State to impose curfew in Isiolo, Samburu and Marsabit to fight bandits
Police officers at the Ltungai Valley in Samburu West. Armed bandits have built an impregnable territory inside the valley where they keep stolen livestock.
What you need to know:
- Kindiki said a major operation would be carried out in the counties following the publication of a gazette notice to recover stolen livestock.
- He said the government had ordered new equipment, including fighter jets and armoured vehicles to enable officers to pursue the rustlers.
The national government will impose a curfew in parts of the Eastern region next week to deal with the banditry menace.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said Isiolo, Samburu and Marsabit counties would be placed under lockdown to flush out bandits from the areas and neighbouring Meru County where dozens of people have been killed and thousands of cattle stolen in the recent past.
He said a major operation would be carried out in the counties following the publication of a gazette notice to recover stolen livestock. At least five constituencies in Meru have been affected by cattle rustling.
“They come from Isiolo and Samburu. From next week we will increase operations to eradicate cattle rustling in these counties by imposing a curfew,” he said.
He was speaking at Ndumiri village in Igembe North on Friday, where he witnessed the handover of 140 National Police Reservists (NPR) who were immediately deployed in the region.
The CS said the reservists would work with all security agencies to tackle the insecurity.
“Cattle rustling is a problem we have had in Kenya for over five decades. I have ordered all NPR to stay in the camp to ensure command and control. The arms that you have been given to secure lives and livestock will be used according to the law,” Prof Kindiki said.
He said the ministry would provide resources to ensure that the reservists worked with other security agencies.
“We are going to set up more camps of specialised units until the criminals are dealt with and if there is a need we will deploy the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) since we have started the journey and we will finish it. I am going to camp in the area until we deal with the bandits and recover the livestock,” he said.
He said the government had ordered new equipment, including fighter jets and armoured vehicles to enable officers to pursue the rustlers.
For decades, cattle rustlers from neighbouring counties have carried out sustained raids in northern Meru’s four sub-counties, terrorising residents and killing them while making away with thousands of livestock.
“All stolen livestock will be recovered. We cannot claim to be a free country when a few people impoverish others by stealing their livestock,” he said, warning that assistant chiefs, county commissioners or any government official found culpable would be dealt with.
Prof Kindiki said 2023 was the year of turning the tide in the war against cattle rustlers and bandits, with deliberate measures such as recruiting National Police Reservist (NPR) officers and beefing up security in banditry-prone areas of the Rift Valley where curfews have been imposed.
“In 2024, we will sustain this war and completely eradicate the menace of livestock theft. From next week, the government will commence an operation in parts of Eastern Region as an extension to the ongoing Operation Maliza Uhalifu in North Rift Valley counties,” Prof Kindiki said.
“In the last 50 years, 14 counties have been plagued with banditry and livestock rustling, acts that have hampered development and economic growth. As promised by President William Ruto, the challenge of banditry will be eradicated by the Kenya Kwanza Administration. In one year, the government has mounted and up-scaled a vicious war on bandits, livestock rustlers and other armed criminals in the North Rift Valley Region and parts of Eastern Region, resulting in a 70 per cent reduction in cases of livestock theft,” the CS added.
He was accompanied by the Eastern Regional Security and Intelligence Committee led by Regional Commissioner Paul Rotich, Meru County and sub-county security teams, MPs Julius Taitumu and Dan Kiili and several members of the Meru County Assembly.
Mr Taitumu and Mr Kiili pledged to work with the government to ensure security in the two constituencies, which have been badly hit by banditry.
