It’s time to end the massacres in valley of death

The killing of 14 people after a peace meeting a week ago has raised the number of those slain in the region ravaged by cattle-rustling to 962 in the last four years. It has also brought to the fore the Government’s inability to broadcast power in parts of the country. The chronology of attacks from 2012 is a chilling reminder that in pockets of this country, some Kenyans have come to regard themselves as second class citizens going by the lack of commitment by the State to meaningfully address the problem of insecurity.

When the government has intervened, it has been a knee-jerk response to the horrific nature of the attacks on civilians and public pressure to bring the perpetrators to book. Investigations into the attacks, when they have been launched, have been haphazard. In some cases, security agents have been deployed to the ground, but rather than conduct a diligent inquiry, they have harassed and tortured locals to gain information about the attackers. Attempts to deploy the military to keep order have been futile and controversial, in part because the Constitution does not allow it. Moreover without any clear strategy there is little chance that the military would resolve this crisis.