A few days ago, a video clip of Rift Valley Regional coordinator George Natembeya warning chiefs who have failed to tame the perennial cattle rustling menace in the North Rift to “wake up from slumber or ship out” went viral in the social media.
“Hakuna siku serikali itachezewa namna hii na majangili na nyinyi mko, itawesekanaje chief unajua mama amepata mimba jana na ujui jangili anatembea na bunduki? (criminals cannot joke with the government and chiefs must take their jobs seriously or quit,” he said.
Natembeya, who until his promotion two months ago to his current regional boss position was the Narok County Commissioner, caused a stir in January when he famously declared that there would be mandatory examination of schoolgirls genitalia to determine if they have been circumcised with dire consequences.
He is the new sheriff in town— a student of former no-nonsense Internal Security minister late John Michuki. “Everything I know (public service) I learned from John Michuki,” Natembeya says, barely disguising his admiration for the man he served as personal assistant for four years.
Like his mentor, he does not compromise on discipline adherence and is stickler, perhaps to a fault, for the rule of law. These attributes, he says, are both anchored on, and reinforced by hard work and strident honesty.
They are the traits he says, which have helped him get to where he is. Hard work catapulted him to top his university class and subsequent full scholarship award to pursue a Master’s degree in Anthropology. “I think I was the first DO with a Masters degree those days,” he adds.
Now tasked with restoring order in the volatile, lawless region, where cattle raids, warlordism have unleashed reign of terror, turning on their heads, social and economic order.
In an interview with People Daily, Natembeya, who joined provincial administration as a District Officer after graduating from University of Nairobi in 1996, concedes he has no illusions about the responsibility he has been tasked with.
But the over ridding feeling is that Natembeya is cut for the role and is singularly well equipped to navigate the terrain. Here is why: He is a student of Michuki, a long time provincial administrator.
Future prospects
At 48, he is the youngest Regional coordinator amongst eight colleagues and the fact that he heads Rift Valley— the largest with 14 counties and the most cosmopolitan administrative area—is testament to what his superiors think of him and perhaps future prospects.
Rift Valley always totters on the edge due to ethnic tensions, fierce political competition, historical land injustices and the hypersensitive Mau Forest factors and co-factors. These scars rarely heal before something or someone ignites them again. On Mau, he is unrelenting over the imperative to save the water tower.
For example, Uasin Gishu, Nakuru, Kericho, Naivasha and Narok bore the brunt of the 2007/08 post poll violence where more than 1,300 people were killed while more than 500, 000 others were uprooted from homes in two weeks of madness following the hotly disputed presidential election.
These and others are the emergent issues Natembeya and his team will be grappling with as the country makes less than sure-footed steps towards the 2022 General Election.
As the interview progressed, I pointed to him a list of names of past office bearers emblazoned on the wall behind him; with a tinge of satisfaction, he said of his recent promotion: “It didn’t come as a big surprise because I am somebody who works hard. I believe if you work hard, you’re rewarded,” he said.
This lofty office was previously held by powerful personalities among them Simon Nyachae, who rose to become the Head of Public Service and Finance Minister in retired President Moi’s government, the fabled Isaiah Mathenge, a close ally of founding President Jomo Kenyatta, the awesome Hezekiah Oyugi, the amiable Ismael Chelanga, Zachary Ogongo, Nicholas Mberia and Yusuf Haji, the current Senator for Garissa county.
And just like Michuki, the regional boss shoots from the hips. Michuki who passed on in 2012 is, of course, best remembered for introducing reforms (Michuki rules) that instilled discipline in the matatu industry that over decades had been associated with chaos and general lawlessness. He also neutralised the dreaded Mungiki sect. And tellingly, the then serving Murang’a District Commissioner was Natembeya where he had served from 2008.
This is the man in whom hope is invested to sort out the North Rift in particular but the Valley in general. It’s a huge swathe of land reputed to have 200,000 illegally held arms by pastoralist communities occupying West Pokot, Turkana, Baringo, Elgeyo-Marakwet, Samburu and Laikipia counties. “If I can make the six counties in the North Rift to be like other eight (in terms of security) I will be a happy man,” he said.
Terrorise Kenyans
“We will not sit and watch a few criminals terrorising innocent Kenyans. And, I am warning them that days for talks are over, we will act, and even if it means using bombs we will use them,” he stated categorically, revealing that the government will soon embark on the biggest disarmament exercise ever seen in the history of the country.
“The time has come to rid North Rift of bandits once and for all. It’s a shame that other parts of the country are fast moving forward while another part is stuck in the era of Zinjanthropus… and we’re warning politicians in these areas that they will not be spared,” he said.
