Lack of clear command structure hampers police operation in Laikipia

Several police units have been deployed to quell violence in volatile Laikipia North and Laikipia West, but lack of a clear command structure is hampering their operations.

The Nation has learnt that units and formations from various Administration Police units, the Kenya Police and GSU are operating separately and only converge at the Ol Moran Police Station to formulate strategy.

This situation has undermined their operations, with some officers saying unit commanders sometimes issue contradictory instructions.

“Sometimes we meet in one area. If we had been well organised, we would have surrounded these bandits and got rid of them. They seem to be better organised and they are in their own terrain,” a police corporal said.

“That is why you are hearing of cops being killed and injured, yet none of the bandits have been arrested or killed.”

The officer also said that the National Police Service, especially AP units and GSU, had deployed more novices than experienced officers and that this exposed officers to the risk of being attacked and even killed by bandits.

“You deploy a police officer who has handled a gun for only nine months or less than a year to battle sharp-shooter bandits who have been handling guns since they were six years olds. It does not make sense at all,” another officer said, adding that most of the officers deployed in the area were not familiar with the region’s terrain.

The officers said that despite having enough rifles and ammunition, armoured personnel carriers and vehicles that were in good condition, they found it difficult to operate without a centralised command system.

“We have not even been given instructions to kill the bandits. All we are doing is chasing them away and keeping the Ol Moran Centre, where internally displaced people live and the police officers regroup,” the officer said.

On Wednesday, Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya briefed senior police officers at the Ol Moran Police Station and left.

Residents of Ol Moran and leaders in Laikipia have also accused the police of lethargy and sluggishness in fighting bandits, with some of them complaining that officers take too long to respond to distress calls.

“On Tuesday, when Natembeya was hosting a meeting at Ol Moran Centre, we spotted the bandits and informed the police. Some people even screamed but the police did not come, although the meeting was being held less than one kilometre away,” Yuvinalis Bosire.

“When they came, about 200 attackers were already leaving, though not in a hurry. The cops came, saw them, shot in the air and then turned their vehicles and drove towards the conservancies. If they wanted to confront them, that would have been the best time.”

Yesterday, tension remained high as police officers patrolled the area, although residents and leaders said security had not improved even with the curfew and police presence.

Mr Natembeya has revealed that the attackers had more sophisticated weapons than what the security officers were using.

“While our officers are using AK-47 and G3 rifles, the bandits are using M16 and other heavy rifles that are usually used by foreign armies that train in Kenya. We do not know how they get these heavy weapons,” he said on Tuesday.

But leaders in the region view the administrator’s statement as an excuse for the sluggishness of the operation.

“Police are reactive; they are doing very little. When we visited over the weekend, we saw bandits, informed the cops, nothing was done. Houses were torched by the same bandits we saw roaming around with AK-47s” Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi said.

He said he was saddened by the sight of police officers shooting in the air when livestock were being driven away.

“We should ask ourselves why we are only hearing of police officers being injured or killed yet we have heard no reports of any bandit being arrested or even shot,” he said.

“Is it that the bandits are better trained? Is someone interfering with the manner of operation for their own interest?”

He said he could not help but believe that the violence is politically inspired.

Laikipia North MP Sarah Lekorere called on Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i to consider changing the operation’s command structure.

“On the ground there’s laxity. On paper, things seem strict but nothing is happening. I think the security agencies are not giving him the correct position on what is happening on the ground,” she said.