Tension remains high in Kerio Valley following the killing of four people in two separate incidents.

The attacks are a big blow to peace efforts in the region which had witnessed relative calm in the past three months.
The first attack saw a herder shot dead in Dira of Tiaty constituency, Baringo County.

During the incident armed bandits drove away an unknown number of livestock.

A retaliatory attack followed shortly after, leaving three people dead, including two pupils from Kimongo Primary School in Elgeyo Marakwet County.

The victims were ambushed and shot on their way home from school near Soko Bora, close to Tot in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
The situation remains tense, with residents fleeing the area fearing further violence.

The attacks come barely a month after three people were killed on the Kolowa Bridge as they returned from Kolowa Market to Tot.
Heineous act

Rift Valley Regional Coordinator Abdi Hassan on Monday assured the residents that security personnel, including the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU), and General Service Unit (GSU) have been deployed to the area.

“The security agents will not rest until all perpetrators of the heinous act are brought to book,” warned the administrator.

Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wisley Rotich decried resurgence of insecurity and called on the government to assure residents of their safety.

“The government should deal decisively with criminal elements wreaking havoc in Kerio Valley as the situation is almost getting out of hand. It seems security apparatus are helpless and the situation is getting worse each day,” said Rotich.

According to Rotich, the latest attacks bring the cumulative death toll in the last seven months to 70.

Residents who spoke to People Daily wondered why the armed bandits were now resorting to killing learners.

“People who kill children are not bandits but terrorists who terrorise lives of our people. Killing young people without animals. Actually, we need total peace in actions not peace by word of mouth,” said Gilbert Rotich, a resident.

Derail education

The killings targeting learners and teachers in North Rift has sparked fears that armed criminals are determined to derail education in the region.

Early last year, armed bandits shot dead Kagir Primary head teacher Thomas Kibet.

Kibet who had been leading peace efforts in the region was on a motorcycle with his wife and a child on their way to Kipcherere Secondary School in Baringo North for a function when they were ambushed by armed bandits near Namba.

He had survived another attack by cattle rustlers at the age of nine, leaving him totally blind.

Also, meeting his death in similar circumstances was Tuluk Primary deputy head teacher who was found dead with gunshot wounds, some few meters from a shopping centre in Baringo North in December.

According to locals, Elijah Simotwo, 57, was last seen at the shopping centre the previous day.

The incident happened barely five days after five people were killed by bandits in the same locality.

Another attack which sparked a public outcry over runaway insecurity in the region was the killing of three Grade Three pupils at Arror Primary in Elgeyo Marakwet County last year.

Gibson Maiyo, Shadrack Kiplimo Kiplagat and Brian Kiptoo were shot dead by armed bandits as they were eating mangoes during lunch hour near their school.

In April last year, one person was shot dead after two buses were ambushed by armed criminals.

One of the drivers was shot dead while six pupils and three teachers sustained gunshot wounds.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen who toured the region last week said more administrative units and police stations will be established in areas in the North Rift to boost security.

The government, the CS said, is also in the process of opening up the region for development though infrastructure improvement and road network.

“We have seen a great improvement in silencing of guns in the region. That’s the reason we want to open this region o engage in meaningful development.”