Breaking News: Ruto postpones school reopening indefinitely due to flooding
Headteachers in Tiaty threaten to close down schools amid food shortages
Former Bartabwa MCA Reuben Chepsongol displaying spent cartridges at the volatile Kagir village in Baringo North on January 21,2022 after an attack by armed raiders suspected to be from the neighboring community.
What you need to know:
- A security operation to smoke out and disarm bandits was launched in the region following the killing of 11 people, including eight security officers in Namariat, Kapedo/Napeitom ward, Turkana East.
- Locals and head teachers in Tiaty have complained that the operation that targeted criminals had started punishing the entire population, whose freedom of movement was curtailed by the roadblocks on the Marigat-Chemolingot road.
- They say they are unable to get fresh produce from Marigat and other towns.
Schools in Tiaty constituency are on the verge of closing following acute food shortages that hit the area after roadblocks were set up on major roads as part of an ongoing security operation.
The operation is meant to smoke out and disarm bandits wreaking havoc in the region.
It was launched two weeks ago following the killings of 11 people, including eight security officers in Namariat, Kapedo/Napeitom ward, Turkana East.
The September 24 afternoon attack happened after Mary Ekai Kanyaman, a peace crusader, mobilised security officers from Lokori to recover her livestock stolen by rustlers in an earlier raid that left one person dead and another injured in Ngikengoi village.
Punishing locals
But locals and head teachers in Tiaty have complained that the operation that targeted criminals had started punishing the entire population, whose freedom of movement was curtailed by the roadblocks on the Marigat-Chemolingot road.
They say they are unable to get fresh produce from Marigat and other towns.
Yuda Losutan, an elder from Nginyang’, said the constituency, which is semi-arid, is not viable for agriculture and locals normally get fresh produce from neighbouring towns such as Marigat and Kabarnet, but with vehicle and people movements restricted, they are unable to get food.
“A humanitarian crisis is looming in Tiaty owing to the security operation launched by the government recently,” Mr Losutan said.
“As we speak, no vehicle is allowed to ferry foodstuffs to the area, including traders, leading to food shortages in the entire constituency. If no urgent interventions are made, people will die of hunger.”
Suspects' names
He added: “We are wondering why the State is punishing us yet they have the names of the suspects. As we speak, locals cannot get water to drink, leave alone food to eat.
“We are appealing to the government to allow even the Kenya Red Cross team to access the hard-hit areas because many people, especially children and the elderly, are on the verge of starving to death.”
It was difficult for schools to get food supplies from Marigat even after they received food transport passes from the deputy county commissioner, said a headteacher, who did not want to be named.
“The worst-hit are boarding primary and secondary schools. All entry points to Tiaty – Kinyach, Loruk, Tot, Lomut – have been barricaded. If this situation continues, then we have no other choice but to close the schools until normality returns,” said the school head.
Criminals fled to Tiaty
Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Maalim Mohamed recently claimed that the killers in the September 24 attack fled to Tiaty constituency in Baringo and some parts of Samburu County.
“We are planning to carry out a simultaneous disarmament exercise in the volatile counties where the armed criminals have fled to. It is high time they surrender the illegal firearms because we are not going to compromise with them anymore,” Mr Mohamed said.
He claimed the government had the names of suspects and pledged to smoke them out of their hideouts.
