Three people have lost their lives following an early morning ethnic clash shootout involving two communities in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
The incident came after two ethnic groups clashed over border rows in the Mogil area of Kerio Valley in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
Scores of people were left nursing injuries following the ethnic clashes, with eyewitnesses revealing that tensions rose after one group visited a nearby village and torched a house over a land dispute at the border.
According to Elegeyo Marakwet Police Commander Zablon Okoyo, police officers have since been dispatched to the area and have managed to calm the tense situation even as they remain alert to ensure the situation does not spill over to an ethnic clash.
Elgeyo Marakwet landscape
Daily Nation
”It is about a land dispute between two clans that had an early agreement about some parcel of land, but the agreement was not well furnished,” Okoyo stated.
”Unluckily today in the morning, there was a gunfight between the two sides that left the three with fatalities and the injuries recorded,” he added, without delving into the specific details of the injuries, such as the exact numbers recorded.
”We are still mitigating the situation to see that the effects do not spill over and see that we bring the two communities together,”
However, Okoyo dismissed fears of rising tensions, terming the incident as an isolated case and saying that the region has been peaceful for a very long time.
The latest events come at a time when policing agencies are on high alert following the national government’s efforts to contain ethnic clashes and banditry issues within the region.
As of December 18, last year, a considerable number of schools in the bandit-prone areas in the North Rift were yet to resume normal service a year later, despite the government’s efforts to restore normalcy.
According to the Ministry of Interior, 13 schools remain closed across three counties: Baringo, Turkana, and West Pokot.
An operation, dubbed ‘Operation Maliza Uhalifu North Rift’, was launched in March 2023 with a prime focus on ending cattle rustling and inter-community wrangles in the North Rift. Several areas within Baringo, Turkana, Samburu, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, Marsabit, Laikipia, Isiolo, and Meru were considered ‘disturbed and dangerous’, as the government combined efforts from the National Police Service and Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) to curb the menace.
A contingent of police officers gathered in Kerio Valley to hunt down bandits
Photo
Amnesty International