The government has been asked to double efforts to tame rising insecurity and banditry in Kerio Valley.
Tinderet Member of Parliament (MP) Julius Melly said the situation was getting out of hand with thousands of people being displaced.
This, he added has adversely affected the education sector in Baringo, Elegeyo Marakwet and West Pokot counties with teachers and learners staying away from schools for fear of their lives.
Melly who chairs the Education Committee in the National Assembly said so far 18 schools have been closed in the area with fears that more institutions will not reopen for second term due to rising insecurity.
He asked Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki to bolster the ongoing operation in the area to rein in the bandits.
‘These people appear to be regrouping and gaining more ground. It is time to stop the talking and act on the criminals now,’ he said.
The people residing in the affected area, he said were from the same community adding that it was
a shame for the fighting and killings to continue unabated.
‘The people who are fighting here are Turgen, Pokot and Aror who all belong to the Kalenjin community. It is a shame because we are one people from the same mother,’ he said.
Speaking during a thanks giving day at St Marys’ Tachasis Girls Secondary School in Tinderet, the MP called for humanitarian assistance to support the affected families who have moved from their homes in the area due to insecurity.
The affected people, he said were in dire need of food, shelter, clothing and medication.
‘The government’s presence must be seen through giving support to the affected people,’ he said.
He called for dialogue between leaders and the community to ensure that the issues fueling insecurity in Kerio Valley are addressed.
The MP urged the church to play mediator role and bring the leaders and community together to dialogue.
Catholic Diocese of Eldoret Bishop Dominic Kimengich said the rising insecurity in Kerio Valley was alarming.
The Bishop urge
d the government to be on top of things to ensure that the menace is dealt with.
‘When this government came to power we all had hope that this menace is going to be dealt with once and for all,’ he said.
Source: Kenya News Agency