WILL KDF AND POLICE JOINT OPERATION TOWARDS ELIMINATING BANDITS WORK OR WILL IT BACKFIRE?

 President William Ruto yesterday dropped the bombshell in as far as the fight in banditry is concerned. For the last three months , the Pokot bandits have been wreaking havoc in Turkana, Marakwet, Samburu, Laikipia and Baringo Counties. They have been killing and driving away with hundred of livestock believed stolen from the mentioned areas which have become the most dangerous places for human beings to live. Residents there , women, men and children have been accustomed to gunshots and sounds of whistles signaling they are under attack from their enemies. This bandits have gone a notch higher in their henious acts because, they aren't sparing police officers who are stationed in this region. The bandits have been staging surprise attacks on officers doing their normal patrols. It has been a hell of a place. The question is ,who funds this bandits and why?

Speaking on Citizen TV yesterday night, the immediate former Rift Valley Regional Commissioner, now Trans Nzoia County Governor George Natembeya gave some chilling revelations. He vividly shared how politicians from this region drawn from either Pokot, Samburu, Turkana and Marakwet fund this bandits inorder to keep the business of cattle rustling alive. It is a business that rakes millions of shillings. The previous regime, the Former president Uhuru Kenyatta tasked the military to take charge the operations of Kenya Meat Commission. It is after that , the banditry business started reducing but abbatoirs in Nairobi like that of Dagoretti continued to receive this animals from unscrupulous traders. Natembeya opined that, Nairobians have been funding this banditry menace unknowingly since the meat the purchase in butcheries in Nairobi and its environments could be from this animals. Ye It is after this that President Ruto yesterday after convening a meeting at Nakuru State lodge with elected leaders drawn from Rift Valley region where he ended up coming up with resolve to send the military where it will partner with the Kenya police. How this is possible I don't know but we will wait and see.

West Gate Attack 

On 21st September 2013 , Al shabab insurgents stage an attack on Kenya's busiest shopping mall , West Gate situated in leafy suburb of Westlands. It was an attack which led to loss of lives and massive destruction of property. A cloud of terror and grief enveloped the whole Country and particularly West gate mall. The cabinet secretary for interior the then Ole Lenku and Inspector General sent a team is security personnel drawn from the Anti terror police unit (ATPU) , Recce Squad, Rapid deployment unit to try and neutralize the Al shabab terrorist who had held that mall. They were shooting indiscriminately ending up killing innocent Kenyans and foreign nationals who worked and lived in Kenya. Some were tourists who decid to spend their time enjoying various sceneries in Kenya. Something fatal happened, worse than the henious acts of the terrorists holding the mall hostage, the then President Uhuru Kenyatta after getting advice from his advisors on national security matters decided to involve the Kenya Defence Forces in this operation of obliterating the terrorists and rescuing the hostages holed inside the various floors of the West Gate mall. The country security docket was thrown into a total confusion and disarray. The police were inside the West gate mall and too were the KDF forces. This are two cadres with different training and chain of command. There was no coordination and you could tell who was taking order from who. Supremacy battles reigned between the National Police Service and the military. Constitutionally, the president is the commander in chief of the KDF forces. Unde him , we have the chief of defence forces who by then was General Julius Waweru Karangi and he was helped by commanders of the three regiments of the KDF. On the other hand , the national police is under the Inspector General of Police and he is helped by Deputy Inspector General ( Kenya Police and Administration police). In this operation, the chain of command was totally broken and what ensued is that , the KDF and police ended up exchanging friendly fires and in the process, one police officer was killed and others sustained gunshots wounds.

Defence and security experts believes the statements from interior CS who was giving briefs in on the ongoing operations fed the Country with alot of hot air and innuendos. The situation inside the mall wasn't what he was reporting to the nation. It is believed that , chances are rife that the Al shabab insurgents who had held the mall hostage in their quest to revenge for Kenya's military incursion in Somalia to flush, annihilate and disrupt their lucrative illegal businesses in the port of Kismayo , escaped through the main doors and with the help of the security troops disguised as shoppers. To cement further what I am saying, there were Muslim men and women who were on their religious attires of kanzu and women on hijab. Since no Kenyan or foreigner who was being held to be screened inorder to identify whether they are the insurgents, the Al shabab militia operatives inside took this chance to escape unhurt and left the police and the KDF exchanging fires inside the mall. This was necessitated by breakdown in the chain of command. 

I had taken the down memory lane route before embarking to where I was because, 9 years later, the KDF and Police are now put together in a joint operation to flush and eliminate the bandits. It will be a disarmament operations too aimed at collecting guns from Pokots who are believed to be notorious bandits. The question is , how will this disarmament operations take shape? Will thru only disarm the Pokots and leave the Samburu , Marakwet and Turkana herders with their guns and ammunitions or what will happen? From my end , you cannot disarm one community and leave the other armed and tell me you are leading a disarmament operation? This will only breed more hatred that the one at hand. If it is a disarmament process, all the warring communities must be disarmed 

Operation Nyundo

On February 22 , 1984 , the then President Moi engaged the military in a disarmament operation code named operation Nyundo (hammer). It took place in West Pokot district (now County). The operation was henious and tragressed on human rights in monumental proportions. Women and girls were raped with no iota of shame and mercy. Men were tortured inorder to confess where they were hiding their guns. This happened as the state was mum as hundred of cattle were confiscated by the military, some killed indiscriminately. It was a hell of a place in West Pokot. In Lotoriri and Kacheliba, to the locals , the killings meted on them was total to a massacre. Horrible at its best. The Kenya army who led they operation were under the command of former interior CS the late Joseph Nkaissery then a major in the Kenya army. It is is an operation which came to haunt him some years later especially when he was vetted to take the post of Cabinet security for interior and coordination of National Government.  Many civil societies and Pokot Community and leaders drawn from there who vehemently opposed his appointment. To date , they believe the state should have compensated them for the many lives , destruction and psychological torture they were passed through.

As we speak, the same operation will happen in this area and same mission: disarmament. 38 years later , the Pokot are now staring up to another operation from both the police and the military. What will happen? With this kind of operations, those who bears the heaviest brunt are women and children. I can assure you that , the role of the military and how they are trained is neutralize the opponent not to maintain law and order. The latter is the work of the police. The confusion is here , how will an operation of maintaining law and order and neutralizing the opponent work out? Again, the mission of the KDF is to defend and protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the republic, assist and cooperate with other authorities in situations of emergency or disaster and restore peace in any part of Kenya affected by unrest or instability as assigned. The question is , will it work out or it will fail just like operation Nyundo which even made the Pokots to be harsh and lethal?