LAIKIPIA, Kenya, Jan, 14 – Following the violent skirmishes that plagued Ol Moran area of Laikipia county last year that saw hundreds of residents displaced and several others among them law enforcement officers killed, residents are now calling on the government to honour its pledge of resettling them.
Suspected bandits are said to have razed down houses, stealing livestock while leaving scores homeless. Ultimately however many sought refuge in government establishments and even churches.
The state had in September 2021, announced plans to resettle about 42 families in a month’s time, but five months later only a handful of the families have been resettled.
At least 400 families are said to have been displaced during the incident.
A multiagency security operation has been ongoing in the area with relative calm resuming though some residents say that life has never really gotten back to normal.
“Since our homes were burnt we have gone through alot, we have been forced to seek homes in town which is quite expensive to pay. When we were at our homes we had everything, we had our own foods but things are very diffcult,”Dickson Osewe, resident Ol Moran.
At Kisii Ndogo area some resident have retuned to their homes though they say a government pledge to assist them to reconstruct their houses is yet to be fully honoured.
“My house was demolished. we moved to town but we are struggling there..we are unable to pay rent and we are now being chased away yet we had our own homes. Some of us have not eaten for day. life is increasingly becoming difficult.,” Joyce Mumbo,resident.
“We can see things are getting back to normally, government needs to enhance security and facilitate our return to our homes. Though we are slightly scared, security can always be beefed up,” Grace Kerubo, resident.
Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi who spoke during the inspections tour of various projects in Ol Moran including the resettlement of the Kisii Ndogo families assured residents that the exercise to resettle them will be completed soon.
“We are building interlocking brick houses for the victims and we are making efforts to ensure that the exercise has been completed as soon as possible so that residents can return to their home,” said Governor Muriithi who further said that,”the county administration is working on the programme that has also been extended to putting up a Police Command Division headquarters in Ol-Moran Township, establishment of new police stations and building of staff houses at Survey shopping centres using stabilized (interlocking) blocks,”
A multi-agency security operation is currently ongoing in area surrounding the Laikipia Nature Conservancy.
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