Kenya: 4 Suspects Arrested in Crackdown Against Armed Herders in Laikipia

Nairobi — At least four suspected bandits were arrested on Wednesday in an ongoing operation against armed herders in Laikipia.

Police also repulsed a gang that tried to torch Miharati Primary School in Ol Moran, the second school to be targeted since the conflict begun.

The team conducting the operation also recovered two cows that had been stolen from a home in the same area.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi said the government will assist displaced residents resettle after recent attacks in Laikipia even as they ramp up security and other measures to restore calm in the region.

The operation started with the declaration of a dusk to dawn curfew in Laikipia Nature Conservancy and its environs on Monday.

Security agencies also arrested Tiaty legislator William Kamket and ex-Laikipia North MP Mathew Lempurkel on Wednesday over growing tension in Laikipia.

The two, security officials said, will face charges related to breach of peace and destruction of property.

Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya who confirmed Kamket’s arrest shortly after Lempurkel was transferred to Nairobi’s Milimani Law Courts to face charges did not divulge details on the role of the two leaders in ongoing skirmishes.

The emerging confrontation has been pitting majority resident farmers against immigrant herders who Natembeya said were armed with sophisticated weapons.

“While our officers are using AK47 and G3 rifles, the bandits (in Laikipia) are using M16s and other heavy machinery, which are usually used by foreign armies who come for training in Kenya. We don’t know how they get these heavy weapons,” he said.