The Ministry of Interior has officially declared parts of Laikipia, Meru, and Isiolo counties as security-disturbed and dangerous.
In a special gazette notice on Thursday, March 26, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said that this declaration will enable security agencies to dismantle criminal elements in the region, including bandits.
The affected areas in Laikipia County include parts of Laikipia North, such as Mugogo Forest, Mugogodo, Sieku, Makuriani, and Doldol.
In Meru County, sections of Tigania East and Igembe North sub-counties, including Mlima Rasta, Mlima Lombolio, Mworontoi Belt, Nyambene Game Reserve, and Ngatho Dam area, have also been marked as disturbed areas.
In Isiolo County, the declaration will cover parts of Isiolo North, including Sarova Game Reserve, Lowangishu Hills, Mutuyni, and Loruku Hills.
Murkomen has said that the declaration will take effect on Thursday, March 26, at 6pm for a period of 30 days and may be extended or withdrawn earlier, depending on the security situation in the counties.
“We have declared parts of Laikipia, Meru, and Isiolo counties as security-disturbed and dangerous to facilitate a major security operation to weed out perpetrators of recent incidents of criminal activities in the areas,” Murkomen said.
“This operation, which also involves a mop-up of illegal firearms, follows our earlier deployment of 400 additional police officers to reinforce the officers on the ground, among other measures,” he added.
The declaration comes just a month after Murkomen said that the government would also deploy the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and National Intelligence Service (NIS) in these counties to help in weeding out the bandits in these counties.
Speaking during a security engagement in Isiolo on Tuesday, February 3, Murkomen said that the officers will also reopen roads in the three counties that had been closed because of insecurity to allow security operations to be carried out more effectively.
Security chiefs in these counties were also instructed to launch a crackdown on police officers accused of abetting insecurity, either by failing to act against criminals or by colluding with them in carrying out criminal activities.
“Within the next few weeks, we are working with the Ministry of Roads to ensure that some roads in Samburu, Isiolo, and Laikipia are opened to ensure that the places where we will be doing the operations will be accessible,” Murkomen said.
“This operation will be multi-agency because it will involve all the security agencies, and the Commander-in-Chief, who is our president, has given marching orders to restore security in Isiolo, Meru, and parts of Laikipia,” he added.
