Act on the deadly clashes in Njoro, Narok before they get out of hand

There’s every indication that the ethnic clashes in Njoro and Mau could spiral out of control. The consequences of such an eventuality are too grim to contemplate.

We have had situations where land clashes which started as small misunderstandings between members of different communities ended up claiming thousands of innocent lives, leaving even more Kenyans homeless and distraught.  

We have in the past witnessed clashes as happened along Kericho-Kisumu border and other parts of the country such as Molo, Maela, Sondu and Enosupukia. Memories of what happened in 2007 when more than 1,000 were killed and almost 300,000 people displaced as a result of post-poll clashes are still fresh in Kenyans’ minds. 

What is happening now is a tip of the iceberg. It can only mean there are deeper underlying issues causing these flare-ups. The government’s reaction till now appears to be knee jerk, with administrators only issuing orders banning politicians from visiting the affected areas and making inflammatory statements. There is a feeling that this is not addressing the real issues. When we address symptoms rather than the real issues, we run the risk of exacerbating the problem at hand.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto should care more, having promised that no Kenyan will ever die because of politically instigated clashes.

The unabated clashes in Mau and Njoro leads to the question: Is it that the government is unable, unwilling or has no resources to resolve the crisis?

The apparent inertia by the security agencies to decisively end the senseless killing and destruction speaks volumes of the country’s intelligence-gathering capacity and consumption of the intelligence by the relevant agencies. 

Edicts, warnings and decrees issued from the comfort of swivel chairs in air conditioned offices will have little or no meaning to angry mothers and fathers and their hungry babies languishing in makeshift tents and classrooms.

When groups of armed merchants of terror assemble, plan and execute their evil plots without being disrupted, people feel they are not being protected.

The victims and the taxpayers have a right to feel let down by the very systems supposed to safeguard their lives and property.

It is unacceptable when those charged with the responsibility of offering security are reduced to mere bystanders who go to the scenes of mayhem to collect bodies and collate statistics.

A life lost to senseless clashes is one too many. The perpetrators too, regardless of their positions in society, their political persuasions and motivations or perceived justification must be made to account. They must be treated like the murderers they are for if the law of the jungle, guided by the principle of an eye for an eye, prevails we will surely have a country of the blind.

Ordering the displaced and banning politicians from visiting affected areas is not a solution. We demand prompt action from the state. People behind these ugly clashes should be made to face the full force of the law.

Furthermore, there is always the danger of violating the constitution which has afforded all, big and small, the right to assemble, associate and freely express themselves without fear.

The victims’ cries for the government to intervene and rescue them from the agents of death should not fall on deaf ears. The children belong to school, not to deplorable tents where even the most basic of human needs are unavailable.

A lawless society is a hopeless one and if some citizens lose hope, with nothing more to cling to, there is reason to be concerned. For such is the beginning of anarchy and chaos which can plunge the country into an abyss. The time to act is now.