Stop harassing innocent residents in name of disarmament, says Baringo Senator Gideon Moi

Baringo Senator Gideon Moi has condemned what he described as collective punishment meted out on residents of Chemolingot by security personnel deployed to mop up illegal firearms and make arrests over the recent killings of police officers.

The senator said the use of excessive force on innocent women and children by the security personnel was wrong and must end before the situation got out of hand.

Gideon said the way Kenya Defence Forces personnel had conducted the operation was unfortunate.

“We uphold the rule of law and do not support criminal acts, but we abhor collective punishment on innocent women and children,” he said.

He said security officers deployed there had resorted to harassing residents, who fled their homes for fear of being victimised.

“Women and children are suffering at the hands of security officers yet they were not part of the criminals who attacked and killed the police officers,” he said.

The senator said local leaders were willing to find a lasting solution to the recurrent cattle rustling and ensure all communities lived in peace. But he said the Government must deploy surveyors to the area to resolve the boundary dispute between Baringo and Turkana counties.

“As leaders, we are committed to finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict but we are not going to allow security personnel to harass women and children in the name of pursuing criminals,” he said.

Firearms returned

So far, residents have surrendered 19 firearms stolen by the attackers who killed the 19 officers. A number of suspects have been arrested and are in police custody.

Gideon, who was accompanied by Kanu Secretary General Nick Salat, also said the Government must take advantage of the country’s intelligence machinery and avoid reactionary mechanisms.

Mr Salat said the State had allocated billions of shillings to intelligence gathering and must, therefore, use it to arrest situations.

“There is no point of having an intelligence-gathering arm of Government that consumes billions in taxpayers' money yet it fails to prevent a situation like the one in Baringo,” said Salat.

Salat also condemned the use of excessive force by security personnel, terming it a failure on the Government’s part in addressing insecurity.

Gideon and Salat were addressing parents, students and teachers of Chebonei Girls Secondary School in Tenwek, Bomet, where the senator laid a foundation stone for the school’s dining hall.

Retired President Daniel Moi’s late wife, Lena, attended school at Chebonei.

“We discussed as a family how we could improve the facilities and learning at this school because it is the source of the strong foundation our mother impacted on us,” Gideon said.