Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has turned his focus to political leaders in bandit striken regions to help in the fight and win the war against banditry in the country.
Kindiki, who was speaking in Lodwar during a consultative meeting with Turkana leaders said that leaders have a role to play in ensuring that the government puts an end to banditry in their respective regions.
“The political leaders have a stake in the war against banditry. They must help us deal with insecurity, by rallying their constituents to abandon acts of crime like livestock rustling and coexist peacefully.”
Also Read: Villagers To Hold Cleansing Ceremony After Chira’s Burial Turned Barbaric
He also urged kenyans to stop sympathising with bandits just because they know them or are related. He urged all stakeholders to come together to win this fight against banditry.
“We will engage in peace-building structures and embark on necessary interventions, through stakeholder engagement. But we must first ruthlessly deal with the armed criminals. Otherwise, we will be encouraging impunity.”
According to the CS, the acquisition of the modern equipment and weapons that will be deployed to banditry hotspots, terrorism prone areas and other armed crimes will be an improvement in security.
Additionally, Kindiki announced that the recruitment of an additional 460 National Police Reservists (NPRs) in Turkana County will be done to supplement security officers in the frontline to pursue bandits.
Also Read: Security Forces Explain Why Some Officers March In Opposite Direction
“We are not yet there in the banditry war but we are getting there. We will continue to use lawful force against these crooks because that is the only language they understand.”
Kindiki also urged National Assembly leaders in bandit prone areas to utilise their Constituency Development Funds( CDF) to set up infrastructure for administrative units to allow deployment of more security officers to their respective constituencies to fight bandits.