Members of Marsabit county assembly (MCAs) have petitioned the government to move with speed to arrest the state of insecurity in Saku sub-county.
They regretted continued cases of lawlessness perpetrated by seemingly organized armed gangs and called for a security operation to mop up illegal firearms in the hands of civilians.
Speaking to the press at the county assembly, the members led by the chairman of the committee on security Jillo Kiya expressed concern that the recent killing of innocent people has greatly affected peace and stability in Marsabit Central and Moyale sub-counties.
They observed that insecurity in the county which was being fueled by the presence of illegal guns was to blame for the increased cases of cattle rustling and senseless slaying of innocent residents.
The leaders now want the government to conduct a genuine operation to get rid of illicit firearms and termed previous such exercises public relation gimmicks.
Loglogo MCA Bata Leyakono said the local leadership was in support of an operation to seize illegal firearms and challenged security organs to execute their roles more effectively.
“The killing of innocent people in this county must be stopped at all cost and we are challenging the government to mop up illegal guns in wrong hands” he said adding that previous operations were just a mockery as they failed to achieve much.
The MCAs also called on Marsabit residents to value peace and continue living in harmony by shunning negative ethnicity.
Concerning the security situation along the Kenya/Ethiopia border in Moyale sub-county, the members who included deputy speaker John Killo asked the government to bolster security in order to stop incursions from the neighbouring country.
They said area residents were living in fear due to incursions by Ethiopian forces allegedly in pursuit of members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) militia who upon missing their targets take local residents captive.
The MCAs further pointed out that the hostile scenario also made it difficult for the government to render services and implement development programs to the benefit of wananchi.
They challenged the entire local leadership to join hands with residents and support the government in restoring and maintaining peace among local communities.
By Sebastian Mirit
