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The leaders of four North Rift counties have decided to end the perennial conflict between communities in Suguta Valley, a region that has been in conflict due to the rustling of cattle and the threat of banditry for over 60 years.
Speaking Friday at Kenya School of Government, Baringo Campus at a security meeting chaired by Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembea, leaders from Turkana, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo agreed to pledge to end the threat of insecurity in the valley. considered a “no go” zone.
Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok said they were looking for a lasting solution in the infamous Suguta region which is in Turkana County and extends to Samburu and Baringo counties because for a long time it has fostered the animosity of neighboring communities through rustling. of cattle and banditry.
“I believe that when we put all our concerted efforts with the help of the national government and other interested parties, we will restore peace in the area,” he said.
Nanok revealed that he had conversed with the leadership of other regions that had conflicts before such as the border between West Pokot and Uganda, where they now enjoyed relative peace after locals decided to avoid backward behavior and get involved. in other significant activities.
He complained that the residents of the area lived in fear and yet could be helped to live in peace like any other citizen across the country.
The Governor said leaders should be at the forefront of advocating for peace and called on leaders notably from Tiaty, Turkana East, Baringo South, Samburu North and Laikipia West, whose jurisdictions still faced insecurity challenges to give l example and to bring the masses together in an attempt to eradicate vice.
Uasin Governor Gishu Jackson Mandago, president of the North Rift Economic Block (NOREB), called on all leaders to dialogue and seek solutions on how to stem the vice that has hindered the region’s economy.
Mandago noted that the vice also affected local and foreign investors who would have facilitated the growth of the economy of the North Rift counties and its neighbors.
“We take the bold step of ending the addiction because we can’t continue to sit while our people are traumatized by the effects of insecurity,” he said.
In his remarks, he proposed the establishment of social services such as hospitals, schools, churches and clean water supplies as a way to support locals from the affected areas.
West Pokot Governor Professor John Lonyangapuo expressed the need for all leaders and the security apparatus to dialogue and revoke their personal interests to save the area that has been subject to internal conflicts since the beginning of the years ’60.
He said the inaugural meeting was historic because it involved leadership from affected areas who never saw each other in the eye, saying it marked a milestone for more promising meetings in the future as leaders would now walk together across the region. struck to preach peace at the base.
Baringo Governor Stanley Kiptis in his remarks challenged the region’s politicians to take maximum responsibility by honoring their determination to stem the vice by saying they would leave a mark that would be remembered by both present and future generations.
Tiaty MP Wiliam Kamket and his Turkana East counterpart Lokiru Aki have been called upon to work with MCAs in the area and end the challenges of insecurity in and around Kapedo.
However, Kamket noted that some of the chiefs and their aides in his constituency were suspended on suspicion of sympathizing with the rustling of cattle while their peers in neighboring administrative areas were still in office, a situation that he believes hinders a rapid response to insecurity.
Aki, on the other hand, noted that creating cross-border markets would greatly aid interactions between communities that would defend peaceful coexistence between the warring Pokot and Turkana communities.
In November 2012, more than 40 Kenyan police and reservists were killed in the valley near Baragoi while on a mission to recover stolen cattle.
The leaders during the presentation of the resolutions decided to hold the first meeting which would take place within a week in Kapedo.
Natembea promised his office would revive regular border and sub-county peace committees within the affected areas to address insecurity issues as they would also motivate peace champions and elders who assist in conflict resolution.
“Intensified security patrols along unsafe areas will be stepped up and we will provide security escorts until normal is resumed,” Natembea said.
Other leaders who attended the peace meeting were female representatives Gladwell Cheruiyot (Baringo) and Joyce Akai (Turkana), Deputy Governor Elgeyo Marakwet Wesley Rotich, Members of Parliament (MP) and County Assembly Members (MCA) of the four counties.
By Benson Kelio / Christopher Kiprop
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