Kenya’s President William Ruto has ordered the army to join a security operation against armed bandits in the northern Rift Valley region who have killed dozens of people in recent months.
The army would be deployed to assist the police starting on Wednesday, February 15, according to a government announcement.
A 30-day dusk to dawn curfew was imposed on Tuesday after the interior minister, Prof. Kindiki Kithure declared certain parts of six counties in the region to be “disturbed and dangerous.”
“The government has determined the security situation currently prevailing in the northern Rift Valley Region as a national emergency. Accordingly, painful and decisive measures must be taken effectively immediately,” Prof Kindiki Kithure said in a statement.
It issued a three-day deadline for anyone in possession of illegal guns or ammunition to turn them in to the police or face “the full force of the law.”
According to the interior ministry, over 100 civilians and 16 police officers have been killed by bandits in the past six months.
The government has come under criticism for not doing enough to deal with the problem, even as the armed gunmen have recently become bolder, killing people and stealing livestock despite high-level security meetings in the areas.
The armed bandits have continued to carry out their attacks despite previous security operations.
Author-Roberta Appiah
