President William Ruto on Monday, February 13, ordered a joint Kenya Defence Forces(KDF) and police security operation in all bandit-prone areas beginning Tuesday, February 14.
Speaking to local leaders at the Nakuru State Lodge, the Head of State also announced a three-day voluntary disarmament exercise.
Ruto further noted that more than 15 schools in the affected areas were yet to resume normal programming, affirming that the government would ensure that all the students go back to school.
“I have ordered the Minister of Internal Security and the Minister of Defense, to ensure that in all the affected areas, everyone with a gun that was not issued to them by the government, must surrender it by tomorrow.
“We are moving into that area and we will not leave until every illegal gun is returned and every child has gone back to school. We cannot continue to lose our security officers at the hands of a few bandits,” Ruto stated.
The order followed another made on Sunday, February 12, when Ruto ordered Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kithure Kindiki out of the Harambee Avenue office, to the insecurity-stricken region where he is expected to restore security.
“CS Kindiki is not here today because he was in Baringo and in Turkana the day before. I told him to leave his Nairobi office and go live in the North Rift until the banditry stops,” Ruto stated.
The President further reiterated that the government had put in place stringent measures to combat banditry and ensure that no more lives were lost as a result.
Kenya recorded an increase in cases of banditry in some regions in the past weeks leaving residents in fear for their lives.
On Friday, February 10, six people, including four police officers, were killed in a bandit attack on the Kitale-Lodwar highway in Turkana County.
Additionally, seven officers, including the sub-county Police Commander, were hospitalised after sustaining gunshot wounds during an hours-long gunfight with an estimated 300 bandits.
In response to the bandit attacks, Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya offered President William Ruto a solution that would do away with the attacks noting that deploying police officers was not a viable solution.
Speaking on Sunday, February 12, the governor asked the president to work with the locals to find a better solution to the ongoing violence.
“I beseech you to talk to the locals in these regions and you will get to the bottom of the banditry problem,” Natembeya stated.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE