Thousands Flee in Crackdown On Pokot Killers

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Mathews Ndanyi

24 June 2011

More than 2,000 people have fled from their homes in parts of Pokot and Turkana counties where the military and police are carrying out a security operation to flush out bandits who killed two policemen on Saturday.

A large number of Kainuk location pastoralists have fled to other areas fearing that they will be harassed in the ongoing security operation. Turkana South DC Joseph Kanyiri said the bandits who killed the police officers will have to be brought to book. Reports from the area indicate that the number of bandits so far killed has risen to 10 and security teams are combing the area in search of arms used by the bandits.

Rift Valley PC Osman Warfa who earlier visited the area said the government will decisively deal with the thugs. “We will deal with the criminals because they are to blame for the insecurity in this region”, said the PC when he met with MPs and other leaders from the region to discuss the security situation which has been deteriorating due to banditry.

Warfa has assured residents the government is doing everything possible to restore security in the area where bandits attacked a GSU camp killing the two police officers and injuring three others.

The MPs including Ekwe Euthuro from Turkana Central and Joseph Nanok of Turkana South ha also challenged communities in the area to abandon the age old traditions of cattle rustling which is largely to blame for lack of development. “People in the other regions are talking of modern civilization while for us we are still fighting over animals and killing ourselves senselessly. We have to stop this because it will not take us anywhere,” said an angry Nanok.

The government has deployed 300 police officers to carry out the operation in the area and Kanyiri said all escape routes used by the bandits in the area have been sealed “We will have to arrest them and those who want to surrender should do so before it’s too late. We can not allow them to perpetrate insecurity in this area,” said Kanyiri. The area is inhabited by nomadic communities and some have been fleeing to Uganda in the last two days.

The heavily armed bandits have been putting up resistance against the police officers but Kanyiri said the government had deployed enough security personnel to deal with them. NGOs and the government estimate that the communities are in possession of more than 50,000 illegal guns.

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