Nine people killed in a week as ethnic violence flares up in Marsabit

It all began with the killing of a herder in the Manyatta scheme of Sakhu constituency in Marsabit county on Sunday.

This led to retaliatory acts between the warring communities in the area which have now raged on for the better part of the week.

The end result, nine lives lost with hundreds of people forced to flee Chorora, Dhaba and Haro Bota villages as armed militia battled destroying homes and properties.

Among those killed was a class three pupil at little Angels academy, forcing the closure of several schools such as Saku High, Dibayu High and primary schools in Manyatta Jillo.

Saku sub county police commander, Johnson Wachira confirmed the latest fighting to Citizen TV which has halted transport along the busy Marsabit-Moyale road and led to the closure of various businesses within Saku town.

As late as Friday morning, tribal clashes were still ongoing in Marsabit town, and it took the intervention of officers from the national police service to restore peace in the area.

In a sharply worded statement the Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai condemned the week-long conflict calling for a lasting solution….

“The government expresses dismay…over protracted animosity between communities in Marsabit county which has led to the loss of lives, destruction of property, cattle rustling and rising tension,” the letter reads.

He went on to warn the perpetrators that their days are numbered as they had dispatched a, multi-agency team of highly specialized security officers led by the GSU with firm and uncompromising instructions to restore peace and order.

A Citizen TV crew recently visited Marsabit, Kenya’s largest county to investigate the reasons behind the conflict that has raged on for the better part of the year leading to the death of at least 93 people and cattle rustling incidents that has led to the disappearance of 2000 heads of cattle.

Locals point an accusing finger at the political class with supremacy battles blamed for the havoc and an erosion of the unity that was previously witnessed between those communities.

Police are now warning perpetrators that if they do not hand themselves in to the authorities, then they will face the long arm of the law.