Barely a week after Narok County Commissioner George Natembeya lifted the dawn to dusk curfew imposed on Olposimoru residents, fresh skirmishes have erupted in Ololoiang’i,Oloriasi and Nkoben areas in Narok South Sub County a few kilometers from Olposimoru.
The clashes that began on Saturday, have seen a 25 year old man killed, 15 injured and tens of houses burnt in the inter community violence.
Speaking to KNA this morning, County Commissioner Natembeya said the violence was triggered by the theft of one cow from one community who alleged that the other community was responsible for the loss.
“The fifteen injured suffered arrow wounds and are receiving treatment at Narok Referral hospital, the man who died on Saturday night was shot in the back and died on the spot,” said Natembeya.
However, Natembeya said a contingent of security officers drawn from Administration Police, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service and Regular police had been deployed in the area to restore calm.
The commissioner continued that investigations had been launched to establish the source of firearm used to kill the young man.
“We do not exactly know whether this man was killed by the civilian or the police but we have the bullet shell with use and will definitely lead us to the culprit,” added Natembeya.
The County Commissioner however reiterated that the peace operation efforts in the area have been hampered by the heavy rains going on in the area.
“Police vehicles have been stuck in mud due to dilapidated roads destroyed by the heavy downpour making it hard for our officers to access some of the violence spots,” said Natembeya.
In August, clashes were witnessed in the area after a body of a man from the Maasai community was found dead two days after he had gone missing.
This triggered violence in the area causing the Kipsigis and Maasai communities to battle one another killing four people and seriously injuring ten others.
The violence left four people dead, 13 injured and over 60 houses burnt down and more than 10 schools in the three villages closing down.
On September 16 this year, the security agencies led by Rift Valley Regional Coordinator Mongo Chimwanga held peace meetings between the two communities at Oloruasi Primary school grounds where elders from both communities held “Handshake” vowing to live peacefully.
The event was also witnessed by local leaders led by Narok Governor Samuel Tunai and area MP Korei ole Lemein who asked them to embrace dialogue in case of any emerging differences but the latest developments seem to water down their commitment to peace efforts.
Chimwanga at the time blamed propaganda fueled by the Maasai Mau forest evictions for the runaway insecurity in the area.
The Narok political leaders had also pledged to be ready to address any pertinent issues between the two communities.
Nevertheless, in early November, fresh skirmishes erupted at Olposimoru and Olenguruone areas that saw one person killed, 26 injured and several houses burnt.
This forced the security details to decree a dusk to dawn curfew and deploy heavy security teams to man the area.
Peace was later restored and on Jamhuri day celebrations, Commissioner Natembeya announced the lifting of the two months caveat.
By Ann Salaton.
