The untold suffering of Baringo banditry victims

Many parts in the banditry prone North Rift have not known peace for many years with several families mourning the cold blood killing of their loved ones by armed bandits. 

An investigation by AVDelta News reveals that almost every family living along the expansive and dangerous Tugen-Ilchamus-Pokot border in Baringo County for instance has fallen victim to the perennial cattle rustling menace.

Mr James Barminga,60, a resident of Ngaratuko in Baringo North sub-County narrated how he recently lost all his 100 cattle to armed raiders.

"I have never recovered from wealth creation. All my hopes and that of my children went away with the livestock. My life has been ruined," Mr Barminga says. 

For Mr Thomas Kimosop of the neighbouring Chepkesin, he says is lucky after he escaped death narrowly in 2016.

He was cornered while herding his livestock and as he escaped, the gun-wielding rustlers drove all his 159 goats away.

It was only five(5) months after his brother was shot dead by the same bandits.

"The raiders have two(2) options… they either kill you or take away your livestock," Mr Kimosop explains. 

In Mukutani in Baringo South sub-County, Ms Sarah Lekirma has never returned to her irrigation farming after their village woke up to a raid in 2014.

When the guns went silent, five(5) people lay dead near Mukutani Trading Centre.

Over 300 families moved away and to date, the irrigation has never been done again. 

The bandits then burnt down two(2) shops and vandalized more in Mukutani.

Some families who took refuge at a nearby church were evacuated by joint efforts by the government and Red Cross.

Another cold blood killing is that of Thomas Kibet in 2023.

The killing of the 55-year-old peace crusader in the banditry prone North Rift dealt a big blow to peace efforts in the restive region. 

Kibet, who was the Headteacher at Kagir Primary School in Baringo North, was on a motorcycle with his wife and a child on their way to Kipcherere Secondary School in the same sub-County for a function when they were ambushed by armed bandits in the Namba area.

He will be remembered for putting his life in danger by teaching in the volatile region as other teachers fled the region due to rampant cases of insecurity.

Just last week, two people were shot dead by gun-toting suspected bandits in Kiserian near Mukutani in Baringo South sub-County.

The two(2), a 71-year-old man and his grandson--a Grade Four pupil--were herding their livestock when they were ambushed and killed by armed bandits.

The livestock were driven towards Tiaty sub-County.

The perennial banditry has completely shattered dreams of many learners in the region with more than 10 schools in Baringo North and Baringo South sub-counties remaining closed due to the incessant insecurity.

The worst hit are Chepkesin, Kamwetio, Kobot, Kagir, Yatya, Barsuswo, Mukutani, and Arabal primary schools which have remained closed since 2005. 

Some like Kamwetio for instance were closed in 2010. 

More than 2,000 pupils forced to flee with their parents whose livestock have been stolen, face a bleak academic future.

Government efforts to address the menace have not been as successful as expected. 

At Mukutani in Baringo South sub-county alone, there is a contingent of multi-agency security personnel camping in the area.

But their presence has done little to ward-off the daring bandits with last week's killings happening metres away from a heavily-guarded General Service Unit (GSU) camp. 

The daring bandits have not spared security personnel either, with a military officer being shot dead in 2023 at Mukutani at the border of Baringo South and Tiaty East. 

During the attack, unknown number bandits suspected to be from the neighbouring community ambushed the camps belonging to a multi-agency team of security personnel before firing at the officers, killing one(1) of them instantly.

According to Rift Valley Regional Coordinator Abdi Hassan, the bandits who staged the attack had fled the ongoing security operation in Laikipia West.

“The officer succumbed to the injuries while being rushed to hospital. It is unfortunate that this is happening just after we reinstated the ongoing operation,” Mr Hassan told AVDelta News in an interview. 

Recent research recommends a raft of measures in a bid to permanently address the perennial banditry menace. 

Bishop Alexander Moi, 73, a student at the Breakthrough International Bible University (BIBU) in his research titled: “An attempt to find a solution to the unending conflicts in Baringo County" recommends a blend of homegrown solutions as a remedy to the problem.

Bishop Moi has recommended the reintroduction of Labai--a Pokot customary punishment mechanism.

In Labai, the author writes: “The practice was that whenever a murder was committed by someone, elders from both sides, culprit and victim, would sit down and agree on the size of compensation to the offended people – the verdict would be binding and final. Such fines, in terms of animals, are generally imposed on the offending community rather than on the individual offender.”

He observes that the method was a perfect deterrent since the Pokot people were averse to losing their livestock because of a mistake done by an individual.” 

"That is why a Pokot can never dare kill a fellow Pokot because his family would lose all their wealth in compensation,” the research reads in part.