Why disarmament alone won’t silence guns in N Rift

When the government rolled out a disarmament operation involving a multi-agency security team, including the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and the police, in the banditry-prone counties of the North Rift last month, hopes were high among residents that life was about to change for the better.

But almost a month later, doubts are growing about the viability of the exercise as deadly raids continue to be witnessed in the region with at least 10 people killed in the last two weeks. The deaths have been reported in West Pokot, Elgeyo-Marakwet and Samburu counties.

Granted, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has done his best to deal with the problem. Ironically, as soon as he leaves an area after spelling out how the government will tackle the bandits, a raid takes place as if to laugh off the CS’s threats.

This begs the question: Is it time the government changed its strategy on how to tackle the perennial menace?

Part of the solution is to set up more schools in the region. It should also be mandatory for any child of school-going age to be taken to school and action must be taken against parents who do not heed the directive.

A tour of the region reveals that it has been marginalised for many years. Illiteracy levels are alarmingly high, with many children recruited into banditry at a younger age.

In fact, it has emerged that those wreaking havoc in the region are children between the ages of 12 and 15. The youth are taught to use firearms at a younger age.

When a senior police officer was killed in Baringo South for instance, it was rumored that he was shot by a boy aged 15 who is said to be treated as a hero back home. Word has it that he has been nicknamed OCPD. Apparently, the senior officer killed was a deputy OCPD.

In his book: Patrons of Wild Suguta Valley Julius Akeno,  who was brought up in Tiaty, Baringo County, notes that at a tender age, boys were separated from their mothers and were not allowed to sleep in their mothers’ huts.

 “Their place was an open fireplace in the compound. They were trained to be alert always, even when asleep. They were told to sleep with their eyes closed but their ears open,” Akeno writes.

 He said it was punishable by many strokes of the cane if someone walked in unheard and found them asleep.  

“The rough handling of young boys will make them hardy to prepare them for a tough life ahead. This explains why they can walk long distances raiding other communities instead of being in school,” Akeno writes.

The region also has a big potential in agriculture which if well tapped will turn around the economy and give residents alternative sources of income.

Notable is Turkana county’s 250 billion cubic metres underground aquifer on the foot of Mt Mogila in Lotikipi which hydrologists project could meet Kenya’s water needs for 70 years,  if harnessed.

Some 5,000 acres of land in Lodwar had been earmarked for irrigation using water from the aquifer which covers a surface area of 4,164 square kilometres.

Many parts of West Pokot, Baringo, Elgeyo-Marakwet and Turkana have potential for tourism which should be tapped by  counties under the North Rift Economic Bloc (NOREB).

The scenic Kapedo waterfall and breathtaking sceneries in the region are some of the sleeping giants which if tapped can be   great tourism destinations.

It is also high time the government involved elders, political and  opinion leaders in peace building initiatives. Peace caravans where leaders and local professionals from warring communities toured the region preaching peace will come in handy.

This worked in 2015 when athletes and governors from the conflict-prone counties traversed the region and the guns went silent for a while.

— The writer is the North Rift People Daily reporter