One person was killed after clashes broke out between warring communities at the Narok and Migori counties border.
Tension is high at the Masurura–Kugitimo border where the Kuria and Maasai communities live. The clashes were reportedly sparked by claims of cattle rustling and land grabbing. Families have fled their homes following the chaos.
Robert Chacha, a resident, said security has been a major challenge in Kuria East especially at the volatile border where many have been killed. “These clashes only subside when security officers are deployed and erupt immediately they leave,” he said and demanded that the government finds a lasting solution to the perennial clashes.
The locals claimed that area leaders have failed to intervene to end the cycle of insecurity.
“Our people were made to surrender guns and now they are unarmed yet the others have guns and use them to steal our cattle and kill us,” Mr Chacha explained.
Rhoda Mwita, narrated how women spend sleepless nights worrying about their husbands and sons' safety as they stay out to protect their livestock and property.
“Our husbands and sons do not sleep in the houses. They either hide or have to fight to protect our cattle and land,” she said.
The locals said the situation was worsened after the collapse of the tobacco industry which was their main source of livelihood and they have turned to subsistence farming and rearing cattle. “We live in perpetual fear, our sons and husbands have been killed and we demand that the leaders do something to ensure peace prevails,” Ms Mwita said.
The locals at Kugitimo alleged that their crops were uprooted and they were warned against farming at the border.
Migori County Commissioner, Joshua Chepchieng, said they have deployed 200 police officers at the border to restore peace in the area.
Interestingly, despite the cycle of insecurity the area has no police post. A police division which was commissioned by Deputy President, William Ruto is currently being constructed at Kegonga.
Migori Women Representative Denitah Ghati blamed the insecurity on cattle rustling.
“The main cause of insecurity is cattle rustling which is a common phenomenon here. The Maasai and Kurian practise the same thus making the border volatile and prone to clashes,” Ms Ghati said. She promised to raise the issue in Parliament to seek long term solutions to avert loss of lives and property.
The Women Rep who was speaking in Kegonga, Kuria East where she met locals, questioned why the Government was applying double standards in mop up of illegal firearms among warring communities. “I do not propagate for violence but clearly one community has an advantage over the other. When talking about peaceful co-existence everyone should surrender their guns,” she said.
