Inside Baringo’s volatile villages where locals sleep in the bushes

Last Monday, Ng’aratuko village in the insecurity-prone Baringo North was gripped by tension after armed bandits suspected to be from the neighbouring community were spotted by herders in grazing fields.

The villagers’ fears were confirmed after tens of criminals struck the village later that afternoon, making away with more than 200 goats and heading towards Kositei in Tiaty sub-county.

They had fired gunshots indiscriminately to scare away locals in the 2pm incident.

It was helter-skelter for Ng’aratuko Primary School learners, who had just resumed their afternoon classes after a lunch break, with each looking for the safest direction to flee and leaving their belongings behind. The attackers had just struck a few metres from the school.

Books, school bags, shoes and utensils were strewn all over the school compound, indicating that the occupants fled in a hurry and had no time to gather their possessions.

Undeterred by the gun-toting raiders, men in the village, armed with bows and arrows, pursued them in a desperate move to recover the livestock. It was the second raid in the village in a span of two days.

The livestock belonged to Jacob Kiptoitoi, a 37-year-old livestock trader. He would join his fellow men, walking many kilometres into the thick bushes while trailing the attackers but he suffered a gunshot injury after being shot in the leg by the attackers who ambushed them.

The rescue mission was aborted and they had to withdraw and attend to Kiptoitoi, who was bleeding profusely, dozens of kilometres away from the main road.

He was rushed to Marigat Sub-County Hospital and later referred to Baringo County Referral Hospital in Kabarnet, but died on his way due to over-bleeding.

The incident sparked a mass exodus from the border villages of Ng’aratuko and Kosile, with locals fleeing to safer areas. They are yet to return to their homes.

Women and children, who had little time to take their belongings, fled to Kiptingting’ion, Arusin, Chepkewel and Sibilo villages, where they sought refuge in the bushes, with learners still wearing their school uniforms.

This has been the norm in the region for years. After an attack, people flee their homes with their remaining livestock until they are guaranteed their safety.

On the disturbed in Mukutani, inhabited by the minority Ilchamus and the Pokot communities, more than 15 villages have been deserted since 2005 due to the incessant attacks.

The Nation observed that in the deserted villages young school boys, armed with bows and arrows, have taken the role of protecting the community from the attackers by carrying out patrols to check for invaders.

Security officers deployed in volatile areas are not safe from the criminals either. Over the years, several officers have been killed while carrying out patrols or pursuing stolen livestock.

The area is characterised by rugged terrain, with hills and valleys that offer bandits a perfect hideout, from where they emerge to ambush security personnel and civilians.

Residents of Baringo North are also undergoing the same suffering, with several villages uninhabited since 2008.

Since the beginning of the year, more than nine people in Baringo North and Baringo South have been shot dead by bandits, with learning paralysed in more than 20 primary and secondary schools.

The perennial bandit attacks and the archaic practice of livestock theft in the North Rift region have left hundreds of people dead and thousands displaced. Social amenities have been closed and the region lags in development.

Hundreds of locals have been turned to paupers after thousands of livestock were driven away by bandits as they displaced them from their homes.

In the two separate attacks that happened three days apart, Ng’aratuko village lost more than 500 goats to raiders.

Targok Chemase, 60, rounded up her four grandchildren who had been placed under her care and fled with the other villagers. The fate of two others who had left for school in the morning remains unknown.

She only prays that they managed to escape the gunshots that rent the air for the better part of the afternoon.

“This is an area where you live one day at a time. When your child goes to school in the morning, you are not sure if she will come back safely owing to the bandits who roam the villages freely, and can attack any time,” said Ms Chemase, who, despite her age and the rugged terrain, has to keep pace with the other villagers to flee from the attacks.

It was while in the bush that they learnt that one of their neighbours had been killed in the attack. The dead man’s two wives and their seven children were in the hideout too, mourning away from home.

“At night, we sleep on bare floors in the snake-infested bushes with no blankets. Children have learnt to endure the suffering, sometimes going without food for days,” said one of the locals.

“At night, no one is allowed to make the slightest noise so as not to alert the criminals who may be hiding in the same place as well.”

Many expectant women have given birth in the bush while children contract the common flu due to the biting cold.

“While sleeping under trees, we brave the cold nights and attacks from wild animals, including snake bites that are rampant in the arid area. To worsen the situation, there is no health facility to take the sick persons to just in case their situation worsens. Life here is virtually survival for the fittest,” said Ms Chemase.

On Friday, a few villagers accompanied the family of Mr Kiptoitoi back to the dreaded village, to plan for his burial.

“We are just living at the mercy of the armed criminals. According to our customs, when someone dies, the family members have to stay at home to mourn the dead,” said Richard Chepchomei, an elder.

“Due to insecurity, we had to stay with the family of the slain livestock trader until Friday to make arrangements for his internment.”

Because of the distance, the elderly are locked inside the deserted houses because they cannot manage to walk long distances and survive the harsh conditions in the bush.

“We only pray to God to keep them safe because most of the time, the desolate villages become a paradise for bandits, who break-in, steal property and sometimes torch them to keep the owners away,” said Mr Jackson Mengich.

In the bush, locals seek refuge on the higher ground like hills to ease surveillance and monitor the movement of the criminals, just in case they trail them.

Women and children stay a few metres away from the men in front to shield them from the ‘enemy’ in case they are ambushed.

“At night, we are awake to keep vigil and protect women and children from any harm. We have to be very vigilant of any light, like torches at night, because the attackers could be spying on us. If we notice any suspicious movements, we alert the men at the ‘watchtowers’,” Mr Mengich explained.

Sometimes, locals sleep in the bush and go back to their homes in the morning to cook for their children, before returning to their hideouts in the evening.

A full return to homes happens gradually. Residents hide in the bush near their homes and observe movements for a few days to determine whether it is safe to move back home.

“In the morning, young men descend from the hills and tiptoe along the footpaths while checking for footprints to see whether someone sneaked into the village,” Mr Mengich said.

“The deserted homes have become hideouts for bandits so we must be very careful of the surroundings to avoid being attacked.”

When it is safe, women and children are allowed to cook and engage in other domestic chores, and if safe enough, children may be allowed to resume learning. But they have to be escorted by men too and from school.

Due to the flare-ups, lessons start at 9.30am and end by 3pm. Learners are released to go home early so as to prepare to go and sleep in the bush.

“Learning has been disrupted because even the timetables are not observed anymore. Evening classes are supposed to end at 4.10pm but to us here, it ends an hour earlier to allow learners to get home early,” said a teacher, who sought anonymity.