Treat cattle theft upcountry, urban thuggery as criminal acts

When it turned out that world powers China and United States of America were not at war and neither had they funded a proxy battle in Kisumu, but a vicious turf battle by well-known bands of extortionists called China and America, respectively, there was a collective sigh of relief.

Then last week, it also turned out that the vicious bloodletting in Kisauni, Mombasa, had nothing to do with an emboldened Mombasa Republican Council or a resurrected Al Shabaab, but a Kisumu-style gang terror.

Back in Nairobi, Mathare is reeling for a second week of killings and torching of houses as organised youths engage in tit-for-tat trench warfare. And now, the names Baragoi, Turkana, Lomelo, Kapedo, Arabal, Marigat, Baringo, Pokot, Tugen are rolling easily from the tongue as they are frequently interspersed with “cattle rustling”.

The region is in the news for all the wrong reasons, even as an ongoing probe tries to make sense of a massacre of scores of police officers on official duty. Yet, this week again, a fierce confrontation between Pokot and Tugen warriors saw more than 3,000 livestock stolen.Retaliatory attacks left several suspected raiders lynched, and ghost villages created instantly as fearful families fled.

Meanwhile, peace continues to elude Tana Delta much like the shifting river course as it empties its upcountry load into an unquenchable Indian Ocean. Yes, eight people reportedly died and scores injured in the latest outbreak of violence in the troubled region.

And no, this has little to do with Inspector of General of Police David Kimaiyo whose first order of business was to tour the restive Tana to demand that all guns in civilian hands be surrendered. It is about deep-seated communal rivalries and historical tussles for pasture, fresh water and arable land involving the Orma and the Pokomo.

It is tempting to let the adults keep harbouring so much generational hate to continue slaying one another, but that would reduce government and right-thinking citizens into zombies, best-suited for the Dark Ages.

These areas are screaming for attention as schools in Arabal, Kapindasum, Kasiela, Chemorong’ion and Laromoru in Baringo and Turkana East and Tana River Delta’s now infamous Kipao village are deserted even as the rest of the country starts learning in this very short school term.

It is scary that life must freeze early, shopkeepers raise shutters by dusk for fear of falling victim to marauding bandits, roaming thugs, and cattle raiders. It is heartless and unacceptable to see families picking through embers to salvage any memories that may have survived the wrath of vengeful arsonists.

Let all self-respecting citizens demand their right to life, liberty and security. Let voices be raised against cattle rustlers that live in a time warp so that a new generation can acquire formal education and take part in determining the destiny of Kenya as she dives headlong into the devolved governance.