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Operation Maliza Uhalifu: Second joint command centre set up after fresh attacks

Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome. (Photo: File)

By Mary Wambui | 02 Apr 2024

The operation had recorded key successes but towards the end of last year, there was a resurgence of spontaneous attacks that have persisted in recent months.

A second joint command centre for the ongoing Operation Maliza Uhalifu (OMU) in the North Rift has been established to cater to counties recording a resurgence in cattle rustling and banditry.

Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome made the announcement on Tuesday after a brief tour of the region.

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"Besides the Chemolingot multi-agency operation centre, we have now established a multi-agency command centre for Isiolo, Meru, Laikipia and Samburu, deployed new, additional sophisticated equipment, and formed police units in affected areas, including Loruk and Mukogodo, to beef up the ongoing operation, " said the IG.

Additionally, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) have set up more camps in Nolkera and Kurkur along the Malaso belt.

When the operation began over a year ago, the National Police Service (NPS), the lead agency, formed a multi-agency central command and operations centre in Chemolingot, Baringo County, to coordinate the operation alongside the KDF and National Police Reservists.

The operation recorded significant success the whole of last year, but towards the end, the region started experiencing a resurgence of spontaneous attacks that have persisted in recent months.

Last year's resumption of normalcy in usually volatile areas led to the reopening of schools and markets and the recovery of stolen arms and livestock.

However, amid the ongoing progress, Isiolo and Meru counties are now facing fresh cattle rustling and banditry incidents, targeting ranches and conservancies.

The IG noted that similarly, the Saimo Soi ward in Baringo, the Kerio Valley belt, and Morijo in Samburu Central sub-county have witnessed recent attacks that have led to the partial displacement of population, deaths, property damage, and the closure of some learning institutions.

"The resurgence of banditry in Baringo, Isiolo and Meru counties will be condoned by neither the government nor the law-abiding citizens of Baringo, Samburu, Meru, Isiolo, and indeed the entire North Rift region," said the IG.

He, however, did not name the cause of the resurgence in attacks.

"Let me be clear: whether the resurgence of these attacks is attributed to retaliation among members of communities or collaboration among communities to attack members of other communities, or be they targeted attacks on security personnel and installations, expansionist tendencies or the commercialisation of banditry as the case has been, my message to the bandits is one: Stop or face the full force of the law," he said.