Insecurity in Baringo has shown its ugly face yet again as Class Eight pupils sit for their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams.
As the country saw a total of 1,225,693 candidates sit for their exams in 28,248 different centres countrywide yesterday, two primary schools in Baringo South had to temporarily stop doing their exams due to sounds of heavy gun fires.
According to reports by the Rift Valley Commissioner Maalim Mohammed, bandits attacked Kapkosom village yesterday morning and torched several houses.
An eyewitness report says, security officers manning the examination centres were forced to arm themselves to the tooth for any eventualities just in case the bandits forced their way into the school.
After a few minutes, the bandits had attacked, torching several houses in the village and fled away. When calm returned eventually, examination proceeded smoothly without any further interruptions.
Despite the examination continuing amid war-like environment, the government has assured the area residents of additional security personnel being deployed in the area.
Meanwhile, Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha has instructed that all the students in the area be put in a single examination centre where they will have a place to sleep and eat.
Reports, however, indicate that a majority of residents of Kapkosom village have fled their homes with livestock to other safer villages.
Baringo is not new to banditry, despite government deploying massive security operations in the area.
While a majority of people blame cattle rustling for the hundreds of lives lost and thousands of families displaced in the conflict, a lasting solution for peace has not been reached yet.
While other political leaders allude the insecurity to boundary dispute as a probable cause of conflict, it remains unclear if the conflict-prone area shall ever experience peace.
Baringo is home to prominent politicians such as former president Daniel arap Moi, his son, Senator Gideon Moi,a just to mention but a few!