There is still uncertainty along the West Pokot and Elgeyo Marakwet border after two students were shot by bandits in a suspected retaliatory attack at Tilakai village, Chepkokogh area, Pokot Central Sub County on Sunday evening. The suspected bandits ran away into a bush after they shot the two.
The injured students, Ben Riposia, a Form Two student at St. Christopher Aruba in Trans Nzoia County and Irene Chepoghisio, a Form One student at Annet Secondary are nursing gunshot wounds at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.
Tension is building in the area with some residents fleeing the area, fearing for their lives following the fresh attacks. Relative Peace had been realized in the area for around two years.
West Pokot leaders, security officers visited the area led by Governor John Lonyangapuo and condemned the attack, calling on the national government to establish security posts at Chesegon, Kamulogon, Sokotow and Chemsto areas.
“We need the government through the Office of the President, the Interior Ministry led by CS Dr. Fred Matiang’i and PS Kibicho and the Rift Valley regional coordinator George Natembeya to intervene. The security personnel idling at Tot and Kapenguria should be redeployed to this place,” he said.
Lonyangapuo called on residents of Chepkokogh to desist from retaliatory attacks as security personnel pursue the attackers. “We are planning for a meeting with elders drawn from Kopil clan from Marakwet and Kamoyen from Pokot for a reconciliatory process. Peace is a precious commodity and I request all the people living along the border to embrace it in words and actions. I also challenge residents to reveal identities of the few criminals who want to reverse gains made in the peace building process,” he said.
Sigor MP Peter Lochakapong called on peace committees from the two Counties to up their game, adding that blanket condemnation shouldn’t be tolerated, “Bandits should be named, individually.”
He said roads in the region should be opened up, given that the victims went through a lot just to access treatment and that more should be done to deal with the threatening problem, “We will do an operation in the forests and all areas to flush out the bandits,” he said “We have been here many times and we don’t want to see such incidents”
A teacher at Tilakai Primary school, Mr. Sammy Cornelius said that teachers and learners are now living in fear and security needs to be beefed up ahead of the reopening of schools.
A resident, Mama Rotich Cheramach, called on the government to move with speed and help them. “We have nowhere to go,” she said, “We are faced with a possible hunger crisis and the government should intervene.”