efforts to disarm the communities hoarding weapons. The National Intelligence Service must act with speed to establish who the agitators are and their motive. It is the expectation of every citizen to be accorded adequate security by the State.