NAIROBI: Police said on Saturday that at least 18 people have died in communal clashes in southeastern Kenya over the past two weeks, as security was increased in the affected areas.
Due to the clashes, which have pitted pastoralist communities against flood victims who have been resettled, Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki declared 12 areas of Tana River County “dangerous and disturbed.”
To prevent a further escalation of violence, Kenya’s national police chief, Douglas Kanja, instructed residents to surrender their firearms.
The battling, which has been most extreme in the town of Bura, started when the region government offered land to rehome individuals dislodged by flooding on the banks of Tana Waterway, the longest in Kenya.
The argument made by local pastoralists was that the people being relocated would be occupying their grazing grounds. Since last month, we have lost 18 people, so security has been increased to prevent more deaths, according to a senior Tana River County police officer.
However, “people don’t want to surrender firearms, so the situation is very tense right now.” The arrest of two local leaders, Tana River County governor Dhadho Godhana and local lawmaker Said Hiribae, for failing to respond to police, was made public on Saturday by the Director of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Amin.
