Lamu Commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo at a past function. [Photo:nation.co.ke]
Residents of Kipini Town have called upon the national government to set up a police and Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) camps along the Lamu-Tana River border to protect them from hostile pastoralists.
According to The Star, the residents raised an alarm over increased cases of rape and mistreatment from the herders in a bid to stop them from encroaching their land and other properties.
They claim that the pastoralists have been grazing on their farms forcefully and raping their children at times. They were speaking during a meeting with Commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo and security officers.
James Nyawiri, who is their spokesman, narrated how his wife was tortured by the pastoralists and urged the government to take an action against the culprits.
He also said that residents have started fleeing the area because of fear. On his part, Kitiyo said that the acts of violence from the pastoralists will no longer be tolerated by the government.
“The inhumane acts must stop whether voluntarily of by force. Anyone crossing the line, however little, will face the full wrath of the law. I am sending the cohesion committee to meet with their Tana River counterparts so we understand why all this is happening and see what to do as soon as possible,” Kitiyo said.