Troubled Kerio Valley top priority for incoming Elgeyo Marakwet governor
Wisley Rotich, Elgeyo Marakwet-Governor-elect.
Elgeyo Marakwet Governor-elect Wisley Rotich’s first assignment after he takes office will be to restore order in the troubled Kerio Valley, which has been a thorn in the flesh of county and national government officials for years.
Mr Rotich will be sworn in on Thursday, amid a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed by the government in Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo and West Pokot counties following a spate of bandit killings and the displacement of residents.
Mr Wisley, the outgoing deputy governor, also plans to revive multimillion-shilling projects that stalled because of rampant insecurity.
Reach out to Noreb
He intends to reach out to other governors in the region under the North Rift Economic Block (Noreb) to address the factors undermining peace in the Kerio Valley.
“I know it is an enormous duty ahead, but residents should know that I am up to the task,” he told Nation.Africa as he prepared for his swearing-in.
“However, I cannot do this alone and that is why I am calling for unity of purpose from all elected members so that we can transform the lives of our people.
“I will rally my peers across the region to ensure we look for ways of addressing the runaway insecurity as a matter of priority.”
Governors' resolve
In Nairobi last week, Mr Rotich and fellow governors-elect Simon Kachapin (West Pokot) and Benjamin Cheboi (Baringo) resolved that the killings in the Kerio Valley should end.
“We shall extend our discussion to the leadership of Samburu and Turkana, which are also experiencing banditry,” he said.
He said leaders will work to enhance peace and reconciliation among residents of the region.
“This will see schools, markets and businesses closed as a result of the attacks reopened. We shall lobby for the reinstatement of National Police Reservists (NPRs) and engage our people on other income-generating activities,” he stated.
Shared resources
Insecurity in the Kerio Valley, he said, is caused by shared resources and hence the urgent need to diversify sources of income.
He called on residents, religious and elected leaders and local administrators in the counties to join hands in working for peace.
Stalled projects
Some of the projects that stalled because of insecurity are the Chepkum and Kamsiwet irrigation schemes, which cumulatively benefited over 850 families but are now inaccessible. Bandits vandalised the farms and carted away fencing equipment.
Besides the two, less than 100 acres of the Sh300 million African Development Bank-funded Kabonon/Kapkamak irrigation scheme was ploughed.
Another project is the Sh20 million 700-hectare Kapsawach irrigation scheme, which benefited over 1,200 families. It is now overgrown with shrubs.
The other scheme is Chepuser/Kapkobil, funded by the World Bank through the Kenya Devolution Support Programme (KDSP) to the tune of Sh42.5 million.
On the boundary of Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo counties, near the Koloa bridge, lies the 1,000-acre Tot-Koloa irrigation scheme, which was abandoned several years ago and is in ruins.
The Sh300 million Kenya Red Cross-funded project, which had offered hope to desperate locals by promising food security and harmonious coexistence, is also decrepit following unrelenting deadly banditry and cattle rustling.
