Meru: The government has taken a bold move in investing in personnel and equipment in a bid to address the perennial cattle rustling and banditry in the northern grazing zones of Meru County. Speaking in Meru where he is holding Jukwaa La Usalama Meru Chapter Forum, Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen said the government was committed to ending the menace and would do all it could to ensure herders and cattle owners went on with their activities without any fear of attacks.

According to Kenya News Agency, the CS noted that in the recent past, the government has done great work in Meru County aimed at dealing with banditry. ‘Some of the interventions we have made towards this include improved security equipment and improved strategy where there are 11 formed-up units and stations in between Isiolo and Meru counties where we have the biggest problem of banditry,’ he said.

Adding that the cattle raiders in Meru were mostly from the neighboring counties of Samburu and Isiolo, the CS noted that their criminal activities have caused great havoc to the residents including loss of lives. He however said there was progress in terms of combating the menace adding that statistics showed that there had been a significant reduction from last year but the problem had not been fully eliminated, and that it was their duty to firm up more strategies.

‘We will be looking at infrastructure issues like roads, proper vetting and deployment of National Police Reservists as well as replacement of those who were killed during attacks. Others have since deserted duties and some perhaps involved in drunkenness or other indiscipline cases and all of these need to be replaced,’ Murkomen said. He added that the ministry was keen to replace the missing ones and vet those still in office to ensure that they are fit for the purpose and they are serving the community as required of them.

‘The exercise of getting the right NPR personnel is going to be done in public barazas and led by sub-county security teams with local chiefs. This will ensure that the right people are identified by the people because these are officers going to serve and be with people in the grassroots,’ he said.

The CS is in the Eastern region for three days, starting in Meru on Wednesday, Tharaka Nithi on Thursday and Embu on Friday. He was flanked by Meru Governor Isaac Mutuma and MPs Rahim Dawood (North Imenti), Julius Taitumu (Igembe North), John Paul Mwirigi (Igembe South), Dan Kiili (Igembe Central), Kirima Nguchine (Central Imenti), Mugambi Rindikiri (Buuri), and Dorothy Muthoni (Nominated).

Murkomen also said they were going to deal with the boundary issues affecting some counties in Eastern, including Meru, Isiolo, Tharaka Nithi and Kitui. He said they would come up with better ways of working out the boundary issue, adding that the Ministry was engaging people at the grassroots to build on proposals to resolve the issues.

He said the boundaries were already marked in the relevant maps of 1992 that demarcated the districts then which are now counties. ‘So the real task is to just find the relevant institutions and officers who are going to locate and mark the boundaries so that we can avoid this conflict and coexist peacefully,’ said the CS.