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Neglected frontier to secure future: North Eastern’s Madaraka moment
President William Ruto with his deputy Kithure Kindiki during the last event of phase one of the Nyota Programme in Wajir County on February 12, 2026.
What you need to know:
- For many years, North Eastern Kenya was viewed through a narrow lens of insecurity, marginalisation and hardship.
- Under the leadership of President Ruto, the Government is pursuing a deliberate agenda to open up North Eastern Kenya.
When the national flag rises in Wajir on Madaraka Day tomorrow, it will carry a message long overdue: that no part of Kenya is too distant to belong, too insecure to develop, or too marginal to matter.
For many years, North Eastern Kenya was viewed through a narrow lens of insecurity, marginalisation and hardship. Conversations about Garissa, Wajir and Mandera often revolved around terrorism threats, porous borders, drought, underdevelopment.
That story is changing.
Under the leadership of President William Ruto, the Government is pursuing a deliberate agenda to open up North Eastern Kenya — not merely through infrastructure, but through security, inclusion, dignity, economic opportunity and national integration. The decision to host the 2026 Madaraka Day celebrations in Wajir County is therefore not accidental but symbolic, strategic and transformational.
It affirms that Madaraka is not complete when sovereignty is celebrated only at the centre; it becomes meaningful when the promise of self-government reaches the border village, the pastoral household, the young person seeking an identity card, the trader waiting for a passable road, the student entering a hostel and the officer securing a difficult zone.
When President Ruto visited Wajir County in December 2024 and during subsequent development tours of the region, he made clear that every part of Kenya deserves an equal share of opportunity, services and belonging.
That vision is now being translated into measurable action. Across Garissa, Wajir and Mandera, the Government is implementing more than 37 projects valued at approximately Sh57.6 billion. These investments span roads, housing, markets, institutional facilities, water and sanitation infrastructure.
Wajir, as the host of this year’s Madaraka Day, demonstrates why the celebration is more than a ceremonial event. In the county, national investment includes roads, housing, markets, student facilities and public infrastructure. The 20-kilometre Wajir urban roads programme and Wajir Stadium are scheduled for commissioning around the celebrations, while the Wajir-Tarbaj and Tarbaj-Kotulo road corridors are under construction.
These are arteries of trade, security, mobility and dignity. In Garissa, investments include affordable housing, the Garissa–Ijara–Lamu road corridor, the new Tana River Bridge, Garissa Airstrip rehabilitation, student accommodation and economic stimulus markets. In Mandera, the State is investing in roads, police housing, technical training facilities, markets, water supply and sewerage infrastructure.
Unlocking the region
The point is not to recite projects for their own sake, but to show that the national gaze has shifted from managing the margins to unlocking the region. Opening up North Eastern Kenya begins with security. Without peace and stability, no road, market, school, hospital or housing programme can deliver its full promise.
Over the years, the Government has strengthened border security operations in the region with Somalia and neighbouring countries through a coordinated, multi-agency approach involving the National Police Service, the Kenya Defence Forces, the National Intelligence Service, the Border Patrol Unit and National Government Administrative Officers.
The establishment and strengthening of forward operating bases, improved surveillance, enhanced intelligence gathering and stronger community police partnerships have improved operational capacity in the region.
The Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration, Kipchumba Murkomen, during recent engagements in Wajir, reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to ensuring that North Eastern Kenya remains secure, peaceful and fully integrated into the country’s economic and governance framework. Security operations in the region are increasingly intelligence-led, community-centred and focused on dismantling criminal and extremist networks without profiling or stigmatising communities.
One of the most important shifts in our national security approach has been the recognition that the fight against terrorism cannot succeed through force alone. Counter-terrorism today requires trust-building, cooperation with local communities, youth empowerment, religious engagement and the creation of economic alternatives for vulnerable populations.
Communities in North Eastern Kenya have become some of our strongest partners in countering violent extremism. Religious leaders, elders, women groups, youth leaders and local administrators continue to play a pivotal role in identifying threats early, promoting peaceful coexistence and rejecting extremist ideologies.
Transformative changes
Equally important is the Government’s investment in peacebuilding and national cohesion through the National Steering Committee on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management, coordinated under the Ministry of Interior and National Administration. North Eastern Kenya occupies a strategic position at the intersection of cross-border movement, pastoral livelihoods, migration routes and regional trade. This also means that local conflicts over resources, grazing land, water access and clan tensions can quickly escalate if left unmanaged.
The Government also remains fully alive to the humanitarian realities facing the region. North Eastern Kenya continues to experience recurring climate related disasters, particularly prolonged droughts and occasional flash floods, which threaten lives, livestock and food security. In response, the Government has strengthened disaster preparedness.
National Government Administrative Officers, humanitarian agencies and county governments continue to play a frontline role in emergency coordination, relief distribution, evacuation support and public awareness.
The refugee question also remains central to the future of the region. Kenya has hosted refugees for decades, particularly in Dadaab and Kakuma, demonstrating extraordinary humanitarian leadership despite immense pressure on local resources and infrastructure. The Government continues to work closely with international partners to ensure that refugee management remains humane, secure and sustainable, while safeguarding the interests of host communities.
Perhaps one of the most transformative changes taking place in North Eastern Kenya is the expansion of access to government services and documentation. For many years, thousands of residents faced significant challenges in obtaining national identity cards and civil registration documents, limiting access to education, employment, financial services and participation in national life. A national identity card is not a favour from the State. It is documentary proof of belonging. For too long, many citizens in the North experienced citizenship as suspicion. That era must end -- firmly, fairly and permanently.
The opening up of North Eastern Kenya must therefore be understood beyond roads, airports, markets or public celebrations. It is about restoring confidence between citizens and the State. It is about ensuring that a child in Wajir, Mandera, Garissa or the wider northern region can look at the Republic not as a distant authority, but as a present guarantor of opportunity. Hosting Madaraka Day in Wajir sends a powerful national message: Kenya’s unity is stronger when every region is visible, included and empowered.
Dr Omollo is the Principal Secretary for Internal Security and National Administration
