North Rift has high expectations of Dr Ruto on agriculture, banditry

North Rift residents are upbeat after William Ruto was declared President-elect, expressing confidence that his government will tackle perennial problems in the region.

Some residents are optimistic that Dr Ruto’s administration will improve agriculture, tackle runaway cattle rustling and banditry and improve infrastructure.

In Uasin Gishu County, residents are optimistic that the woes in the agriculture sector will be addressed by the incoming government, and that includes providing affordable farm inputs and a steady market for their produce.

“Many farmers have struggled to get subsidised fertiliser and other farm inputs. We believe that the new administration will improve the sector,” said David Kipchumba, a farmer from Soy, Uasin Gishu.

On the other hand, villagers in Baringo County, which has for many years borne the brunt of bandit attacks, such as Chemoe and Chepkew, are optimistic that peace will prevail in the region.  

Perennial banditry has resulted in displacements, poverty, destruction of property and deaths.

Ruto has a solution

Locals believe Dr Ruto has a solution to the perennial flare-ups.

They claim the outgoing government had no goodwill to restore order in the affected counties of Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Turkana and West Pokot. They say that despite rampant killings and stock theft, no suspected criminal has been arrested or charged in a court.

In the troubled Kerio Valley, incessant violence has earned it the name 'valley of death', with hundreds of people killed, livelihoods lost and thousands displaced from their homes. Dozens of schools and other social amenities were closed after locals fled to other areas for safety.

Last Tuesday, bandits raided Chemoe in Baringo North, temporarily disrupting voting. The bandits stole over 200 cows and goats.

“Several areas are deserted in this region because of this insecurity. We are hopeful that the new regime will help to tackle this menace once for all,” said Philemon Komen, from Bartabwa in Baringo North.

In early May, nine families in a village in Baringo County lost their entire herds to bandits. An estimated 500 cows and goats were stolen.

Banking on new President

Leonard Yano, a resident of Arror in Marakwet West, said they are banking on the new President to restore order in the troubled areas.

“The announcement of the DP as the President-elect has not only raised our expectations but has also rekindled our hopes that runaway insecurity will be a thing of the past,” Mr Yano said.

“During his first term in 2013, he toured the Kerio Valley when there was heightened tension following a series of killings and he made some pronouncements that quelled the situation for some time.”

He added: “Though he had the will to ensure warring communities in the troubled regions coexist peacefully, his efforts were sabotaged by high-ranking government officials, who felt it would give him political mileage.”

Police reservists

At the time, he claimed, Dr Ruto ordered the reinstatement of police reservists in border villages, which led to an uneasy calm in the region, but they were later disarmed again under unclear circumstances.

“The President-elect knows the solutions to the perennial insecurity and he had many plans to restore order in the affected areas, but maybe some forces blocked him from implementing them, including the multibillion-shilling Arror and Kimwarer dams that could have solved the issue of water scarcity in the arid and semi-arid areas,” he claimed. 

“We have high hopes that these mega projects would come to fruition in his tenure.”

No good will

Richard Chepchomei, from Chemoe in Baringo North, also said the government had no goodwill to address security in the volatile areas, citing the numerous security operations conducted in the region over the years.

“We have seen several massive disarmament exercises launched in the banditry-prone counties, millions of shillings spent by the government on the same but few guns are seized,” Mr Chepchomei said. 

“We have not heard of any criminal arrested, why? Because they are lenient on them and they are left to terrorise us at will. We feel that Ruto is our messiah and we have high hopes for him.”

Paul Kipyemat, from Arabal in Baringo South, said that immediately after Dr Ruto was declared President-elect by IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati on Monday, some locals who had been displaced from their homes in March started to go back.

“This is an indication that people in the volatile border villages have hopes that he will restore sanity and they will resume their normal lives. He should not let us down,” Mr Kipyemat said.

Meat industry

In the last decade, 3,000 goats and 1,000 cows worth millions have been lost. A cow can sell for as much as Sh40,000 and an average Sh20,000, while a single goat costs an average Sh4,000.

Traditionally, bandits would storm neighbouring communities and steal livestock to restock after a severe drought or to pay dowry.  

Experts in agriculture say the new government must regulate the meat industry and enforce tight regulations to curb theft.

“It has morphed into urban organised crime where they drive away the entire herd, leaving families without a source of livelihood. Traditionally, they would leave families with some herd … there were also no killings back then but now it is common,” said Dr Timothy Njagi, a principal researcher at the Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development.

There are no studies to show the economic costs or burden related to banditry in the region.

Most insurance firms in Kenya are reluctant to insure livestock against cattle raids. 

Dr Njagi said the government must show its commitment to ensuring the traceability of all livestock and related products and enhance enforcement to punish those involved in livestock theft.

“Ideally, we should know where the meat sold in the market was sourced from, but this is not the case. The government must regulate all those involved in the meat business to ensure there is traceability,” he said.

The government now insures livestock against drought, but policies exempt losses from cattle rustling.

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