With some of the 22 government guns still in the hands of Kapedo assassins in Baringo County, I ask, is it the assassins' problem to attack armed police officers or the government's knee-jerk response to such matters?
The Kapedo assassination has been blamed on armed raiders who have seen more than 21 police officers die and others injured. This is a major blow to the police department, government and Kenya at large.
Wait; to me, the assassins are not the problem, the real problem lies with the government of Kenya.
At this point, I echo the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) who have blamed the killings on laxity among top officers.
Macharia Njeru, the IPOA chairman termed the country's democracy as irresponsible and not even a top officer has bothered to apologise to the public following the attacks.
It should be remembered that in November 2012, a similar incident took place at Baragoi, which saw at least 46 people killed including more than 40 police officers. The Baringo County witnessed all that, and now, Kapedo.
The probe team sent to investigate the matter in Baragoi and whatever happened after that is history.
Back to Kapedo, who sold who to the raiders? Did the Kenya police not learn from the Baragoi attack? If that is not enough, how sure are we that someone in the police department did not know about the attack? Are we sure that no top government official knew about the impending attack on the police officers?
Kenyans have lost complete trust for the government and have shifted to getting information from the media. Kenyans have decided to trust the media 100 percent rather than the government and its officials.
It is high time the government stopped playing 'Commission of Inquiry' and instead put down correct strategies to combat such incidents in the future. Top officials should be reshuffled if not sacked because waiting for them to resign is like milking stones.
The KDF operation in the area has allegedly seen two innocent herdsmen dead and elders are now threatening to hamper the disarmament operations. Lack of clear strategies to fight cattle raiding and dealing with raiders has aided in this. Before striking next time, the police should strategise and know exactly who they are going to fight and their hideouts.
To sum it up all, Kenyans need a new security system from the top. People who are selfless, ready to give back to the community should take the positions. Bribery will not bring us out of the current situation.