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Noah Cheploen @cheploennoah

Security agencies have mapped out potential violence hotspots in Rift Valley with a view to fostering peaceful co-existence ahead of 2022. 

Regional Commissioner George Natembeya yesterday said that although the region is currently enjoying peace and harmonious relations between communities, they are leaving nothing to chance, especially considering past incidences of ethnic skirmishes.

Speaking after holding a closed-door meeting with elected leaders from Tiaty constituency in Baringo county, headed  by area MP William Kamket, the commissioner said mitigation measures “started as early as last year.”

“Of course it is known that every time we have elections we have issues of security in many parts of this country and Rift Valley is one of them given that it is a cosmopolitan region. This time round we will not be caught flatfooted,” he said.

He added: “As regional security committee, we have learnt from past experiences and we started planning as early as last year,” he said.

Security agencies are promoting dialogue, co-existence and inter-community peace, Natembeya said.

“Different communities are having dialogue and whenever people speak and understand each other, issues of misunderstanding can very quickly be solved,” he said.

“We have also mapped out areas that are prone to interethnic conflicts, most being as a result of political incitement.

We are  not just mapping for the sake of it but mapping and doing appropriate deployment,” Natembeya said.

All former AP posts had been gazetted by the government into police posts or patrol bases therefore boosting security in the grassroots. “An area we think needs more attention, we increase the numbers accordingly,” he stated.

Some of the officers deployed in areas prone to conflicts  include General Service Unit, Rapid Deployment Unit and Anti-stock Theft. They are expected to work with local police stations and patrol bases.

Natembeya attributed the existing peaceful in the region to a decline in political activities, which in most instances increase tension between different groups, because of inflammatory statements spewed by politicians.

Different groups

“In most cases, they (politicians) are the ones who incite people. We have put the political class  on notice,” he said, adding that they were working closely with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission  to ensure that political rhetoric geared towards causing ethnic disharmony is curtailed.

“We have also empowered the communities to know that your neighbour will always be your neighbour and will always be there regardless of these periodic political activities like elections which will come and go,” he added.