Government launches fresh disarmament operation in Kerio Valley

Intelligence-led operation builds on recovery of more than 2,600 illegal firearms as authorities expand efforts to curb banditry across the North Rift.

 

Kerio Valley| North Rift

 

The government has launched a fresh intelligence-led disarmament operation in the Kerio Valley as part of an expanded campaign to recover illegal firearms and curb persistent banditry across the North Rift.

 

The operation forms part of Operation Maliza Uhalifu, a multi-agency security campaign that brings together the Special Operations Group (SOG), Kenya Police Reservists (KPR) and local administrators under the Ministry of Interior and National Administration.

 

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said these security agencies had been directed to intensify weapons recovery operations while pursuing criminal networks involved in livestock theft and the illegal arms trade.

 

The operation combines voluntary disarmament with targeted enforcement, using intelligence gathered by security agencies and local administrators to identify individuals believed to be in possession of illegal firearms.

 

Authorities have directed anyone in possession of illegal firearms to surrender them to police, warning that those who fail to comply will face enforcement action.

 

The latest operation builds on an ongoing multi-agency security campaign that has so far recovered more than 2,600 illegal firearms across the North Rift, according to the Interior Ministry.

 

Alongside the disarmament exercise, the government is accelerating the deployment of chiefs and assistant chiefs to newly created administrative units in Kerio Valley and neighboring areas, arguing that a stronger state presence at the grassroots is critical to preventing armed groups from re-establishing themselves after security operations end.

 

Additional Kenya Police Reservists (KPR) and officers from the Special Operations Group (SOG) have been deployed to reinforce security in the region.

 

Murkomen said the government intends to replicate the Kerio Valley security model in other banditry-prone areas, including parts of the South Rift and Nyanza, with security agencies remaining on the ground until illegal firearms are removed from circulation.

 

Despite recent gains, cattle rustling and armed attacks continue to pose security challenges in parts of the North Rift.

 

The government says the operation targets not only illegal firearm possession but also the criminal networks that finance and facilitate banditry through livestock theft and illicit arms trafficking.

 

Murkomen warned politicians against arming young people, saying those found facilitating criminal activity would face legal action.

 

“I am warning any politician in these areas: if you are caught selling guns to these youths, your days are numbered. And you, as a youth, if you are caught with a gun sold to you by a politician, you will carry your own cross in the face of justice,” he said.

 

Officials say long-term stability will depend on addressing the underlying drivers of insecurity, including shrinking grazing land, environmental degradation and competition over scarce resources.

 

The Interior Ministry said chiefs and assistant chiefs posted to the newly gazetted administrative units are expected to take up their stations by the end of the week, marking the next phase of the government’s security campaign in the Kerio Valley.