“Silent! Everybody, silent!” Prof Kithure Kindiki ordered his colleagues at Bomas of Kenya in August 2022 as tempers flared at Bomas of Kenya during the presidential elections votes tallying.At this order from Prof Kindiki, then serving as UDA’s presidential candidate chief agent, the seething UDA supporters cooled down and took their seats.
It now appears that the professor’s firmness that hushed fuming politicians at Bomas of Kenya is coming in handy in the ‘disturbed and dangerous’ counties of Turkana, West Pokot, Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Laikipia and Samburu.
Kindiki, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration, is now ordering bandits to silence their guns in the north rift.
In an interview with NTV two months ago, the CS said “We have a plan – the plan is to first and foremost silence the guns. We must stop the bloodbath in the five counties of northern Kenya. Silencing of guns is not a small matter due to proliferation of illicit firearms.”Prof Kindiki said the intention was to end banditry in the shortest time possible adding that the security deployment in the region was permanent.He noted that the government had identified the region’s bad terrain, weapon supply and banditry leadership as the lifeblood of the vice.
When CS Kindiki declared that he was the man to bring an end to banditry in the country, many laughed him off as a soft spoken professor, who is only fit for the corridors of justice and lecture halls.But if the outcomes of the joint Operation Maliza Uhalifu by Kenya Defence Forces and the police are anything to go by, it appears the naysayers have been proven wrong.The war against banditry officially kicked off mid-February this year after President William Ruto ordered the Kenya Defence Forces to move in and help the police ‘end lawlessness that has hampered development, education and left residents living in fear’.The joint operation team kicked off the second phase of forceful disarmament and combat in March effectively transforming the region into an operation area.But as early as November last year, CS Kindiki had vowed to smoke the bandits from their hideouts and bring their financiers and collaborators to book.
Later, Prof Kindiki said, “We will smoke them out of their caves and thickets. The government will apply every human resource and weapon. The bandits cannot be seen to have more firepower than the government.”Prof Kindiki has been immersed in the anti-banditry operation so that he now wears military fatigues in his frequent visits to the north.Among the means announced by the interior CS include employment of national police reservists and equipping the police with modern tools of warfare such as drones.In his 100 days in office address in early February, the Interior CS said war against crime initially started with consultation with leaders from 25 counties.He says the effects of banditry were evidenced by abandoned schools and markets with residents losing faith in the government.
Among the measures employed by Prof Kindiki include timely recovery of stolen animals, disarmament and an intelligence led security plan.“In the short and long term, the government will roll out a plan to open up the north. This will be done through social and economic projects including construction of schools, hospitals and provision of water which is essential for the progress of the region. Nothing will deter our resolve to eliminate the bandits and the threat they pose,” CS Kindiki said.
Last month, Prof Kindiki said security forces had managed to take control of caves, gorges and large swathes of pastoral land occupied by bandits.He said security agencies were doubled in the region and would remain so for as long as the vice is permanently eliminated.In Meru, the interior minister recently ordered the establishment of an anti-stock theft unit in Igembe North as well as recruitment of 200 police reservists.While fielding questions from Senators recently, the CS said the government would provide enhanced funding towards infrastructure in the affected areas.
This week, CS Kindiki said the first allocation of Sh100 million for reconstruction of schools has been released with more money expected in the second phase.Among other measures announced by CS Kindiki recently include extension of dusk to dawn curfew by 30 days in the restive north rift region.He also ordered the fencing off of areas where bandits have been flushed out to ensure they do not return there.
National Police Reservists, he said, would also receive specially designed uniforms besides receiving social support from the government to enable them support the police in securing the country.
Other challenges Prof Kindiki is contending with include terrorism, the tragic Shakahola cult, illicit brews among others.
