YVONNE'S TAKE: Haiti - Charity begins at home

Images broadcast on one of our newscasts of yet another attack, may have passed as just another one of many news items about a part of Kenya that I feel we sometimes like to pretend does not exist.

An old woman, with whatever of her belongings she could gather strapped to her back, others carrying children, driving their livestock, looking for safer ground. Why? Bandit attacks.

It's become such a common phrase, that it's almost benign. We are now numb to it. After all, we are fed with the very regular drip of stories from this part of Kenya that we hardly pay attention.

There are heartbreaking images of people fleeing Yatya and Rormooch areas in Baringo North following a bandit attack on Monday, in which 2 children were killed. But there's more:

On or about the 26th of February, Paul Leshimpiro, the Member of County Assembly (MCA) of Angata Nanyekie ward, was killed reportedly by suspected bandits in the Soit Pus area. He was reportedly at the forefront of asking the government to secure the area.

On February 24, we reported of the closure of at least 5 primary schools in the area due to the bandit attacks. On February 22, three people were shot dead in separate attacks in Baringo North and Marakwet East.

On February 16, Amaiya Primary School , a public school in Samburu West, Lorroki Soit Pus ECD and Primary School, Ntima Nariko Primary School and Nasur Primary School - which is at the border of Baringo and Samburu Counties - were all closed due to the attacks in the area.

The security forces were not spared either, on February 12 a convoy of security officials was sprayed with bullets, leaving one National Police Reservist injured.

The team lead by the County Commissioner was en route to respond to another attack that had killed a headteacher just days before in Baringo North.

By the way, the funeral of this headteacher was again marred by violence, when just days later the same bandits attacked his home on the day of his burial. They had to have a full GSU escort for the procession.

On January 9, three members of the same family were killed when bandits struck again at Chemoe junction in Baringo North constituency.

Folks, these so called bandits are quite daring. In October 2023, they attacked a primary school in Kapindasum and held the pupils hostage for a whole day. Can you imagine the horror of those young school children hiding in the bush, for hours, waiting for rescue?

What's worse is that the school in Kapindasum had just re-opened last year after being closed since 2019 due to incessant attacks in the area.

The school children were not the only ones under siege that day, these brazen bandits also laid siege to a nearby GSU camp, engaging the officers in what was reported to be a fierce gun battle for hours!

From the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights fact finding mission together with duty bearers from the Samburu area, these are the figures:  From January 2023 to February 2024: 36 dead civilians, 4 dead police officers, 9 police officers injured, 13 bandits killed, suspects arrested are 19, recovered firearms are 105, livestock stolen are 3, 765, recovered livestock are 1,790, and unrecovered livestock are 1975.

Following these attacks, the military was deployed, but that was in October last year, and there have been many more attacks in the general area since.

Nothing seems to faze these bandits; not a tough talking CS who flies in and out of the area after there's been an attack, and certainly not even the show of force and might that is characterised by the dramatic northward advance by KDF, those columns of armored personnel carriers, the D-day-like landings by the military and OP high command. Not even the intimidating formation chopper flights and the supposed on-ground firepower; none of that has worked.

So what's the problem? Is the government so completely helpless? From one administration to the next? And who are these so called faceless, nameless ‘bandits’ anyway? How come we don't see them arrested? How come we don't hear of reports of them being killed in those ‘fierce gun battles’ like we do of common criminals here in Nairobi? Do the security officials, intelligence officers really not know who they are?

Instead, we see the same faces, local area MPs called for questioning by the DCI, only for them to be released. The government has continuously failed our fellow Kenyans. Year after year, tough talk after tough talk, and from one deployment to another. It would seem that not even the civilian leaders donning military gear to accompany their ‘tough talk’ seem to faze these faceless, nameless, unknown bandits.

We seem clueless about how to protect our own Kenyans but are loudly beating our chests, in defiance of court orders rushing to Haiti to deploy our police officers there. Are those Haitians more Kenyan than our brothers and sisters in Baringo, West Pokot and Samburu? Are they children of a lesser god? How many of us can even pinpoint Kapindasum, Chemoe junction, Yatya, Rormooch, Ng'aratuko on a map with our eyes closed? Yet we have a government that is hell bent on rushing to Haiti because they supposedly "asked for our help"? Guess what, Kenyans here too have asked for their help.

Friends, while I understand that we are a part of the global community, charity begins at home. Whilst we rush off to Haiti at breakneck speed, we must equally secure those within our borders first. We must demonstrate, not just with tough talk, but with action that we are keeping Kenyans safe. It is after all these Kenyans to whom the leader of this country swore an oath to protect and that he must do, before we even set foot outside our borders.