The government has partnered with the World Bank in a fresh peace drive that will involve women in the Kerio Valley.
The new campaign is aimed at ensuring there will be no banditry resurgence in the region.
The National Steering Committee on Peace Building and Conflict Management will lead a programme that targets mainly women in West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo and Turkana counties.
Agriculture Cabinet Administrative Secretary Linah Kilimo was at Kainuk and Chemolingot markets on the border between Turkana and West Pokot where she launched a women's peace caravan programme among communities living along the Kerio Valley to help sustain the prevailing peace in the region.
“We want to ensure that the peace we are enjoying as communities in Kerio Valley is permanent and that our youth will not go back to engage in banditry,” Kilimo said on Saturday.
The CAS will coordinate the programme that has been initiated by the office of the president.
Kilimo said women were well-placed to sustain peace through joint and inter-community activities that would be coordinated through the peace caravan activities.
She said women were well-placed to convince their husbands and youth to desist from cattle rustling and instead concentrate on income generating activities.
“It is women who are always affected by cases of insecurity in this region. That is why they are well placed to preach peace and harmonious relations among our people,” she said.
Kilimo said the programme aims at strengthening peace efforts, cross-border livestock disease vaccination campaigns, and cross-border livestock markets among other activities that will have communities work and live together.
“Women will be empowered through training and regular meetings to discuss challenges which communities face and also help them to come up with home solutions,” she said.
There have been no banditry attacks in most parts of the Kerio Valley region in the last one year after communities signed peace deals. Kilimo said the prevailing peace will enable communities to engage in development initiatives.
She expressed optimism that the ongoing peace efforts that involve women among other leaders would yield fruit and pave the way for lasting peace and development.
World Bank’s director in charge of pastoral livelihoods resilience project James Tendwa said peace is the only way to ensure sustainable development.
“As an institution we are confident that the ongoing peace efforts by the government involving women in collaboration with other stakeholders will greatly and positively impact on development in Kerio Valley,” he said.
Turkana South Deputy County Commissioner Philip Kipsang said the government was keen to ensure that it sustains security in the region so that stalled development projects are revived to empower residents economically.
He said residents were still surrendering illegal arms to the state because they had been assured of protection by security agencies.