Maralal residents jittery as thugs target M-Pesa shops
Police officers collect body of Thomas Ltoduwa Lesamana, 30, whose body was found killed and dumped in a culvert in Maralal town.
Maralal residents are worried about rising insecurity, including the emergence of a network of dreaded criminal gangs robbing at will.
They prey on unsuspecting operators of M-Pesa shops and wholesalers who are terrorised and robbed even in broad daylight.
The gangs operate everywhere, from the central business district to several estates on the outskirts of the town.
Despite increased police patrols aimed at reducing criminal activities, the availability of illegal guns in the hands of civilians has turned this part of the country into a nightmare for travellers, herders and business people.
Decades of sporadic incidents of banditry in Samburu seem to have evolved and spilled over to Maralal, where gun-slinging criminals steal from "soft targets."
For instance, a night guard at AIC Moi Girls School was shot dead last month by armed gunmen. The rustlers drove away 11 cattle from the school.
There have been multiple reports of daylight attacks, the most recent one on Sunday, when gunmen stormed Maralal and drove away hundreds of goats. Several burglaries, break-ins and gun robberies have been reported in the past one week.
While security agencies’ offensive against armed bandits may be successful in other parts of the country, the impact has not been felt in Maralal and other parts of the arid region, residents said.
Residents and local leaders blame escalating insecurity on security agencies' hesitancy to deal with marauding criminals.
"Security agencies are not serious about bringing the criminals to book. They also seem to have lost the battle," said resident Emanuel Ekuam.
Hundreds of families and traders are now living in fear.
Samburu Investors Forum member Joe Mithamo noted that endless criminal activities and burglaries in the region pose a major business challenge. He said insecurity may put off potential businessmen in Samburu County.
"This is a worrying trend and may keep off investors. Businessmen are not guaranteed security. It is difficult," he said.
He observed that frequent attacks had drastically affected businesses in Suguta Mar Mar, Poro, Maralal and Wamba.
Mr Mithamo said Samburu is endowed with many untapped resources but investors and the business community are unable to exploit them due to banditry.
Samburu Deputy County Commissioner Titus Omanyi said regular police officers and reservists were deployed to conduct regular patrols.
"We have noted with concern the insecurity cases in Maralal town. We have therefore heightened security around the town with regular police patrols. They will be helped by our police reservists," Mr Omanyi said in an interview.
Samburu Governor Jonathan Lelelit resolved to have a county security department established to tackle insecurity.
Mr Lelelit said there was a need to address perennial insecurity that has affected thousands of people over three decades. He vowed to work with other leaders to end the problem.
“To address … insecurity in this county, I will establish a county security department to coordinate with other security departments. That way, I believe we will be able to end this menace," he said.
Mr Lelelit noted that young warriors, locally called morans, engage in the age-old practice of cattle rustling and that hundreds have been killed and others maimed on battlefields.
"It does not make sense for one to take another's life because of a cow. It is really heartbreaking to see such."
