Govt dispatches bomb experts to Kenya-Uganda border

Written By:Beverly Gatimu   , Posted: Tue, Sep 09, 2008

The government has dispatched bomb experts to the Kenya-Uganda border to investigate claims that UFDP solders bombed Turkana pastoralists.

Internal Security and Provincial Administration Minister Prof George Saitoti said on Tuesday that if the claims are found to be valid, Kenyan authorities will write a protest letter to the Ugandan government and demand for compensation for livestock killed during the incident.

Prof Saitoti who was on a tour of Lodwar town accompanied by Assistant Minister Orwa Ojode and PS in the ministry Mr Kimemia said the government would recruit more Kenya Police Reservists and deploy them to the larger Turkana region to beef up security along the borders and to curb cattle rustling.

He asked the security committee in West Pokot district to ensure owners of livestock which were stolen recently from Turkana South are compensated to avoid counter attacks among the two communities.

Wildlife assistant minister Joseph Nanok who is also the Turkana South MP said residents from the constituency had lost livestock worth Ksh 800 million in the past five years to rustlers.

He said 60% of the district was insecure a situation that has caused the closure of several businesses after people fled for fear of being attacked.

Turkana Central MP Ekwe Ethuro urged the government to carry out a major disarmament exercise in the region saying illegal guns in the wrong hands were being used to raid livestock worth Ksh 100 million from the constituency every year.

Ethuro further asked the government to equip police stations in the district and deploy more security personnel along the unsecured corridors to curb the movement of cattle rustlers through both the international and local borders.

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