Police left at the mercy of bandits

They are considered among the major hardship areas in Kenya by civil servants posted to work there.

And most Government officers perceive postings to stations in these regions as a punishment. Indeed, some government officials punish indisciplined officers by transferring them to these hardship areas.

But the hardship due to the climatic conditions is not what scares most people from Turkana and Pokot counties.

The legendary insecurity in these vast counties is what scares even the most hardened police officers. Not even the security agents sent there to keep peace and order are spared. Like the people they are sent to shield from insecurity, the security officers live in permanent fear of attack.

“Bandits stage raids whenever they are unhappy with the posting of security officers in a particular area,” Turkana South District Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri notes.

The recent incident where two officers were killed by armed bandits is only a tip of the iceberg.

Many more law enforcement officers have fallen victim to the outlaws’ guns who ambush them in their camps at night.

Cattle rustling has been identified as the major cause of these killings as communities compete to stock up on livestock by stealing from each other.

Hunting the hunter

The communities involved are the Pokot and the Turkana as well as pastoralists neighbouring the country on the North including the Karamoja from Uganda, Toposa from Southern Sudan and Merille from Ethiopia.

The presence of heavily armed security personnel along the conflict zones has not gone down well with some members of these communities who thrive on cattle rustling for livelihood.

It has now turned to be a case of the hunter turning to be the hunted as security officers are attacked by raiders from the communities they are supposed to protect.

These raiders view security personnel as barriers to their sole economic activity — cattle rustling — and hence target them.

A fortnight ago, over 500 heavily armed cattle rustlers from the neighbouring Pokot North District attacked Anti Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) security camp at Lochakula in Turkana East District.

The raiders engaged security personnel in a fierce fire exchange in attempt to take over the police camp. They shot dead two armed officers and injured three others.

Among the dead included a senior GSU Inspector and a Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) corporal.

The attack was not the first one in the region targeting security officers.

Three years ago, cattle rustlers from the neighbouring Pokot East District shot dead three police officers including the Officer Commanding Police Station (OCS) in Lokori area.

Another incident involved the killing of a senior GSU officer at Turkwel Gorge Road. Two other administration police officers were killed at Kainuk after they answered a distress call from a teacher who was attacked along Kainuk-Kapelibok road by raiders.

In Turkana East District, rustlers last year shot dead two administration police officers at Lomelo-Lokori Road after they waylaid a District Commissioner’s Land rover and sprayed it with bullets.

Area OCPD Onyango Magira said bandits returned recently and shot at a police officer at Lochakula area injuring him on the hand.

“We have taken the officer for specialised treatment after he was shot on the hand by a raider when he was on patrol,” Magira told CCI.

Shocking statistics

Kanyiri says since 2009 eight police officers including three AP’s and five Kenya Police Reservist (KPRs) have been killed by raiders.

He describes the attacks as well organised with armed members of these communities specifically targeting government security forces.

The DC cites the recent attacks on security officers by Pokot raiders saying it was prompted by a move by security personnel to seal off cattle rustling escape routes.

A police post had been established at a crucial point where the bandits used during their raids thus complicating their illegal activities. The heavily armed bandits, who move in large numbers, carry out daring raids and steal rifles belonging to the security agents.

 “We have spoilt the party for them and that is why they attack our officers to send out a message to us. But they have taken a very wrong approach,” Kanyiri notes.

The DC says they have embarked on massive security operation to flush out cattle rustlers who recently attacked and killed the security personnel. “Their days are numbered. We will use all means including aerial strategies to capture the raiders who look at our security officers as enemies,” the DC says.

The security personnel have been deployed to Lochakula, Kakong and Loya which are cattle rustling hotspots in the region.

The population is scattered in this vast semi arid region and so are the police posts.

“Police posts are about 80 to 100 kilometres apart because of the limited number of police officers posted to this area,” laments Joseph Ekuam, a civil society leader.

He says  when one police camp is attacked, reinforcements arrives a day later owing to the bad terrain and a poor communication network. “When police camps are attacked, we also flee because no one is safe at least during that day. There is need for the Government to consider sending a helicopter to this area,” said Ekuam.

A police officer who has worked in the region and who asked not to be identified says the problem has been compounded by the lack of feeder roads in the area, making it hard for security personnel to penetrate the interior. He says during disarmament exercises, the communities surrender some faulty guns as a PR exercise but retain functional ones for their use. 

Unrelenting campaign

Rift Valley Provincial Police Officer, Francis Munyambu, recently told the press in Eldoret that The Government would not relent in its bid to rid the region of illicit guns.

He said the Government would deploy more security officers in the expansive Pokot and Turkana counties to reinforce the operation.

The frequent attacks have left security personnel in a state of confusion, as they have had to deal with two enemies.

The officers have had to deal with the Kenyan raiders as well as handle incursions by raiders from neighbouring countries who attack innocent civilians and police after crossing the vast porous borders.  Kanyiri  warns that it is unfair for the rustlers to turn their guns on state security operatives who protect both communities.

Turkana Women Advocacy and Development Organisation (TWADO) Coordinator, Ms Celine Locham, hit out at the bandits for lack of respect to law and order. Ms Locham said The Government must act decisively to eradicate insecurity along the internal borders.

“We appeal to The Government to deploy security officers on the porous border on a permanent basis,” Locham said.

Cattle rustling has transformed from being a cultural habit to a criminal way of life.

Residents say bandits train in shooting at their hideouts in Turkana South National Reserve.

The presence of Kenya wildlife Service (KWS) officers stationed at the reserve to protect wildlife does not deter them.

Local residents say the Turkana National Reserve has become a planning field for the raiders.

“The bandits shoot and kill Antelopes, elephants and lions. They kill them for food and fun as they practise shooting,” said Dorcas Ebei, a local resident.

If the trend is not urgently checked, security agents may shun the region making it lawless.