Reformed raiders in West Pokot express desire to be priests

Former raiders and cattle rustlers in West Pokot downs their guns and turns to preaching the Gospel. [PHOTO: PETER MAIYO/STANDARD]

KAPENGURIA: Over 25 suspected bandits in West Pokot yesterday repented their past wrongdoings and revealed their desire to become clerics.

The suspects, believed to be behind a spate of cross-border raids and cattle rustling between the Turkana and Pokot communities, were speaking during a two-day village crusade at the weekend.

The men testified and apologised during the gospel crusade held at Takaiwa village, along the border of West Pokot and Turkana counties.

For more than 50 years, Takaiwa village was a no-go-zone as it used to be a battlefield for the Turkana and Pokot residents. Here, many lives have been lost, property destroyed and livestock stolen.

A peace caravan that brought together leaders from Turkana and West Pokot counties toured the border region last year in a mission that bore fruits of peace and saw an end to insecurity in the area.

Thanks to the peace initiatives, the guns have gone silent.

Scenes of half-naked youths following a cloud of dust after bellowing bulls and clutching deadly assault rifles are no more as residents seek honest means of earning a living.

The landscape is now dotted with bare-chested men carrying Bibles and preaching peace along the Turkwel corridor as they brave the scorching sun in the region that had for long been characterised by banditry.

They have substituted their firearms with Bibles and are busy taking gospel crusades to the  villages.

The latest gospel crusade brought together more than 1,000 people, including Kacheliba MP Mark Lomunokol and his Turkana South counterpart James Lomenen.

FORGIVE ME

One of the warriors, Lominwa Losike, confessed that he had conducted raids and killed several people.

“I am pleading with the community to forgive me. I have done terrible things. I used to command my fellow raiders to attack villages and they would do so without questions,” said Mr Lominwa.

Mr Lomunokol said the two communities had accepted peace and that he hoped it would be sustained.

“When warriors decide to confess, it means they have decided to preach the gospel of peace. They have decided to silence the guns and focus on development,” he said.

Mr Lomenen asked the residents to elect their leaders wisely after the peace that was brokered by the current leadership.

“We have fought for more than 50 years. Under the past governments we have not known  peace.

“The Jubilee Government has played a key role in reducing insecurity in this region,” added the legislator.