A section of university students from the Rift Valley region has issued a 72-hour ultimatum for the government to address Kerio Valley insecurity.
The students mostly from the volatile region say should the government fail, they will take to the streets.
In a media briefing in Eldoret town, the students led by Rift Valley region students’ union chairman Chepwony Tangula said the security situation in Kerio Valley was worrying to them.
“Whatever is happening in Kerio Valley is a concern for all of us. The rate of insecurity in the area is not good and as students born and bred there, we have to talk about it,” said Tangula.
The students said the situation has reached a point that needs President Uhuru Kenyatta’s intervention, even as they hit out at politicians for ignoring the issue.
“Our people are being killed, schools banned. Where do you want voters to come from?” Tangula asked politicians.
Kerio Valley has witnessed a wave of bandit attacks in the recent past – a situation that is said to be as a result of the outdated cattle rustling practice that many argue has been turned into a business by a few individuals.
“Mr. President, please, the way you acted in Laikipia, that is what we want to see in Kerio Valley,” noted the Moi University student.
“We are now in university and we’re not sure after graduating if we will survive when we go back to our homes. Our mothers are dying. If the government will not listen, we will mobilize university students across the country to discuss the way forward and stage demonstrations,” he added.
The students from Kerio Valley further noted that there was no need for them to study, only to end up being killed by bandits.
Brian Cheruiyot, also a Moi University student hit out at the local leaders close to the powers that be, among them Baringo Senator Gideon Moi, for remaining mum on the issue.
Another student, Meshack Korir from Endo ward which is one of the affected areas in Kerio Valley lamented that in the last three months, over 20 people have been killed by bandits, half of which are women and children.
“What arm can a woman carry for her to be killed? She is harmless. This is no longer cattle rustling but crimes against humanity,” Korir said.
The university students now want the government to deploy National Police Reservists (NPRs) as one measure to address the perennial insecurity in Kerio Valley.
