Baringo County Commissioner (CC), Stephen Kutwa, has cautioned residents against grazing their livestock in areas that have been declared dangerous and disturbed.
Speaking to the press at Baringo County Referral Hospital in Kabarnet town, when the security team visited a police reservist recuperating from injuries sustained in a shootout with suspected armed bandits, Kutwa said that the move is meant to facilitate multi-agency teams in the ongoing Maliza Uhalifu operation to better locate armed criminals fond of using animals as their shield.
The NPR was attacked and injured while pursuing the bandits who had killed the Head Teacher, Kagir Primary School and took away his mobile phone.
The late Thomas Kibet, aged 55, and his wife were headed to Kipcherere Secondary School for Form One parents’ orientation day, when he met his death.
Kutwa stated that such areas will remain vacated until they succeed in flushing out the marauding armed criminals, who kill people while posing as herders.
‘It is not an excu
se since we now have enough pasture and water in our respective areas, so I don’t see the reason why a member of a community should cross over to their neighbourhood to cause instability,’ said Kutwa.
The administrator, while condemning the Saturday morning incident where the blind Primary School Head Teacher was ambushed and shot in the head, dying instantly, and that of the NPR officer the next day, gave an assurance that the criminals will in due course, be dealt with.
The County Police Commander, Julius Kiragu, pointed out that security agencies are pushing armed criminals away from areas where they have displaced people and that their resistance is short-lived.
Kiragu, who said support from the Kenya Army and specialised artillery during the exercise, assured parents and guardians of school-going children that they have stationed enough security at learning institutions within the volatile areas.
‘We have been escorting school-going children during the morning and in the evening, and will continue to
do so until we restore normalcy in such areas,’ he said.
The police commander, at the same time, called upon every stakeholder to play a crucial role in ending the vice once and for all.
Source: Kenya News Agency