Revealed: The Major-General tasked with flushing out bandits

A confidential report on how to end banditry and cattle rustling in the North Rift region informed President William Ruto’s order for the deployment of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers to a joint security operation with the police, the Nation has learnt.

This comes as it emerged that Major General David Tarus is expected to coordinate the new operation with the Rift Valley regional commander.

The document, dubbed Technical Report on National Shared Security Strategy for Enduring Peace and Security in the North Rift Region, was handed to the President this month.

The document will guide the next phase of “Operation Komesha Uhalifu North Rift”, which was launched in September last year, following the killing of a local chief, two civilians and eight police officers by bandits in Turkana East.

“Cattle rustling will stop na sio tafadhali,” the President tweeted as he instructed security agencies to deal firmly, decisively and conclusively with those involved.

Operation Komesha Uhalifu North Rift, led by Commissioner of Police Joseph Limo, has seized rifles, ammunition, and stolen livestock and led to the arrest of a “notorious highway robber” who has for long been linked to banditry attacks in Lorogon, Turkana County.

However, the attacks resumed last month, prompting a visit by Major General Tarus, who pledged to help security agencies find a lasting solution to the perennial banditry challenges experienced in the area.

Read: Ruto deploys KDF soldiers to bandit-prone regions

The areas earmarked for the new operation fall under his Western Command, whose headquarters is in Gilgil. He is expected to coordinate the new operation with the Rift Valley regional commander since the operation is under the overall command of the Inspector-General of Police.

Tabled in Parliament

Yesterday, the order to deploy KDF to the region was tabled before Parliament.

“This is a very active matter before the Defence Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee that I chair. Article 241 (3)(b) of the Constitution, read together with sections 31(1)(a) and 33(1) of the Kenya Defence Forces Act, is very clear on the deployment procedure in situations of emergency or disaster. This provision allows the deployment of KDF in a joint operation with the National Police Service and other authorities. In the present case, the CS has informed Parliament that the police under the overall command of the Inspector-General will take the lead of the operation. The KDF will only complement the police, in which case Article 241(3)(b) of the Constitution requires the CS to report to the National Assembly,” Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Relations Committee chairperson Nelson Koech said.

The Nation has learnt that with the deployment of KDF, the operation might change its strategy and name.

The operation is expected to target caves that bandits run to for cover as well as beef up ground and air support.

This will expectedly bolster the work of the police, who lack critical military equipment.

Read: Kindiki’s bottom-up approach to killings in the North draws criticism

While making their submissions before the task force on police and prison reforms, the National Police Service team said it was depending on armoured personnel carriers and modified Land Cruisers for its operations, which lack bullet-proof features, gun-detection systems and other ICT specifications that enable visibility, mobility and communication during operations.

Improvised cruisers

The team said the service has been pushed to improvise Land Cruisers to bear specifications needed to traverse the rough terrain in areas such as Baragoi and Kapedo, where bandits are now shooting at the wheels and those driving the vehicles to immobilise the officers.

On Monday, Interior CS Kithure Kindiki declared the security situation in the North Rift as a National Emergency and issued a three-day amnesty for the surrender of illegally held firearms.

The amnesty that began yesterday was received with mixed reactions, with some quarters feeling it may not achieve much as it provides the persons behind the attacks time to regroup and strategise.

“What I want to assure Kenyans is that within those three days, very few people surrender their firearms if at all because each community will be waiting for the other one to surrender first and those that surrender their firearms are those that have many, maybe you have six and you surrender one which is the most useless. For me, I am looking forward to the start of the actual operation tuwache hii mambo ingine ya kubembelezana na watu,” Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya said.

Read: Killing fields: KDF, police versus bandits... who will prevail?

For years, however, the “Wild North” has suffered neglect by successive governments whose promises to end banditry and cattle rustling were only silenced briefly.

Part of this failure has been blamed on powerful individuals within the government and the private sector who are reported to be profiting from the business, with the sale of meat both locally and abroad.

Endless fighting over the limited resources has also led to communities taking arms against each other.

The problem has further been worsened by a culture that seems to appreciate the vice as young warriors are encouraged to steal as part of their initiation, to obtain bride wealth and as a source of pride.

According to senior security officials aware of the new operation’s strategy, a long-term plan to end the challenge will have to involve a mix of security, political and social-economic lines of action to ensure that locals are safe, peaceful and able to carry out their economic activities.

Since 2021, the military has been engaged in activities in the region -- helping to build dams, setting up medical camps and reconciling the Pokot and Ilchamus communities in Baringo, who in 2021 were fighting over a border dispute between Mukutani and Makutano.

These efforts will be boosted by the opening up of roads to the region to allow the movement of security personnel and trading goods.