Fire Murkomen: 5,000 security personnel yet North Rift remains a criminal playground

Senior police officers deployed in Angata Barrakoi over the recent killings of five people as they protest over land . Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, and Director of Criminal Investigation Mohamed Ibrahim Amin led the team. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Bandits have mercilessly turned the ongoing operation Maliza Uhalifu into a laughing stock, staging daring attacks in the North Rift region.

The majority of the attacks happen during the day, and are now evolving to armed robberies along the major highways. Some happen even in the presence of high-level security personnel.

On Friday, Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen held a meeting with top security personnel at Kampi Samaki in Baringo County.

During the meeting, bandits in what appeared to be a mockery of the CSs' tour, attacked police reservists in the Chemoe area, killing one and injuring seven.

In March, Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, who was on a development tour of Tiaty constituency, came face to face with the danger posed by marauding bandits when a chief was killed in Loruk, a few kilometers from where Kosgei was holding his meeting.

Murkomen, during his tour, said that politicians are funding banditry in the area. Murkomen, in his admission, noted that the government had failed in curbing the vice, having failed to carry due diligence while hiring police reservists.

He said that 25 National Police Reservists (NPRs) from Kerio Valley have been arrested and fired in connection with banditry and other crimes.

Vetting

Learning from that mistake, the CS said that vetting of NPRs was ongoing, and they will be getting names from the locals.

"We brought NPR to help in ending insecurity in Kerio Valley from Samburu, Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, Turkana, but there is no county that celebrates, they have not changed, instead they are involved in criminal activities," Murkomen said.

Richard Chepchomei, an elder from the area, regretted that the bandits have shown their supremacy in the region in the presence of the Interior CS.
"This operation has failed, our people are slaughtered like chicken, are we children of lesser God? What is the essence of the operation, if we are still killed left, right and centre?" he posed.

Chepchomei is aggrieved with the operation, claiming parts of Baringo North have been deserted following sporadic attacks. He blamed the tactic the CS uses, stating that his predecessor, the Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, had managed to handle the insecurity without discriminating quarters.

The operation dubbed 'Maliza Uhalifu Operation' comprises the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and a contingent of police officers.

Joel Kimosop claimed that frequent attacks in the area have tainted the operation and humiliated the efforts the government put in place to curb insecurity. "Some of us cannot feel the said operation, which operation? When the bandits still stage attacks freely without fear, even in the presence of the CS, we need something serious that involves development and force," he added.

Some roads, such as Lemuyek to Yatya, are inaccessible, he says, and have become a death trap for the locals despite the ongoing alleged operation.
Unfortunately, he said, displaced people have yet to return to their homes, which was a risky affair.

In a week, suspected bandits from Baringo North are said to have evolved into highway robbers staging attacks on traders going to market.

A local who chose to remain anonymous said they were being asked to arm themselves. "Have you heard the Baringo North legislator, Joseph Makilap, sentiments? It shows that they are ready for war and can do anything to win, which is a bad move. This is a man aggrieved, but again, politicians can say anything to appease their people," he added.

Illegal firearms

He claimed that the CS should take notes from Kindiki and stop politics and instead focus on what has been happening.

Margaret Arot from Turkana noted that the operation will not be successful until all the illegal firearms in the hands of civilians are mopped out.

"An indicator that this operation has failed is the ongoing attacks across the North Rift; they need to silence the guns, and that is by making sure that civilians are disarmed," she adds.

On Thursday, following frequent attacks along Marigat-Loruk, Makilap (MP) in a viral video emerged angrily addressing a crowd, saying that it is important to plan for themselves and stop a lot of stories regretting that motions will be talked about, but enough is enough.

"I'm home, I was in Saimo Soi yesterday, you didn't see me, I should also operate within the security systems, I'm a target number one, I slept there, I have decided by God's plan to plan my people, and for you, when I plan stop being betrayers and double dealing both sides," he said.

He went on to claim the people who double-deal when attacked are the ones who cry most, warning them to take sides.

And for those who have decided to double-deal, they will be dealt with as the enemy.

Murkomen criticized the MP, saying he should be planning development rather than bragging about owning illegal guns.

The MP, in retaliation, called the CS incompetent for holding a meeting with security chiefs and NPRs on vetting, exposing the area to attack. "We have been the victims here for a long time, you have despised us as Baringo North residents, we have never avenged any attacks until recently," he said adding; "And you, CS, you are provoking us, tell us if we taught ourselves banditry, 6pm, tell us what you and others started from 7 till what time, Baringo North residents have never been bandits and raiders," he said.

Tirioko Ward Representative Sam Lokales, in a post on social media, said Tiaty is still home to bandits. "Tiaty has been marginalised for many years, and the continued marginalisation has become the biggest setback for development and peace in the North Rift region," he stated.

Lokales noted that a recent survey by a Non-Governmental Organization based in Silale and Tirioko revealed that the two Wards were leading with illiteracy level. "Silale stands at 97 per cent and Tirioko 94 per cent. Therefore, I want to agree with the CS Interior that until we disarm the brain, we shall continue to look for ways to end banditry," he stated.

More funding

Lokales said ending banditry doesn't require civilians to have illicit guns or more NPR guns, but more funding towards building more schools and doing forceful enrolment of children in schools, eradicating the bad culture that encourages banditry.

History of failed attempts to tackle insecurity in the region

Over the years, efforts to combat insecurity in the North Rift have failed.

In 2023, following a spike in the violent activities of bandits, the government launched a security operation dubbed Operation Maliza Uhalifu in the region.

Heightened security operations have been witnessed in the area, but bandits continue to strike, killing and stealing livestock, and destroying property. At least 5,000 security personnel have been deployed to the area.

In May 2024, President William Ruto said the government has deployed 3,000 military personnel and 2,000 police officers to the North Rift to combat and eliminate the banditry menace.

In 2022, the government reinstated the NPR in areas prone to attacks by bandits after disarming them in May 2019 on suspicion that they were using their weapons to commit crimes.

To find a lasting solution to banditry, the operation adopted off-battlefield tactics to tackle the structural and systematic issues that provided ground for locals to join banditry.

The military offered free medical camps, providing medical care to residents, and helped with rebuilding more than 20 schools destroyed by the bandits.

The multi-agency security team also supported development projects in a bid to enhance economic growth, collaborating with churches and local leaders.

The team has been applying traditional conflict resolution approaches by leveraging the support of community elders as peace ambassadors to mediate between warring communities and facilitate the surrender of illegal weapons to security agencies.

Locals are now questioning whether the Kenya Kwanza government will succeed in areas others have failed.

In November 2014, 21 police officers were killed in Kapedo. Then President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the area and ordered the return of the rifles stolen from the slain officers within 24 hours. He also ordered operations conducted in the area.

In June 2015, then Baringo County Commissioner Peter Okwanyo issued a shoot-to-kill order against bandits, arsonists, cattle rustlers and those in possession of illegal firearms after retired Loruk chief Wilson Chebungei was shot by bandits and businesses razed.

In March 2017, 11 people were killed in Mukutani.

In January 2021, the government began a disarmament operation in Tiaty after the killing of at least 10 people around Kapedo. Among those killed were General Service Unit operations commissioner Emadau Tebakol, Chief Inspector Moses Lekariab, and a driver, Constable Benson Kaburu.

Following the killings, an operation that lasted for eight weeks started on January 18. On March 23, it was halted as local leaders pleaded with the government to allow them to conduct a peace campaign.

The government has always said it has the names of the criminals, raising questions on why they are yet to be brought to book.

In early February 2022, then Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i ordered an immediate operation to flush out criminals in the North Rift. Dr Matiang'i said aerial surveillance was to be applied in the area. He ordered for immediate recruitment of National Police Reservists.

The government, in June 2022, said it had identified some 350 holders of illegal firearms in the insecurity-prone Kerio Valley belt and called on them to surrender or else face the full force of the law.

In September 2022, bandits killed 11 people, including eight police officers and a chief, in Namariat village, Turkana County. The National Police Service started a multi-agency operation to arrest the perpetrators, recover stolen animals and firearms, and restore normalcy in the area.