Kithure Kindiki, the Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS), has announced that he will keep the security troops stationed in Northern Kenya's banditry-prone districts until the problem is no more.


PHOTO | COURTESY Interior CS Kindiki Kithure speaking in a past event

CS Kindiki, who has been optimistic about containing the disease, reaffirmed that he would persist in seeing that the bandits are out and the slaughter in the area no longer in existence.

In an interview with NTV on Monday, he stated, "Our aim is to first and foremost silence the guns immediately we must try to halt the carnage and the reckless loss of lives that we have suffered in sections of these five counties."

"We are committed to ensuring that we end the slaughter first and foremost," they said.

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According to CS Kindiki, who was privy to the task facing the police forces, ending the banditry will undoubtedly be challenging because of its historical roots.

"We do not pretend that this is a minor issue. As there has been a proliferation of illegal weapons and small arms in that area for roughly nine years, the silencing of the firearms is no little concern, "explained.

"The conditions that led to the spread are still in place. We anticipate that dealing with the gun culture would be difficult, but we have decided that in order to stop the killing of people, we must run over the offenders as soon as we can."

Hence, CS Kindiki declared that he would not remove any officers from the area and would provide extra troops as reinforcement.

PHOTO | COURTESY Kithure says that the officers deployed to fight bandits are there for good

Kindiki stated, "We are in the North as the Kenyan security apparatus to stay; we are not coming back; we are here to stay for good.

"We are even considering escalating the security presence we have established over the past several days.

Following a deployment order from Defence Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale, KDF officers landed in the banditry hot regions — Turkana, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Laikipia, and Samburu — on February 14.

The officers will help the National Police Service (NPS) improve the catastrophic security situation that is now a National Emergency.

Thousands of animals are lost, thousands of citizens are misplaced, and hundreds of lives are no more due to the commotion in the country's North Rift region.

In a previous speech, CS Kindiki said that in the last six months, roving bandits and cattle rustlers had ruthlessly murdered over 100 citizens and 16 police officers.