The government has outlined security measures to restore permanent peace in the troubled Ol Moran ward in Laikipia County as it urged displaced families to return to their farms.
Admitting that there had been challenges with most of the people displaced at the height of last year’s skirmishes pitting farmers against pastoralists, Laikipia County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri said restoring peace was not a one-day event that would be fixed with “one silver bullet” but a process.
“There is deep-rooted mistrust between the communities dating back to the 1990s and we have opted to follow the reconciliation route through dialogue and engagement of various stakeholders,” Mr Kanyiri said in his office.
“This process has seen great involvement of elders, youth, religious and political leaders and I can say it is bearing fruit, with the area having witnessed relative calm in the past few months.”
The administrator was reacting to a story published in the Nation that said a majority of the displaced residents were still feeling insecure and did not want to go back to their homes, 10 months after bandit attacks that left at least 15 people dead and dozens of houses torched.
Farmers who have rented houses in Ol Moran told the Nation recently that they were still living in fear as armed herders were still driving their herds to their maize farms.
Mr Kanyiri said that though the government was keen to pursue reconciliation, more security forces had been deployed in the area including specialised platoons and Kenya Defence Force officers.
He added that the Ol Moran police post was upgraded to a police station and a police commander who has served in other troubled areas in the county was deployed to head the division.
He revealed that additional National Police Reservists (NPR) were trained, equipped with firearms and were ready to stop the bandits who were launching attacks from their hideouts in -the expansive Laikipia Nature Conservancy (LNC).
The government is also holding discussions with the management of LNC to have an electric fence erected around the 100,000-acre wildlife reserve to keep away the armed herders.
Mr Kanyiri said all displaced people will have to go back to their homes but it will be on a voluntary basis, noting that leaving the land bare creates the impression among herders that it has no owner and they would drive their animals to farms from neighbouring Baringo County.
“The Ministry of Interior is ready to construct houses for those willing to go back to and settle on their farms. Anyone willing to move out of the rental houses is requested to liaise with the chief and we shall put up the houses at no cost,” he said.
He denied claims that migrating herders want to displace farmers and take over their legally acquired farms, noting that the pastoralists already have their land, a 50,000-acre farm in neighbouring Lonyiek division.
