Killing of peace crusader big blow to peace efforts in the banditry prone North Rift
Thomas Kibet,55, a peace crusader in the banditry prone North Rift who was shot dead by armed bandits in Baringo County last week. The killing of Kibet has dealt a big blow to peace efforts in the restive region. Photo/Jeremiah Choge
The killing of Thomas Kibet,55, a peace crusader in the banditry prone North Rift has dealt a big blow to peace efforts in the restive region.
Kibet who was the head teacher 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 on Saturday morning when they were ambushed by armed bandits in Namba area.
Kibet will be remembered for putting his life in danger by teaching in the volatile region as other teachers fled the region due rampant cases of insecurity.
He had survived another attack by cattle rustlers at the age of nine(9), leaving him totally blind.
Mr Kibet has been described as a beacon of hope to learners in the area who would otherwise have dropped out of school.
Joan Chemtai Bwambok of the New Dawn of Hope, an organisation which has been reaching out to insecurity victims in the North Rift, said Kibet was the face of hope in the region describing his death as a big blow.
"We have lost our only source of hope. Condolences. May he rest in peace," said Bwambok.
Despite the odds, Kibet will be remembered for steering Kagir Primary School to be one of the top performing schools in Baringo County.
The school topped in Baringo North in last year’s KCPE, where it produced a candidate with 411 marks.
This is despite it being in an area where most families are victims of banditry, either killed or left with permanent scar.
Kibet was on a motorcycle with his wife and child on their way to Kipcherere Secondary School for a function on Saturday morning when they were ambushed by armed bandits in Namba area.
According to Baringo Police Commander Julius Kiragu, the teacher was shot in the head during the ambush and died on the spot.
The motorcycle belonged to a police reservist (NPR), who was also the rider.
Kibet, a CRE teacher, used braille and bonded with the pupils, whom he recognized by their names and voices.
In a past interview with AVDelta News, Kibet had said was committed to making a difference in the lives of Baringo children, who would later change the society.
During the attack in 1978, the bullet passed Kibet’s right and left eyes, rendering him blind.
A young boy then, Kibet was herding his father's livestock in the Kagir area of Baringo North, when the bandits attacked him.
Kibet revealed to AVDelta News then how his father wanted to spear him to death after he became a burden.
He spent many months in the hospital after being rescued by his mother having gotten an advance plan his father.
And after healing, he was taken to Thika School for the Blind and later graduated from Egerton University to become a teacher.
Kibet rose through ranks to become the Headteacher of Kagir Primary School, where he opted to help the children, as many non-local teachers feared being posted in the school over constant attacks.
He is prided for ensuring that more than 200 pupils who had dropped out of school returned after a partial closure due to bandit attacks.
"I'm however saddened that some of my students fail to progress in their education for lack of school fees, or early marriages," Kibet told AVDelta News then.
His prayer was to see candidates excelling and had called on leaders and well-wishers to help him get the latest syllabus of Braille.
The government rolled out a massive security operation coordinated by police and assisted by the military in the banditry prone counties in the North Rift early last year following the killing of more than 100 civilians and 24 police officers in six(6) months alone.
Early this year, the government termed six(6) banditry-prone counties in the region--Turkana, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Laikipia, and Samburu as 'disturbed' and 'dangerous'.
