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Security officers have embarked on a massive security operation in the banditry prone North Rift region following an order from President William Ruto.

The multi-agency team led by the military have intensified air and ground patrols at the borders in the troubled region as they seek to ensure that bandits who have been wreaking havoc in the region do not flee.

The officers have also mounted roadblocks in many highways in the region where armed bandits have shot dead many police officers and civilians.

Military choppers were spotted hovering over many parts of the region as other officers, mostly military officers arrived with Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs).

 Residents who spoke to People Daily hoped that the operation will help rid the region of armed bandits even as they hoped that innocent civilians will not be harassed by the deployed officers.

“We have suffered a lot in the hands of the armed bandits and we welcome the military-led operation. We however hope the officers will go for the culprits and no subject innocent people to unnecessary suffering,” said Nicholas Koros, a resident of Baringo North sub-county.

Fleeing homes

It also emerged that some residents have started fleeing their homes fearing the wrath of the officers carrying out the operation.

 Inspector-General of Police Japhet Koome landed at the Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) base in Turkana on Tuesday under tight security, signaling the start of a major security operation.

 Koome, who held a closed-door security meeting at troubled Kainuk area later left for Lokori in Turkana East sub county to assess the security operation.

 “The government will not relent until all armed criminals are apprehended. The military is joining the multi-agency team that has been conducting a major security operation in Kainuk near the border of Turkana and West Pokot. The operation will now be extended to all parts declared disturbed and dangerous,” said Koome.

100 killed

More than 100 people have been killed in the past one year in Baringo, Turkana and Elgeyo-Marakwet sparking fears of a militia-like group in the region.

On Friday last week, four General Service Unit (GSU) officers were shot dead following an ambush by armed bandits at Napeimoit in Turkana County. The bandits also seriously injured seven others, including an OCPD, a GSU and Rapid Deployment Unit commanders.

The officers flushed the bandits from the thickets and seized more than 40 rounds of ammunition, communication gadgets, a tortoise and other strange paraphernalia, according to the administrator. People Daily also established that the attackers stripped the bodies naked and made away with their firearms and uniforms. The attackers also deflated the tyres of the three Toyota Land cruisers and set ablaze another one during the attack.

Barely two days earlier, three people were killed when the Lodwar-bound matatu they were travelling in was sprayed with bullets. The government rolled out the military-led operation following pressure from local leaders which they said is the only lasting solution to the perennial problem. The government has termed the current security situation in the North Rift as a “national emergency” with more than 100 civilians and 16 people killed in the last six months.

Six bandit-prone counties in the region among them Turkana, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Laikipia and Samburu have been termed as ‘disturbed’ and ‘dangerous’.

President Ruto who ordered the deployment of the KDF said the government has determined that the security situation currently prevailing in the North Rift as a National Emergency. “Accordingly, painful and decisive measures must be taken effective immediately. I have today February 13, 2023, declared through a Kenya Gazette Notice certain areas specified therein within Turkana, West Pokot, Elgeyo-Marakwet, Baringo, Laikipia and Samburu counties as ‘disturbed’ and ‘dangerous’ areas triggering the legal consequences arising therefrom,” the president’s directive read in part.