NCIC brokers truce between CS Yatani and Marsabit governor after clashes
National Treasury CS Ukur Yattani (right) and Marsabit Governor Mohamed Mohamud hold a joint press conference after a peace meeting at Serena Hotel Sweet Waters camp in Laikipia on September 12, 2020.
What you need to know:
- The National Cohesion and Integration Commission is engaging the two and other top leaders from Marsabit in a peacekeeping meeting at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia County
- Mr Mohamud is from the Borana community while the CS is from the Gabra community. The two communities have clashed over the years.
- The governor, Mr Rasso, Mr Arbele, Senator Godana Hargura and MCAs faulted law enforcement agencies for failing to get to the bottom of the killings and arrest the culprits.
The NCIC is brokering a truce between National Treasury CS Ukur Yatani and Marsabit Governor Mohamed Mohamud Ali in a bid to end perennial tribal conflicts in the county.
The National Cohesion and Integration Commission is engaging the two and other top leaders from Marsabit in a peacekeeping meeting at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia County.
Mr Mohamud is from the Borana community while the CS is from the Gabra community. The two communities have clashed over the years for various reasons.
An incident in Songa saw four young people brutally murdered by unknown gunmen as they returned home from Marsabit town on June 8.
A fierce protest followed, with sections of the Marsabit-Isiolo highway barricaded for more than six hours by youths condemning the killings.
Three other people were killed in Gof-Choba, Sololo, last Wednesday after herders differed over a watering point for their animals.
Police blamed
The murders elicited bitter reactions from local leaders who blamed security agencies and accused them of inaction.
The governor, Mr Rasso, Mr Arbele, Senator Godana Hargura and MCAs faulted law enforcement agencies for failing to get to the bottom of the killings and arrest the culprits.
They also blamed the State for turning a blind eye to the region’s security woes.
They said the government is quick to carry out intensive security crackdowns in other parts of the country but slow in responding to the insecurity menace in Marsabit.
The national security chiefs blamed residents, accusing them of abetting the murders by ethicising the whole affair.
County Commissioner Evans Achoki said the residents do not give crucial information to police as they search for suspects.
Upper Eastern Regional Commissioner Isaiah Nakoru accused the politicians of being behind the ethnic animosity.
