The government is set to flush out bandits through land and air operation in areas identified as bandit hideouts.
The operation which is heeded to fully comply with Kenyan and international law is set to start anytime from now.
On March 12 and 13, 2023 the government ordered any member of the public in the identified areas to vacate within 24 hours.
According to the Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, the decision to vacate people was reached after the security agencies established that within the remote and uninhabited forests, caves, hills, gorges, and rugged terrain escarpments, bandit gangs had invited some members of the public, probably their family and kin to live with them; ostensibly to convert them to human shield in the event of engagement with the law enforcers.
Therefore, to avoid any harm, the government ordered members of the public to vacate these areas.
“Certainly, outside the convenience of the remote and uninhibited forests, caves, hills, gorges, and rugged terrain escarpments, law enforcement agencies will apprehend banditry suspects, disarm them, and process them for prosecution,” Kindiki said in a statement released on Wednesday.
Kindiki said that after the bandits are flushed out, security personnel will dominate these spaces to ensure that they remain inaccessible to harbor bandits or any kind of criminal whatsoever.
The CS assured the public and oversight agencies that the operation will be performed in adherence to the Kenyan Constitution, especially Chapter five, international treaties, and customary international law.
This comes after lobby groups and leaders raised concerns over the time frame people were to vacate an uncertain destination.
Additionally, he promised that the operation will not criminalize anybody and ensure that no one is displaced from their habitual residence without support to settle elsewhere.
Kindiki also emphasized that education will not be disrupted in areas that were gazetted as disturbed and dangerous during the onset of the operation.
On February 13, 2023, the government launched a joint security operation led by the National Police Service with the assistance of the Kenya Defence Forces in parts of Baringo, Laikipia, Samburu, Turkana, West Pokot, and Elgeyo Marakwet Counties.
