CORD warned against rallies in North Rift

The Government has cautioned Opposition leaders against holding political rallies in cattle rustling-prone counties in the North Rift region at a time when the State is trying to implement its comprehensive peace programme in the area.

Rift Valley Regional Co-ordinator Osman Warfa also dismissed claims by the leaders that Government officers were accomplices to theft of livestock, which was to blame for insecurity in the region.

“If they have evidence that some State officers were involved in or were sponsoring theft of livestock, they are free to expose and report them to relevant authorities,” Mr Warfa said.

Warfa said the rallies held by Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) leaders in the upper North Rift region at the weekend were counter-productive to the ongoing peace process in the affected areas.

His warning came just days after CORD co-principals Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka completed their two-day tour of the region where they had taken their Okoa Kenya campaign to push for a constitutional referendum.

Raila and Kalonzo castigated the Jubilee government over rising insecurity, saying the challenges facing the country were due to widespread corruption and unequal distribution of resources.

Monday, Warfa dared Kalonzo, the Wiper Party leader, to provide evidence that he (Warfa) has contributed to high incidence of cattle rustling in Baringo North and South constituencies.

Warfa was responding to claims by Kalonzo that he and Tiaty MP Asman Kamama should be held accountable for rampant insecurity brought about by cattle rustling and banditry in the region, where lives have been lost, hundreds displaced and more than 20 schools closed down.

“Kalonzo should be the last person to point fingers at civil servants who are trying to find a lasting solution to spiralling incidents of insecurity in the North Rift region,” he said.

Kalonzo, who addressed an interdenominational prayer meeting at Ilng’arua Primary School in Baringo South constituency on Sunday for victims of insecurity, claimed State officers were accomplices to the cattle rustling menace, as they were involved in the illegal livestock trade.

“The Jubilee government should start by probing the role of Osman Warfa and MP Asman Kamama in relation to cattle rustling and insecurity in the region,” he told the congregation.