Five killed in fresh wave of violence in the volatile Rift Valley counties

 A new wave of violence is sweeping across the Rift Valley, with at least five people having been killed and several others injured over the past week.

Tension is high in Samburu, Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet and Laikipia counties following attacks and killings, despite the heavy presence of police deployed to quell sporadic chaos.  At least five attacks have occurred in the region over the past three days, leaving a trail of death, injuries and destruction. Not even police officers are spared.

Herders invaded Chepkesin and Kesumet in Baringo North, leaving a police officer attached to the Rapid Deployment Unit in Kagir dead, and several of his colleagues injured. David Omondi, 29, was shot in the chest and the bullet exited through the neck, said Baringo North sub-county police commander Fredrick Odinga.

 “He was rushed to Bartabwa health centre, but, unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries. The other officers are still combing the area to flush out the armed herders wreaking havoc,” said Mr Odinga.

In Samburu and Laikipia, attacks have left three people dead and two others, including a police officer, nursing serious gunshot wounds.

There were three separate attacks in Baragoi, Samburu, and the volatile Ol Moran area. In the first attack, a security officer in a group of 10 police officers sustained serious gunshot wounds in the chest and legs after they were ambushed at the Laikipia Nature Conservancy.

Security officials said the officers were pursuing bandits in the vast ranch when they were ambushed.

Laikipia County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri said the officer was evacuated to Nakuru for treatment.

In the second incident, a middle-aged man suffered serious gunshot wounds after bandits raided his house, some metres from Ol Moran town, Mr Kanyiri said.

Mr John Njuguna was among residents who fled their homes in Mirigwet village four months ago and sought refuge at the shopping centre.

"We have deployed security officers to pursue the bandits, who, we believe, are hiding inside the volatile Laikipia Nature Conservancy. We will not allow them to continue terrorising residents," said Mr Kanyiri.

He added that the bandits failed in their attempt to steal a solar panel from Mr Njuguna's home.

The victim, who sustained injuries to the head and the back, was rushed to the Nyahururu County Referral Hospital then referred to Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi.

The attacks have led to exoduses from homes, with hundreds of villagers hiding in the bush as gunshots rent the air for the better part of Monday. Young men armed with bows and arrows have been driving their livestock to safe villages as they shield residents from the attackers.

Ms Rodah Kangogo, a resident, said as other Kenyans marked Jamhuri Day, they had nothing to celebrate after they were displaced.

“Whenever the armed criminals invade, we are forced to flee the villages and live in the bush until normality returns. Our children no longer go to school like their counterparts countrywide because the schools have turned into a hiding place for the criminals,” said Ms Kangogo.

Learning at stake

Mr Richard Chepchomei raised concern about learners’ security. “How safe are our children now that even parents fear going on with their normal duties? We fear learning will be paralysed in this region if no urgent measures are taken to tame the incessant banditry attacks,” he said.

Bartabwa MCA Reuben Chepsongol faulted the government for doing little to end the perennial problem, which has also led to the closure of social amenities over the years.

Baringo experiences periodic ethnic conflicts related to livestock theft and banditry attacks, which have a huge bearing on education, often leaving pupils displaced and schools vandalised or closed. The spiral effect is high school dropout rates, teenage pregnancies, child labour and pressure on facilities in neighbouring schools that have to accommodate displaced pupils.

In Samburu and Laikipia, at least 40 people have been killed over the past three months in bandit attacks in which hundreds of livestock have also been stolen. Despite increased police patrols aimed at reducing banditry, the availability of illegal guns in the hands of civilians has turned this region into a nightmare for travellers, pastoralists and businesses.

Decades of sporadic attacks in Samburu have evolved into a more worrying security threat along several stretches of roads in the region.

Bishop David Lebarleyia, who is the National Council of Churches of Kenya chairperson in Samburu County, wants security authorities to take visible and decisive action against the killers and their supporters to restore calm. Mere words from government officials are not enough to assure locals of their security, he said.

“This situation is a ticking time bomb because of widespread violence in the entire Samburu. If it is not addressed with urgency in a consultative and comprehensive manner, we are going to lose many innocent lives," Bishop Lebarleyia said, urging the government to take firm and punitive actions against politicians and any other person inciting or organising violence.

Regular patrols

More than 25 people have been killed in Samburu. County Commissioner Abdirizack Jaldesa on Monday said more security teams had been positioned in violence hotspots.

"Our officers are on regular patrols to quell tension that is gripping the villages. The government is doing everything in hand to restore peace, which has deteriorated in the last few months," Mr Jaldesa told Nation.

He said security measures had been put in place to deal with cattle rustling, citing recruitment of National Police Reservists. Thirty-day training of 90 reservists to be based in Samburu Central had started, he added.

The government plans to recruit about 330 reservists to contain rampant banditry and cattle theft. Mr Jaldesa said the reservists will work closely with police officers.

By Florah Koech, Geoffrey Ondieki and Steve Njuguna