Senators Kipchumba Murkomen (left)and Hassan Omar(right) with and
Baringo County Assembly Speaker William Kamket (centre) at the
Intercontinental hotel, Nairobi on 5th November 2013. Residents in
cattle rustling-prone areas of Baringo County have given Assembly
Speaker William Kamket one week to resign for remarks he made on
livestock theft. PHOTO/FILE
Residents in cattle rustling-prone areas
of Baringo County have given Assembly Speaker William Kamket one week
to resign for remarks he made on livestock theft.
On Tuesday last week, Mr Kamket suggested that cattle rustlers were not stealing livestock, but “are just re-stocking.”
On
Sunday, the pastoralists led by Mr Amos Olempaka from Baringo South
sub-county and Mr Richard Chepchomei from Baringo North sub-county, gave
the Speaker a one-week ultimatum to step down, failure to which they
would mobilise residents for demonstrations.
“We
will rest at nothing until he (Speaker) is made to account for his
reckless remarks,” Mr Olempaka told the Press at Kabarnet Town.
“This
is a clear sign that bandits are not only those in shukas but those in
suits and ties also form part of the cartel,” he claimed
Baringo Women’s Representative Grace Kiptui cautioned leaders to watch their public utterances.
LAGGING BEHIND
Speaking
at Kiboino Primary School in Baringo Central over the weekend during a
programme to empower women to adopt modern farming methods to boost food
security, Ms Kiptui said rampant insecurity in the county was worrying
and that it should be the last thing to be joked about, especially by
people in authority.
“As we speak,
many innocent people have been killed and scores of others displaced
from their homes. Many families have been rendered poor after all their
livestock was stolen, she said.
“What
we say as leaders must build and not destroy. We should be in the
forefront in preaching peaceful co-existence,” Ms Kiptui added.
The
politician said the insecurity had adversely affected education in the
area with many schools being closed after residents fled volatile areas
in Baringo North and Baringo South sub-counties.
Ms
Kiptui warned that if not checked, high cases of insecurity would make
the county lag behind in development despite being endowed with a lot of
natural resources. She said she would soon roll out peace caravans to
unite the warring communities.
Mr
Kamket got in trouble in Eldama-Ravine during the launch of Sh150
million initiative where KCB Foundation has partnered with the county
government to help livestock farmers to improve their breeds.
Mr Kamket has since said he had been quoted out of context “by enemies of truth.”
He
said that his office was in the process of establishing a peace
initiative office, which would roll out peace meetings and that elders
in the volatile areas would be involved.
CHRONOLOGY
Re-stocking
- County executive in charge of Finance Geoffrey Bartenge jokingly referred to Mr Kamket as a “rustler” when he welcomed him to address a meeting in Eldama Ravine, to which Mr Kamket responded: “We don’t steal, we are re-stocking what belongs to us.”
- The Speaker defended himself and said his office was about to establishing a peace initiative to help unite warring communities.
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