Barely living, Easily Dying in Bandit Zones; Illegal Firearms, Sporadic Attacks, and Deaths
He had survived throughout his childhood by the bullet and now in adulthood, with a family of his own, he has succumbed to the bullet from the same bandits
A few days ago, my younger brother, a forest officer, called me that they managed to escape a deadly ambush from the "local residents" over their enforcement of forest non-encroachment. Armed with firearms, the irate residents were only a few meters away from their camping site but only shielded by the perimeter wall. Relieved, they called for reinforcements from the nearby police officers and were whisked away. This is the glaring danger of living and working in a bandit-inhabited zone. You are only aware that, at certain time, you will come across a bullet but don't know when and where.
Thomas Kibet, a primary headteacher and a resident of Baringo County Kenya, faced the deadly brunt of living in a bandit-shattered zone. As a survivor of the bandit assault, he as well doubled up as the peace crusader in the troubled North Rift. Shot with 9 bullets in 1978 while he was barely 9 years old by the bandits, he was left with the wound-induced blindnes for good. However, this week, he finally died at the age of 55 years old. Not from the decades-inflicted wounds, but with a gun shot from the bandits again. Perhaps, the 10th or 11th bullet. He had survived throughout his childhood by the bullet and now in adulthood, with a family of his own, he has succumbed to the instant bullet from the same bandits.
In another incident, Salina Jeruto, a nurse in a health facility in Elgeyo Marakwet, was finally killed by the bandits in March 2023. While aware of the fatal bandits, she had engineered a way of pleading for forgiveness from the militia whenever she comes across them. A religuously staunch Catholic, Salina Jeruto often raises her rosary to ask the bandits to spare her. When the bandits raided her home last year and drove away nearly 40 goats, she was almost killed. And in many fatal raids, she had managed to escape several times. However, on March 7, 2023, she wasn’t lucky. On her way home from her farm, Salina Jeruto was sprayed mercilessly with bullets by the bandits. She died immediately while holding her rosary— a ritual that she had been religiously practicing throughout her life.
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The North Rift's security woes run deep, rooted in decades of persistent conflict. Banditry, cattle-rustling, and local clashes plague the region, exacerbated by the easy availability of illegal weapons. Estimates suggest over 650,000 illicit firearms circulate nationwide, with a heavy concentration in pastoral counties. This has translated into deadly violence, with over 40 bandit attacks in the past six months alone. Over 100 civilians and 16 police officers lost their lives, forcing hundreds to flee their homes.
The impact on communities is devastating. Over 2,000 families have sought refuge in nearby villages, further straining resources and exacerbating poverty. In Baringo County, a hotspot for banditry, displacement rates in border villages reach a staggering 90%. Schools have even become makeshift shelters for displaced residents.
Political Violence involving Pastoral Militia
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Pastoralist militia activity in Kenya has seen a sharp rise in 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). From January 1st to March 24th, 2023, ACLED recorded 69 political violence events involving pastoralist militias, marking a 77% increase over the period from October 10th to December 31st, 2022. Notably, violence involving these militias accounted for nearly 30% of all political violence events in Kenya during the first quarter of 2023, tragically resulting in at least 73 reported fatalities.
Tragically, the individuals wielding weapons in this cycle of violence primarily belong to the Pokot, Turkana, Marakwet, Tugen, Illchamus, and Samburu communities. These very communities also bear the brunt of the suffering caused by the violence. Data from ACLED reveals that Pokot ethnic militias are the most active perpetrators, responsible for nearly half of all violent incidents involving pastoralist militias in the North Rift region during the first quarter of 2023.
The significance of the gun has evolved beyond mere defense and aggression to encompass a symbol of male pride and a means of accruing wealth. As per Enact Africa, Turkana warriors in Isiolo encapsulated the essence of the firearm as follows:
‘When I go to bed, the gun is next to me on my right, while my wife is on the left; in case of any situation, I can wake up and cock the gun. The gun is more than a wife. This gun of mine is the reason why I have these cows, and through it I can acquire more wealth.’
How Banditry Operates
Operation Maliza Uhalifu against Pastoralists in North Rift
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Malaso Nature Conservancy, once a booming tourist attraction site with escarpments stretching over the 64-km North Rift Valley, has become an armoury for the bandits. The region comprises deep valleys, gravines, gorges, and forest showcasing its beautiful nature. Notwithstanding, that breathtaking nature has now been reigned over by the bandits. Security operatives uncovered what they termed a highly elitist cattle-rustling network. Every week, a low-altitude helicopter suspiciously hovers over the valley to deliver food and weapons to the bandits.
But, CS has since banned any aircraft operating in the area and ordered anyone in the hideouts to flush themselves out before further stun actions are taken. When the government announced the valley as a crime scene, the bandits reportedly relocated their families to their hideouts to further complicate the security operations. These hideouts are highly remote and inaccessible, comprising a difficult terrain that the bandits are well familiar with more than the security officers.
Banditry, as per the Cabinet Secretary for interior security Kithure Kindiki, is multifaceted and unearthed how it operates. The cattle gang is commanded by senior commanders, politicians, spiritual leaders, as well as beneficiaries with commercial interests. Cattle rustling is a sophisticated network with well-organized actors.
Apart from the obvious duties of the other bandit elite's, the role of the spiritual leaders is to offer a kind of prophetic support to the bandits. Oath-taking is a ritual administered to reinforce their mission. It makes their banditry not only their source of income but also a lifelong endeavour worth dying for. In any case, a fight infused with spiritual longing is hardly won. It transcends beyond generations given the hostile environment that the bandits expose to their children.
Nation.africa revealed a complex network of informers both within the government and the local communities. Government informers provide the bandits with intelligence to either ambush them or find escape routes. Similarly, informers from the local communities guide bandits on where to get a flock of cattle. Informers include security officers as well as chiefs, who, in turn, are rewarded with a share of the loot. Chiefs often face the hardest task of either working for the government or siding with the bandits to avoid being attacked. Some of them have been killed and injured in their line of duty. The bandits' intelligence is in form of who has the largest herd, where they graze, who shepherds them, and a list of other significant details. Informers often masquerade as livestock traders in the market to gather intelligence and get their dues Interestingly, they themselves, and their families, are spared by the bandits whenever there is an attack. The informers are few but they have abeted an organised crime by leaking out information about their villages.
The bandits, as per the then Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya, are organized and rewarded accordingly.
"If a bandit kills a sergeant, his rank [within the banditry command] becomes that of a sergeant. If he kills a senior superintendent of police, he is promoted to that rank. When his juniors go on raids, he just stays at home, and gets his share of the loot," he said during the interview.
Why it has been hard to end bandit Militia
Flow of Illicit Arms in Market Towns
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The scale of the illicit arms problem is daunting. The recent destruction of 23,000 weapons, while seemingly significant, represents a mere 3.6% dent in the estimated number circulating illegally. This highlights the uphill battle Kenya faces in curbing the flow of these arms and mitigating their destructive impact.
The dismal recovery rate of illegal firearms in Kenya's pastoral communities exposes glaring flaws in national and regional arms control strategies. Despite a 2006 action plan, Kenya lacks a comprehensive national gun policy, leading to poorly coordinated and ineffective disarmament initiatives. This disjointed approach undermines efforts to curb the flow of weapons that fuel violence in the North Rift.
Police officers are as well complicit in banditry activities in the North Rift. A local chief in Samburu, as per Enact Africa, revealed that:
‘Our warriors obtained their arms and ammunition from the security forces stationed here. When there is a raid, the police often approach us with ammunition because they know that the warriors will want to follow their stolen animals. So, a raid by one community on another creates demand for ammunition by the warriors and the police become the suppliers… In many cases, community members even contribute money to purchase thousands of bullets or even firearms from the operations police stationed here.’
Furthermore, East African nations have their own individual security concerns, hindering effective regional collaboration. Arms trafficking transcends borders, demanding a unified front. Kenya's proximity to volatile neighbors like Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan further amplifies the risk of illicit arms infiltrating the country.
While various policies and legal frameworks exist, including the Nairobi Protocol, Mifugo Protocol, and Intergovernmental Authority on Development Transhumance Protocol, their effectiveness is crippled by low ratification and implementation rates. This fragmented approach leaves Kenya and the region vulnerable to the continued spread of illegal arms and the devastating consequences they unleash.
Disarmament initiatives often falter. Where communities tremble under the constant threat of violence, self-armament becomes a desperate act of self-protection, to avoid being attacked and displaced. For these citizens, every firearm purchase is a form of personal security, shielding themselves from the sporadic attacks. Yet, this proliferation of weapons ignites a vicious cycle: more guns fuel more violence, pushing even more individuals into death traps.
While the heart of the violence rests within specific communities, the nature of these militias seems to be evolving. Recent attacks against security forces, coordinated and swift, suggest a shift from disorganized gangs to structured groups with command structures. This has even prompted comparisons to organized extremist groups like al-Shabaab and Islamic State by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kindiki.
Adding to the growing threat is the escalation in weaponry. No longer limited to traditional bows and arrows, these militias now wield G3 rifles, AK47s, mortars, and even grenades. This worrying development points to an increased flow of sophisticated weaponry into the region.
Furthermore, media reports suggest that deserted soldiers have joined the ranks of these militias, bringing their training and experience to the table. This raises concerns about the potential for even more coordinated and deadly attacks.
The National Police has been underestimating the threat of the bandits for a long time. In 2012 and 2014, 42 and 21 police officers respectively were ambushed and immediately killed in Suguta Valley (The Valley of Death). The former Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya decried that police officers are underpaid and that politicians and other Ministry of Interior officials were negligent and a part of the criminal gang. He added that sometimes, police officers are tired and unable to closely monitor the encroaching bandits hiding near watch towers.
He expressed his frustrations of how the efforts of the police officers were bungled out.
"It was frustrating when we gave out the coordinates to the pilots to carry out bombing on specific areas where the bandits were, they were diverted elsewhere...This is how banditry and cattle rustling thrive because of the protection by a few powerful individuals."
Hope in the Operation Maliza Uhalifu
Operation Maliza Uhalifu, launched in February 2023, as a government's response comprises military, police rapid response units, and intelligence operatives across six North Rift counties. Despite these efforts, however, the armed raids continue, highlighting the complexity of tackling this deeply entrenched issue. The Kenya Kwanza administration has so far shown political willingness to end banditry in North Rift by not only sending military but also leveraging intelligence and community elders.
However, EAC states should call for a comprehensive approach integrating disarmament, development, and security. This entails coordinated efforts among states to implement simultaneous disarmament initiatives aimed at stemming the influx of illicit arms. Moreover, proactive measures to deliver essential socio-economic program by Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and South Sudan are crucial for enhancing the development indicators of the economically disadvantaged communities within the Karamoja Cluster.
Addressing this crisis demands a multi-pronged approach. While tackling the illegal arms trade is crucial, it's only one piece of the puzzle. Without addressing the underlying socio-economic challenges and securing community buy-in for security initiatives, true peace will remain elusive.