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Mt Elgon violence getting out of hand
DAILY NATION - Editorial
Publication Date: 4/9/2007
Fresh information about the cause and impact of the serial violence in Mt Elgon district demonstrates that the problem runs deep and that political jest and chest-thumping will not resolve the matter. Going by what we have published elsewhere in this edition today, which is based on a Nation fact-finding mission last week, the situation is pretty bad and the stakes are high.
We established, for example, that the Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF) is a well-heeled quasi-military outfit with good supply of arms and training and other provisions. It has a strong network locally and externally and the force is well organised and focused, which is why it has the temerity to raid even police units. This is dangerous for national security.
In the wake of its raids, more than 60,000 families have been forced to flee their homes and turned into refugees in their own district. As a result, farming has not started in the area, yet this is the planting season when farms should have been prepared for the crops. With the farmlands likely to go untilled because of the violence, the spectre of starvation in the area and neighbouring districts is real.
Of course, schools had to close early last term because of insecurity. And that means the children in the district may not complete the syllabus on time for the national exams.
Clearly, what is playing out in Mt Elgon is a disaster. Yet, there are no definite signals to show that action is being taken to contain the situation. The Government has not taken any decisive move to deal with the militia, which everyone in the district knows about. Nor has it investigated claims that some politicians are funding the violence. Why hasn’t the General Special Unit and other specialised forces been sent to quell the violence?
Politicians from the region have not helped the matter either, by providing crucial information that would lead to the arrest of the force members and their backers. The onus is on the Government to send a strong security team to the district to deal with the militia and as well, rein in their
sponsors.
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