A haven for bandits: The irony of absence of police in notorious Tiaty bandit hotspots
An armored Personnel Carrier on the Mochongoi-Kasiela-Chemorongion-Marigat road In Baringo County on March 16, 2023 when an operation to flush out bandits in the North Rift was declared by Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof Kithure Kindiki. Poor presence of police in remote Tiaty gives bandits room to terrorise residents at will.
What you need to know:
- Tiaty has a few police stations, but only at the sub-county headquarters, with no police presence in remote villages that are escape routes for bandits
- Tirioko MCA Sam Lourien claimed that although his ward is insecure, it does not have a single police post or camp
- Mochongoi ward in Baringo South, which has also been affected by rampant banditry, faces the same challenge
- Shortage of security officers and police posts in Tiaty has been a major challenge in taming the incessant banditry attacks
For many years, Tiaty sub-county in Baringo County has been associated with harbouring armed bandits who wreak havoc in the region.
The criminals kill and maim at will, often displacing large herds of cattle in daylight raids, raising the question - where are the police?
Nation.Africa has uncovered the irony that has frustrated efforts to tame the region's rampant banditry - the absence of police presence in the interior of Tiaty.
In an effort to tame the unbridled insecurity menace caused by bandits, the government set up police posts and camps in the volatile border areas of Baringo North and Baringo South sub-counties to act as buffer zones.
Ironically, Tiaty sub-county, a known hideout for armed criminals who wreak havoc in neighbouring communities in the North Rift region, has a few police stations, but only at the sub-county headquarters, with no police camps, posts or trained units in the remote villages believed to be the escape routes for bandits.
This means that bandits have a field day in the border villages of Baringo South and Baringo North. This is a major challenge as the police rely on chiefs and elders for information about raids.
For example, the only police stations in the vast constituency are at Nginyang' and Chemolingot in Tiaty West and Tangulbei in Tiaty East, with a police post at Churo, Dira and Kolowa.
There is a Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU) camp in Chepkalacha and another in the troubled Mukutani area bordering Baringo South and Tiaty East sub-counties.
No police presence
But there are no security officers or police posts in the 'notorious' far-flung villages such as Paka, Naudo, Silale, Korosi, Riong'o, Nasorot, Nakoko, Komolion, Akwichatis, Amaya, Akoret, Kongor, Kapau and others.
Baringo County has a land mass of 11,075 square kilometres and six constituencies, with Tiaty taking the lion's share with 4,517 square kilometres.
A security operation to flush out bandits terrorising parts of six counties in the North Rift region was declared by Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof Kithure Kindiki earlier this year.
Security officers along Loruk- Chemolingot road with dozens of livestock they recovered at Lemuyek Hill in Tiaty on April 10, 2023 following a raid by bandits at the porous Ng'aratuko village in Baringo North. There are a few police posts and camps in remote parts of the region, mainly at the sub-county headquarters, which means bandits have a field day in the border villages of Baringo South and Baringo North.
An officer from the Anti-Cattle Theft Unit, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said the cartels were benefiting and some administrators, including chiefs, were abetting the crime by shielding criminals for a token share of the proceeds.
"Cattle cannot pass through villages without the knowledge of the chiefs or their assistants. Try to ask them for such information and you will be surprised. They will never reveal it," he said.
Dickson Kateiya, a resident of bandit-prone Noosukro village in Baringo South, blames the government for failing to set up adequate police stations and camps in Tiaty constituency, a known haven for bandits.
He fears that if bandits raid border villages in Baringo South or Baringo North, recovering them once they cross Tiaty will be an exercise in futility.
"You can imagine chasing dozens of armed criminals with sophisticated firearms, some hiding in the bush to ambush their pursuers. Once they cross the border, it is difficult to retrieve the animals. Any mission beyond that is a gamble with your life, as the chances of coming back alive are minimal," says Mr Kateiya.
Exercise in futility
He cites an incident a week ago when armed criminals raided Noosukro and Noosidan villages in the volatile Mukutani district of Baringo South, shooting dead one herder and wounding three others in a 9am attack. The bandits also made off with more than 77 cows, which are yet to be recovered.
"The security officers deployed in the bandit-prone villages and the police reservists cannot go beyond the Tiaty border. Once the stolen livestock crosses the constituency, the chances of recovery are slim because there are few police stations or officers deployed to beef up security in neighbouring destinations," said Mr Kateiya.
In such circumstances, he said, they are forced to rely on information from chiefs and elders in the destinations, which is not always reliable.
"We are wondering why the government has failed to deploy enough security officers or set up police camps in Tiaty to help tame the perennial bandit attacks, despite the fact that it is a hideout for bandits. The constituency is virtually controlled by bandits," the elder said.
He also blamed the government for failing to create buffer zones in all the escape routes in Tiaty, pointing out that the bandits have been using the same routes during raids for years and no effort has been made to address the situation.
"Noosidan, Ramacha, Laramoru and Ruko Conservancy are known to be escape routes for bandits when they steal from villages in Baringo South. Police officers have not intercepted them by blocking the routes and to date no camp has been set up to restore sanity in the area," Mr Kateiya observed.
No single police post
Tirioko MCA Sam Lourien claimed that although his ward is insecure, it does not have a single police post or camp.The vast Tirioko ward has three divisions; Akoret, Ng'oron and Tirioko.
"To make matters worse, most of the administrators, including the assistant district commissioners and chiefs, do not live in their areas of jurisdiction, leaving the villages under jungle law. There is no law and order here, an eye for an eye is the order of the day, considering the high level of illiteracy in the community," said Mr Lourien.
He accused the government of spending a lot of resources on security operations but failing to establish police posts in the affected areas.
"How do you expect banditry to end if we have no security personnel, let alone a police post in the notorious villages? It's impossible because people don't have the guidance of the do's and don'ts of society. They don't even know what the government wants them to do. This government should realise that there is a need to establish the same and the operational issues will come later," the MCA said.
Mochongoi ward in Baringo South, which has also been affected by rampant banditry, faces the same challenge.
Confirmed
A senior police officer in the area spoke to the Nation on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. The officer confirmed that the shortage of security officers and police posts in Tiaty has been a major challenge in recovering stolen livestock and taming the incessant banditry attacks.
"Silale is known to harbor armed criminals, but nothing has been done to develop the area and establish more posts. The bandits steal from neighbouring communities and retreat to the hideout because they know that no one can dare to flush them out of the dreaded area," the officer said.
