Insecurity in Kerio valley hurting development

Insecurity in most parts of the country remains Jubilees Achilles Heel and an indictment on an indifferent leadership. A lot of resources have been pumped into the security sector to improve service delivery. The police received an additional 525 vehicles, including armoured personnel carriers that were launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta in January 2017, and a forensic lab.

A government partnership with telecom provider Safaricom led to the establishment of a police forensic laboratory at the cost of Sh15 billion. The number of police officers has grown exponentially, but all these efforts are yet to bear fruit.

Crime in the city of Nairobi is on the increase despite the closed circuit television cameras touted to have the ability to enhance surveillance and aid the police in nabbing common criminals. The Northern part of the country, more than 50 years into independence, lags behind in terms of development because of the menace of banditry that appears to be beyond the scope of our security services to deal with.

That leaders from these areas keep on signing peace agreements after calling reconciliatory meetings for waring communities but have nothing to show for their efforts is telling enough.

It beats imagination that more than 50 schools along the Kerio valley have been closed due to insecurity. The only hope these areas have of ending the cycle of violence is through an educated populace.

How then do we achieve this when schools are always closed? Government needs to do more to restore peace and tranquillity.