Insecurity in Kerio Valley Force Residents to Flee

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Rerio Valley residents taking shelter in hilly locations (pic: twiiter user)

Freedom is never free.' Ask me who said this and I would tell you blatantly that 'I don't know.' The most important things come free and it does not really matter who provides them. Anyway, let's talk about the 'freedom' that is lacking in Kerio Valley in Kenya.

It has been reported that Kenyans living in the Kerio Valley have been forced to flee following ethnic clashes being experienced in the land.

Rift Valley bandits shamelessly roaming the area (pic: twitter)

The Pokot and Marakwet communities have been engaging each other in banditry raids, that has turned into freedom mayhem in the rift valley region of Kenya.

Kenyans have been expressing their concerns over the social media, Twitter in particular, about the level of insecurity in Kerio Valley. The most disheartening fact is that bandits have taken control of an entire region. The law enforcement agents are nowhere to be seen and the killers have nothing to hide--- the innocent defenseless citizens are the one suffering.


Kenya's most outspoken deputy president,William Ruto, who also hail from the affected region is mum on this. The President of Kenya, H.E Uhuru Kenyatta, has also remained silent on this issue... or maybe, he is working closely with national security body on the best method to end the menace.

Of course, this has forced the political leaders to have a say about Kenya's security, giving negative views about how the head of state handles threats to national peace and freedom to live.

The two pastoral communities' rivalry over land and pasture for their domestic animals goes back in history. However, most people link this to politics in Rift Valley. It has been confirmed that such social-political unrest only happens when the country is heading to the general elections. The country is almost there; August 2017.

Compromised freedom in Kerio Valley confirms that freedom is not free... sometimes it means doing whatever possible to attain it. An escapist government of people by the people has turned people down. Children and women forced to flee, just to feel a sense of peace and freedom. So sad!

The Wise Would Be Very Careful About These CORD' Anti-IEBC Demos.

Kenya police officers captured on camera beating up a man on the street of Nairobi during an Anti-IEBC demo

Should we start to worry about our political changes and the nature of its change? The CORD demos on Mondays are turning up more deadly as days go by. The wind of change is proving to be tougher than what it seemed to be in the beginning of the will to speed up changes in the electoral body, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission -IEBC.

Yesterdays’ demo on Monday 23^rd did not go as planned as three people were gunned down in Western region of Kenya--- the only major CORD stronghold. In Nairobi, it was not business as usual as the running battles ensured between the law enforcement agents and the demonstrators. This has been happening around the country and there is fear that, the once perceived peaceful demos are turning into violent confrontations leading to loss of lives and injuries.

A few weeks ago, the UN and ambassadors from the western countries cautioned Kenyans from using violence against constitutional systems, instead they urged the concerned parties to embrace dialogue as the best means of solving the political stand offs.

The Raila Odinga’s team is adamant that if they go through constitutional channels, the parliament which is controlled by the government majority will not approve the call for change. They argue that even demos are constitutional and that the government should respect people’s views.

This tag of war between the government and the opposition is slowly spiraling into political violence and will, if not curbed at this time, spill the bitter reality into ethnic disagreements and doom to Kenya as whole.

There is no room for violence if the system in question has no dent. The government led by president Uhuru Kenyatta should address this issue before it turns into political violence. The ICC will not see the opposition as culpable for murdering the innocent people on the streets, instead they will see the tyrant who using government machinery to force people to keep quiet…. The wise would be very careful about these CORD demos.