A section of Baringo county leaders has accused the government of talking tough about insecurity in the region but doing little to avert the problem.
They further threatened to sue the government at an international court of human rights violations following a spate of banditry attacks that have left many dead and others displaced.
Mochongoi ward representative Kipruto Kimosop said the government was focusing too much on “non-issues” and turning a blind eye to the killings in Baringo and Elegeyo Marakwet counties.
“Despite the frequent attacks staged by bandits, we have not heard President Kenyatta speak about it,” he noted.
The killings have been happening despite the government deploying more than eighty National Police Reservists and three armoured police carriers to help restore calm in the region.
Last week, eight people were shot dead in Kerio Valley following a shootout between two warring groups; three other people sustained serious injuries during the shootout between members of the Marakwet and Pokot communities at Siromet area at the Baringo-Elgeyo Marakwet border.
A 15-year-old-boy was among those who lost their lives. Unknown number of livestock were also stolen during the attack, according to Mohammed.
The deaths bring to more than 60, the number of people who have been killed in the region in the last three months.
The government has since started a disarmament exercise in the region following the lapse of the ultimatum it had issued to herders to voluntarily surrender illegal firearms in their possession.
Baringo Senator Gideon Moi is under increasing pressure to intervene in the raging instability in his backyard.
Regional leaders, among them Governor Stanley Kiptis and MPs William Cheptumo (Baringo North) and Charles Kamuren of Baringo South, yesterday accused the senator of keeping quiet amid the ongoing bloodshed.
“Our people continue to be killed in cold blood as our senator engages in 2022 succession politics. Why doesn’t he use his closeness to the State to convince the government to assure the people of their safety?” said Kamuren.
The leaders have since suspended election campaigns for ten days to focus on addressing the insecurity in the area. Kiptis said they had put political activities on hold to look for a lasting solution to insecurity biting the community.
The cited Baringo North and Baringo South sub-counties as the worst hit areas where hundreds of people had been displaced and in need of humanitarian assistance.
