A tough talking Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has pledged the commitment of the government in restoring peace and ending deadly conflicts along the border of Kitui and Tana River counties.
Speaking at the South Eastern Kenya University in Kitui County, Prof Kindiki said the government had directed security agencies to beef up security in the region after suspected camel herders from the neighbouring Tana River County killed eight people in Kitui County in the last two weeks.
“I want to assure the people of Kitui that the government will ensure they are safe. The government has directed those responsible with security to ensure the latest incident is not treated as an isolated case,” he said Wednesday.
Prof Kindiki’s assurance came at the height of heightened tension in the Mwingi region in Kitui County following the killing of a 14-year-old schoolboy by suspected camel herders last week.
The killing of Joseph Mutemi came barely two days after suspected camel herders gunned down and hacked to death seven people when they stormed Kwa Kamari Village in Tseikuru Sub-county. They also looted and set shops on fire in the Kwa Kamari Township.
According to the police, the April 25th attack at Kwa Kamari Village was a retaliation following the killing of three camel herders by suspected farmers. The killing of Musa Abdirhaman, Mohammed Aden Ahmed, and Abdi Dakane on March 30, the police say, was a retaliation after suspected camel herders hacked to death a farmer in the region the previous day.
The Nation has learned that the killing of the farmer, identified in police records as Stephen Kyalo Kimwele, followed the killing of a camel by unknown people in the region.
The attacks are believed to be fueled by conflicts over pasture and water between farmers and camel herders. A senior government official privy to the ongoing investigation into the deaths, however, told Nation that security agencies are investigating the possible involvement of terrorists from a neighbouring country in the recent wave of killings.
The police have not arrested anyone in connection with the killings.
“The same way we have been able to suppress banditry and terrorism significantly, we will do the same to crack down on those hiding in resource conflicts to perpetuate crime,” Prof Kindiki said.
Prof Kindiki reiterated the commitment of the government to smoke out everyone who was involved in planning and executing the deadly conflicts and getting to the bottom of the problem. “If a political leader or a government official is involved, then action will be taken against them because crime is crime and it is punishable by law,” he said at a time when some politicians and government officials in Kitui and Garissa counties have taken hardline positions on the conflicts.
