By Yvonne Chebeni
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki ordered area residents in troubled areas in Samburu county to vacate within 24 hours.
The mapped-up areas are said to be holding up dangerous armed criminals.
The hiding places are Korkoron Hills, Tandare Valley and Silale Gorges in Baringo County, Mukogodo Forest; Kamwenje, Warero and Ndonyoriwo; Lekuruki Hills, Losos and Kiape Caves and Sieku Valley in Laikipia County.
Areas of Ltungai Conservancy, Longewan, Nasuur, Lochokia and Lekadaar Escarpments; Lolmolok Caves, Pura Valley, Malaso Escarpment and Suguta Valley in Samburu County have also been declared as scenes of crime.
In Turkana County, residents in Kapelbok, Nakwamoru, Lebokat, Ombollion, Nadomeand Kamur caves are to vacate as well as those from the Turkwell Escarpment at the interface of West Pokot and Turkana Counties.
“The above areas are here by declared scenes of crime and any person found there from Monday March 13, 0830 hours will be treated as a suspect of armed banditry or aiding banditry, ” stated Kindiki
The government has decided to upscale the security operations after 135 Innocent Kenyans lost their lives including 20 security officers killed by marauding bandits who have caused havoc in Baringo, Laikipia, Samburu, West pokot among others. Dozens of schools have been closed, thousands of families displaced and public amenities destroyed.
Kindiki stated that they have decided to take this operation a notch higher to a second phase using new measures that will inflict maximum pain on criminals notwithstanding the inconvenience on the rest of us. “The measures we are announcing today are meant to inject new impetius and push this operation to a new level.”
He announced the operation will now be led by an Assistant Inspector General of Police, phase one was led by the Rift Valley Regional Commander.
Kindiki further stated that all children shall return to school and learn uninterrupted. “The government will use all the power and resources to reopen every school and public amenity that has been vandalized by bandits.”
He proceeded to state that the government shall offer significant monetary rewards to any member of the public that gives information that leads to successful arrest of the suspects.” Soon we shall be circulating the names and photographs of the dark pillars of banditry and whoever gives meaningful information about them shall be rewarded.
Kindiki reiterated on President William Ruto statement on Friday where he assured Kenyans that the dangerous misguided idea that criminals can acquire illegal arms, mobilize to commit murder, robbery, violence and in the process displace or cause insecurity to peaceful community shall come to an end.
He said that in the last 25 days they have been engaged in meticulous intelligence gathering to establish and identify what has been causing violence in the northern part of the country.
Kindiki firmly stated that security officers will not retreat untill a permanent solution to banditry is provided.
“We are taking this war to their hideouts by land and air, with all our weight and might and with all the strength that God has given us to effectively defeat this lamentable catalog of crimes against humanity. We shall never surrender our Country to criminals.”
End
