Residents of six banditry-prone areas take to sports to enhance peace

For months now, residents of the six banditry-prone areas have witnessed relative calm with little to no incidents reported in the last few months.

The lull, credited to the ongoing Operation Maliza Uhalifu (OMU) North Rift is poised to continue even longer following the adoption of sports for peace in efforts to bring warring communities together to play, dance, run, and engage in dialogue that leads to a shared commitment to peace.

The event dubbed North Rift Sports for Peace, Baringo Chapter kicks off from Thursday till Sunday with a view to peaceful coexistence amongst communities in Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Samburu, West Pokot, Laikipia, and Turkana Counties at Chemolingot, in Tiaty Sub County.

It will feature football matches, a half marathon, and cultural dances bringing together teams from villages and conflict-affected corridors.

These are the six counties that were declared as disturbed and dangerous zones in February last year by the Ministry of Interior following a resurgence of banditry, cattle rustling, and inter-communal conflicts.

Restore law and order

After the declaration, the government launched Operation Maliza Uhalifu North Rift, which was designed to restore law and order, safeguard communities from organized banditry, and deter territorial expansion in the six counties.

Lilian Chepchumba, a youth champion and one of the five-day event's organisers, said the sports will provide an opportunity for different communities to interact, get sensitised on peace initiatives, and be able to hold dialogue on contentious issues.

For several months, the operation managed to quell the conflict in the affected counties, allowing a resumption of normalcy in schools that had closed over insecurity, resumption of market days, and movement of people across the region, a success that the National Assembly's Departmental Committee on Internal Security and National Administration noted in August consistently faced a myriad of challenges that hindered efforts towards lasting peace.

Over the last few months, however, the region has recorded a lull in criminal activities with counties going for months without reported banditry and cattle rustling incidents, gains that the sports and dances that have attracted over 400 youth are hoped to sustain.

"We want to break the bridges that we have created between us over the years, participate in dances, listen to folklores from different tribes, and establish sustainable measures that mitigate against violence," she said of the event that will likely be held annually going forward.

Each of the six counties is projected to host its chapter of the event as a way of uniting all in the coming years.

"All the teams are ready, the key intention is to make sure that we bring together all persons that work to bring peace in Baringo, show our neighbours that we love peace, and hope that we shall attain peace through sports. As the youth we know the importance of coming together, when we meet each other elsewhere say outside the country, and identify ourselves as pastoralists, we feel immense joy and desire to speak in our local languages, that is how I found myself wanting to learn to speak in Samburu and other languages,” said Chepchumba.

The games will adhere to a strict code of neutrality to ensure fairness and make it an attractive event for many more in the coming events.

"It is us the youth who suffer the most when there is conflict that is why we saw this as the opportune time to plan this to ensure that the conflicts that arise amongst us and our peers in the neighbouring counties end," Chepchumba said as she called for more support to make the event a success.

"As the committee, we are still inviting more people of goodwill to come and support us in this noble task because we are only going to prosper if we have peace. Peace brings tranquillity and makes a place hospitable, any partner wherever you are, be it a CBO or an NGO do not be left out, we still need a lot of funds to make this event a success. This is going to be a first-of-its-kind event that has been held to promote peace in Tiaty," she said.

The event is a partnership between peace organisations, security agencies, religious leaders, community leaders, and other stakeholders.