The Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security in the National Assembly will seek to establish a long lasting solution to the perennial insecurity situation in Turkana County, the Committee Vice Chairperson, Hon. Dido Rasso has said. 

 Speaking at the various stops that the Committee made over the weekend while conducting a fact-finding mission in the County, Hon. Rasso committed that the Committee would prioritize issues regarding Turkana County’s boundary disputes and the deployment of Police reservists to supplement the operations of the National Police Service. 

“As a Committee, we are concerned with the security situation in this county. What we are seeking to achieve is a lasting solution because we have to coexist with other Communities as everyone has a right to live in their county of birth. Due to the unique security situation in Turkana, and the vastness of this area, we will advocate for more police reservist to be recruited”, he told a public baraza at Lokichogio.

 During the visit to various hot spots in Turkana East and Turkana West, the delegation led by Hon. Rasso noted that border disputes between the County and Baringo and West Pokot Counties, as well as that between Kenya and South Sudan and Kenya and Uganda, were fueling the insecurity witnessed in the counties for a long time. 

 At Lokichogio Sub-County, where the Committee set camp today, the Committee was told that a border dispute was to blame for the frequent fights between the Toposa of South Sudan and the Turkana community.

 The Turkana claim that Toposa pastoralists have encroached their territory after the Republic of South Sudan allegedly extended their border into the Kenyan border by about 10 kilometers to Nadapal.

Committee Members Hon. Protus Akuja (Loima), Hon. Mburu Kahangara (Lari) and Hon. Caroline Ngelechei expressed concerns over lack of deployment of Kenya Defence Forces in all entry points as Sudan has done on their side of the border. 

They told the sub-county security officials that they would push to ensure that all border points have officers deployed to man them.

At the same time, the Committee has said there is need to review the security set up along the borders to encourage cohesion and a multi-agency approach towards mainstreaming border management.

 “We want all the agencies deployed to this border county to develop synergies and work together. This is the only way we shall achieve peace and security in this county”, Hon. Rasso held.

 Turning to address the challenges faced by the sub-county security team with regard to mobility, Hon. Rasso urged the county governments in troubled areas to help purchase vehicles for security agencies as part of their contribution to enhancing security in their counties.

 Earlier in the day, the Committee made a stop at Kakuma Police Station where they engaged with the Area Officer Commanding the Station.

The team also addressed newly recruited police reservists who are undergoing training. The delegation further made a stop at Lokichogio International Airport whose operations had been scaled down due to ongoing renovations.

𝐋𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐨, 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲