As security forces swept the area for killer bandits on Tuesday, Baringo communities urged the government to end recurrent attacks in Kapedo.
Residents attributed the ongoing Kapedo clashes to unresolved historical land disputes on the border of Baringo and Turkana counties.
“So far no one can tell exactly if Kapedo is in Turkana or Baringo county, Baringo North peace crusader Richard Chepchomei said on Tuesday.
He said it is high time the government intervened, reviewed the border and helped end perennial clashes in Kapedo.
On Sunday afternoon, senior GSU Superintendent Emadau Tamkol was ambushed and shot dead by gunmen near the volatile Kapedo area. Three colleagues were wounded.
They were assessing the volatile situation, monitoring food distribution and responding to a distress call.
Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai said the ongoing operation will capture the murderers and those who steal cattle and destroy property
“The bandits ambushed the Land Cruiser the officer was using to go back to Nairobi after distributing foodstuffs to the bandit attack victims,” Mutyambai said.
Three officers who responded to the attack were also sprayed with bullets.
Chepchomei said he recalls back in 1972 secondary school students were shot and killed in a dormitory in Kapedo and up to date the issue has not been resolved.
“The problem does not lie with locals but instead with the government that has failed to take keen interest and deal with the disputed boundary once and for all," he said.
He urged the government to consider a massive operation to disarm the civilians owning illegal firearms to end the frequent banditry and cattle rustling along the porous borders of Baringo and Turkana.
Tiaty Archbishop (Rtd) Canon Christopher Chochoi rejected the boundary dispute argument behind the Kapedo clashes and blamed them on increasing possession of illegal firearms, poverty and illiteracy.
“The majority of youths in the bordering localities have not gone to school so they tend to resort to barbaric animal theft and banditry to survive," Chochoi told the Star.
He called for disarmament and said children should be required to go to school to end frequent inter-communal attacks.
“Just imagine, as we speak, Turkanas began to attack immediately when they acquired their first guns back in 1916 while the Pokots acquired theirs in 1980s,” Chochoi said.
He also called for an investigation to find out where guns are bought and sold and where they are ferried from.
The disputed Kapedo border area is 18km in radius and contains valuable natural resources and minerals. Geothermal power generation is ongoing
On Monday, Rift Valley regional commissioner George Natembeya said bandits had crossed a red line by killing a law enforcement officer.
Since 2014, more than 40 people, including 21 GSU officers, have been killed, many injured and thousands of animals stolen by bandits in Kapedo.
However according to 2013 Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission report the contested Kapedo political unit lies in Napeitom ward of Turkana East constituency.
The leadership in Tiaty subcounty claims Kapedo is geographically and administratively in Baringo county.
Currently tension remains high in the area amid the ongoing retaliatory attacks between the warring Pokot and Turkana gunmen since Monday last week.
Earlier on Monday, Pokot gunmen from Tiaty subcounty, Baringo, stormed Kapedo, killing a 70-year old Turkana man, Ekayapan Edung.
Turkana county police commander Samuel Ndanyi said three others were injured and 10 houses were torched during the attack.
“The elderly man succumbed on the spot while those injured were treated at Kapedo dispensary and later referred to Nakuru General Hospital,” he said.
Ndanyi said more KDF, Rapid Deployment Unit and General Service Unit officers have been deployed to strengthen security in the area.
The retaliatory attack was sparked after herders from Turkana allegedly stole animals - goats belonging to the Pokots in Tiaty. This prompted the Pokots to cross over into Kapedo to fight the Turkanas.
HOMELESS AND HUNGRY
Thousands of attack victims in the volatile disputed are hungry and homeless, begging for humanitarian assistance.
“Businesses have been closed and also the main road connecting Marigat-Chemolingot-Kapedo is insecure and impassable,” Kenya Red Cross Baringo Coordinator Christopher Okoth said on Friday.
The residents of Kapedo used to ferry supplies in Kenya Defence Forces vehicles to do their shopping in Marigat in Baringo South subcounty, about 100km away.
The place is known for endless battles owing to unresolved land boundary disputes between the two warring pastoral communities - Pokot and Turkana.
Okoth said they have since been helping to ferry the casualties using their ambulances to Nakuru General Hospital.
He said the attack victims in Kapedo are facing a food crisis and were in urgent need of relief food, tents, clothes, utensils and mosquito nets.
“So far we have tried to donate some items like blankets and jerrycans, although we have ordered more consignments but the people’s needs are overwhelming,” he said.
He also said the victims require mental health and psychosocial support.
“The population, among them school going children, fearing for their lives are now forced to flee their homes and camp around KDF, RDU and GSU camps in Kapedo trading centre,” he said.
The official said so far Kapedo primary and secondary schools have been vandalised and closed down while the only available dispensary is not operational.
“Only the presence of Red-Cross here is actually giving the locals hope," Okoth said.
He cited "laxity" by both Baringo and Turkana counties, saying they have failed to intervene to help the Kapedo victims.
(Edited by V. Graham)