One hundred and forty-eight (148) illegally-owned firearms have been surrendered to the police under the ongoing Operation Komesha Uhalifu in the North Rift.
According to the Ministry of Interior, out of the total surrendered firearms, 96 have been recovered from Samburu County.
Speaking during a meeting with top security officers involved in the operation, Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof Kithure Kindiki said the government will not let up on the disarmament efforts.
“The government will keep its foot firmly on the pedal to rid the area decades of insecurity and violent livestock theft advanced through illegally-owned guns,” Kindiki said.
The CS has also announced that 31 people are scheduled to face banditry-related charges next week.
He further revealed that an arrest warrant had been issued against an Assistant Chief, “a resounding message that the government will unleash a cascade of accountability, bringing it down to the individual level where responsibility for any criminal actions will be subjected to swift justice”.
A multi-agency team has been camping in the North Rift region since February 17, 2023, when the operation to flush out bandits was launched.
The operation is being conducted in several areas within Elgeyo Marawet, West Pokot, Turkana, Baringo and Samburu counties.
Fence liberated areas
It is aimed at flushing out bandits that have terrorized locals for several decades, leading to not only the theft of livestock but also the loss of lives.
According to the CS, the operation has so far been successful.
Speaking when he presided over the pass out of 200 newly trained National Police Reservists at Kimalel Grounds in Baringo, Kindiki said the multi-agency operation had managed to secure several areas that had initially been under the control of bandits.
He revealed plans by the government to fence the liberated areas.
Some of the areas include Korkoron Hills and caves, Tandare Valley, Arabal Hills, Ng’elecha Ravine and Mukogodo Forest.
“All these places are now free from bandits, but we must make sure they don’t return there again. Therefore, our NPS officers, the multi-agency teams here including our partners in this effort-the KDF, we must make sure that these places remain out of bounds for bandits and criminals for the rest of our time,” the CS said.
