How bandits in hotspots are outsmarting the KDF and police
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Bandits decline to hand over illegal weapons despite government operation by KDF and the police in troubled Rift Valley
Bandits decline to hand over illegal weapons despite government operation by KDF and the police in troubled Rift Valley.
Government operation to disarm warring parties in the troubled Rift Valley region is off to a slow start.
According to reports, a three-day amnesty period for people to hand in illegal weapons resulted in the handover of just three guns.
Kenyan government forces launched an operation this week to crack down on chronic violence in the Rift Valley.
Most of the fighting is between communities overgrazing land and livestock made worse by the ongoing severe drought.
The first step – a three-day amnesty for people to hand over illegal weapons – resulted in just three guns being turned in by Thursday evening.
Kenyan security analyst George Musamali says the communities in the North Rift Valley region cannot give up their guns easily after decades of insecurity in the region.
“It went in with threats and if you look at these communities, these are communities that have been taking care of their own security. They don’t see the government there,” said Musamali. “They would rather keep the guns until the operation is over. Then when the security forces leave the area then, they can continue living the way they are used to because the government is not offering any solutions to the perennial security problems in those areas.”
A security operation aimed at disarming the communities began Friday after the end of the amnesty period.
However, bandits are playing hide and seek with the security forces as they enjoy a panoramic view of the plains from their hideouts.
According to local resident accounts, bandits live in the hills, where they have a wide view of the villages.
“Even now as we talk, they are monitoring us and they can strike as they please,” Ms. Kokoyo said.
“The government should end our suffering by flushing out the bandits to enable us to go back to our homes and live like other Kenyans who enjoy peace and development,” she added.
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Mr. Zephania Rotich, a local, said the situation was worsening, while they see no deterring action from the government.
“The Armoured Police Carriers patrolling the region cannot go up the hills.
When the bandits see them leave for their camps, they unleash their terror on us. The hills need battle helicopters to neutralize the bandits who hide in the crevices,” he said.
A peace crusader in the region, Reverend Richard Ngetuny, said air surveillance was the only option for the government to end the menace.
“No one dares to scale up the hills in search of the bandits unless you are courting death. The bandits continue to displace the population and decisive action needs to be done,” he said.
He asked the government to help banditry victims in paying school fees for their children.
“I equally challenge legislators from the banditry-prone areas to ensure laws against the vice are passed as soon as possible. This will make intervention prompt,” he said.
The communities in Baringo, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Samburu, Laikipia, and Turkana have been stealing animals from each other, leading to communal tensions and conflict.
Experts are urging the government to change its approach to dealing with the banditry threat and begin improving the lives of the communities by constructing roads, schools, and water points, as well as encouraging the community to start farming as another source of income.
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