Parallels with Uganda as bandits make mockery of CS Kindiki's threats

Military officers at Kapau in Tiaty,Baringo county. [Kipsang Joseph,Standard] Focus has now shifted to the ongoing security operations to combat bandits in the North Rift region with the hope that, unlike other previous moves by the government, this one will bear fruit. Before the year 2000, the most intensive and extensive cattle raids used to happen across the Kenya-Uganda border in Turkana East and Kacheliba constituencies. All that changed when the Uganda government used a three-pronged approach to deal with the problem that had also persisted since independence. First, they decided to disarm bandits in their territory, secondly, they crippled and kept away the Kenyan bandits and also engaged in widespread education and health programmes. The Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) operation that began in the year 2,000 was ruthless but effective leading to the recovery of more than 40,000 illegal arms between 2001 and 2010 among the Karamojong. More guns were mopped from the Pokot of Uganda, the Matheniko, and other communities along the Kenya-Uganda border. But the UPDF also raised an outcry on the Kenyan side of the border as they made lightning raids to disarm herdsmen from Nauyapong and Alale in the north to Kacheliba and Kanyarkwat in the south. Despite protests from local human rights activists and media reports in Kenya over harassment, arrest, and confiscation of livestock from herders, the UPDF soldiers continued with their operations. Communal kraals Pokot North District Commissioner Abdirizak Jaldesa who is now serving in Baringo, another volatile area, acknowledged that time to The Standard Eldoret Bureau that UPDF seized the animals. Back in Uganda, the UPDF gave confidence to the disarmed families by constructing large communal kraals where all cattle were sheltered at night under their protection. As the operation continued, President Yoweri Museveni appointed his wife Janet to be the Minister for Karamoja Affairs, a move that would also drastically change the area. "It proved to be a master stroke because that appointment changed the mindset of many people after schools were opened, roads developed and health centres spread across the region," says Musamali. First, the First Lady of Uganda approached the Irish government through the embassy in Kampala to develop three new big schools in each of the seven districts in Karamoja. Infrastructure at the newly constructed schools included houses for teachers, well-equipped classrooms, instruction materials, furnished dormitories, dining rooms, and kitchens. They were all equipped with solar panels and sanitation facilities, plus rain-harvesting tanks and funding for tree-planting programmes. They also rehabilitated many schools across Karamoja as part of that programme to bring the community on board as children found themselves in a friendly learning environment. Although banditry is slowly creeping back, the UPDF Third Infantry Division based in Karamoja, has increased its numbers to 18000 men and women who are dealing with the menace. "The banditry problem in Uganda crept back after Janet Museveni left to become Minister for Education and so local politicians began fueling the problem again," says Musamali. Two weeks ago, Interior CS Kithure Kindiki created a special land and air team with a control room at Harambee House to deal with the problem before President William Ruto brought in the military. "We will use community-based intelligence, drone surveillance, personal protection equipment, and kitting for our security personnel and application of land and air assets to neuter bandits and rustlers," said Kindiki. Military operations to mop up arms were conducted since 1984 by former President Daniel Moi, which apart from eliminating hundreds of bandits, also led to the arrest of politicians, some of them later prosecuted and charged with promoting warlike activities. Former President, Mwai Kibaki also mounted more operations in the region but then used the carrot-and-stick approach by engaging local leaders to deal with the heavily armed criminals. Security analysts had raised doubts about Kindiki's approach, arguing that he was doing nothing different from what his predecessors had done with little success. George Musamali who has discussed the insecurity problems in Kenyan media for almost two decades argued that the CS was trying to navigate the problem with a broken compass. The former General Service Unit policeman was involved in many operations when the government tried to deal with the heavily armed cattle raiding bandits in the 1990s said bigger land operations had failed. "Yes, land operations are more affected because you have boots on the ground to track and combat the bandits but you also need to engage the people instead of threatening them otherwise you will not get very far," said Musamali He pointed out that the Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) of police which has thousands of well-trained officers was purposely established to deal with cattle banditry. Subsequent governments then came up with Kenya Police Reservists (KPR) and more forces like the Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU) which like ASTU is domiciled in the administration police wing of the Kenya Police Service. Change of guard The Jubilee government went further to provide those officers with armoured vehicles and combat gear to help them in their operations against the daring bandits. Several ministers and CSs who came before Kindiki also mobilised massive disarmament operations to mop up illegal firearms over the years. It was a very expensive exercise done after every change of guard or cabinet reshuffle paid for by taxpayers but whose results have never been known. Now like in Uganda where several barracks are now established in affected areas, among them Moroto and Soroti, President William Ruto has announced that the government is planning to station military barracks in the affected areas. But government presence in those remote areas is minimal apart from a few chief's offices and administration police camps that are sparsely located. Professor Amukoa Anangwe who has written extensively on law and order in Kenya and also served in the provincial administration argues that leaders have a very superficial understanding of the problem. He argues that for many years people in those have lived with little presence of government and they therefore literally operate with their own system of governance. He notes that the government has never asserted its authority fully in those areas that cover 80 per cent of Kenya's land mass, largely because it concentrates on the 20 per cent where the population and economic activity are concentrated. Asked why the government has never mounted cross-cutting operations applying carrot and stick to create normalcy in those areas, Musamali opines that it could be because of what he describes as military economics. "Without donor support, these operations are expensive and it could explain why successive governments have not been so committed to finding a lasting solution. In Uganda, the government moved and stationed two full army divisions in that region, with all machinery including helicopters to deal with the bandits. Here, the lack of government intervention to improve livelihoods has created fertile ground for bandits who arm themselves to fend for and defend themselves. That could explain why some religious leaders for example operate freely without government protection in those areas and are more appreciated than security officers. It is true military operations like the infamous Operation Nyundo that was led by General Joseph Nkaissery in the 1980s yielded results and are today remembered by many residents. That is perhaps the only time when bandits were neutered and made to surrender arms leading to some peaceful coexistence for a few years. So unless the government invests heavily in opening up roads, building schools, developing Kamworor dam and others for irrigation, and ensuring that people have money in their pockets nothing will change.

Parallels with Uganda as bandits make mockery of CS Kindiki's threats

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