Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i will Friday September 10 visit conflict-ravaged Laikipia County.
The CS is expected to assess the security situation and the ongoing operation in the area.
The government has already declared a dusk-to-dawn curfew at the Laikipia Nature Conservancy, as it intensifies its efforts of flushing bandits out in the war-prone zone.
CS Matiang’i said the decision was arrived at by the National Security Council (NSC) chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta following recent cases of cattle rustling as well as surge of illegal gun ownership in the county.
“Given this deteriorating security situation, the NSC has issued a directive that Laikipia Nature Conservancy and its environs be immediately declared as disturbed area and therefore security operation zone,” Matiang’i said.
Matiang’i said the move would help the government to contain the worsening insecurity caused by heavily armed bandits, who he accused of ignoring warnings to surrender.
The council also resolved that all leaders, businessmen and public officers who have illegally moved their livestock into the conflict zone to remove them within 48 hours.
As part of the government’s move to contain the situation, former Laikipia North MP Mathew Lempurkel and Tiaty MP William Kamket were arrested on Wednesday in connection to the conflict in the county.
Lempurkel was released by the court on Thursday in Ksh150, 000 cash bail.
