Fresh queries over Rift Valley ‘arms race’ claims

Mr Kofi Annan on Wednesday questioned top government officials about the rearming of militias ahead of Kenya's 2012 election. This follows reports in the international media of gun buying in the Rift Valley as communities allegedly prepare for a confrontation in 2012.

Mr Annan, the chief mediator, said he had been assured that there is no large scale re-arming of militia, but there has been an “increased level of criminality in parts of the country and it is being dealt with”.

In parts of the North Rift, where ethnic violence at the election was at its worst, some residents expressed unease over reports that the government will hand over Waki List suspect for trial by the International Criminal Courts (ICC) in the Hague.

According to Centre for Human Rights chief executive officer Mr Ken Wafula, guns were finding their way from East Pokot, Turkana, Samburu and Baringo. “We have reports that the communities are arming themselves… this is a fact that should be dealt with by the government fast,” Mr Wafula told Nation in his office recently.

The security authorities, however, dismissed the arms claims and said calm had been restored to the areas worst affected by the violence and that the return of the displaced to their farms was proceeding smoothly. “All is well in this area. We have not received claims of any community arming itself or fears of attack,” said Mr Alex ole Nkoiyo, the Wareng District Commissioner. Eldoret East district commissioner Charles Mukele also denied the reports.

“I have not heard of such strange goings-on in my district,” he said on Wednesday. “My security people have not brought it to my attention and I do not think it is true.” Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Annan said it needed to be made clear that it is not communities which face trial, but rather individuals who committed atrocities.

In Eldoret, a human rights activist, who asked not to be named for his own safety said: “None of the communities are taking things for granted. Some of them have been holding secret meetings on how to arm themselves so as not to be caught unawares like the last violence.”

Security has been beefed up in the most volatile parts, mainly by deploying more Administration Police officers. An additional 216 APs have been posted to the larger Uasin Gishu District, the epicentre of the violence in 2007 and early 2008 where more than 200 people were killed and thousands evicted from their homes.

The APs have also been reshuffled, with those serving during the violence getting posted elsewhere. On Wednesday, the former UN secretary-general said: “There should be no bad attitude between communities living in Rift Valley. A local tribunal or Hague will not in any way try communities but individuals.”

Interviews with Rift Valley showed that while calm has returned, trust is yet to be re-established. “We were caught off guard last year. We are prepared this time” said Mr Livingstone Karuri in his Kondoo farm in Eldoret.

Mr Karuri was among those who were evicted from their farms during the violence and lived at the Eldoret showground as a refugee. He has since returned to his farm but said there was still hostility between the Kikuyu and the Kalenjin.

Mr Joseph Githuku, who lost his wife and a child in the Kiambaa fire tragedy, said although he got on well with his neighbours in Kiambaa, the talk of Hague trials was poisoning relations. “ I fear this may create violence. We should be left the way we are. We suffered because of people who are now enjoying our tears,” he said.

Eldoret politician Kipkorir arap Menjo said reports of arms buying was going to create unnecessary tension, adding that they are not true. The government also seems confident that it is better prepared to deal with violence, should it occur in any part of the country.

“We are prepared than ever before to deal with a re-emergence of violence, nobody should imagine that they can subject Kenyans to another round of violence,” Internal Security minister George Saitoti has warned.

According to the BBC, arms dealers were doing booming business selling AK 47 and G3 rifles to members of the members of the Kikuyu and Kalenjin communities.

It quoted Internal Security assistant minister Orwa Ojode confirming that the government was aware of the situation which he blamed on Kenya’s porous borders. But on Wednesday, Mr Ojode claimed he had been quoted out of context.

Inquiries by the Daily Nation showed that trucks carrying charcoal from Baringo to other parts of the Rift Valley were likely being used to ferry contraband, possibly even guns. Charcoal trading is allowed in Baringo in a bid to wipe out a plant called Mathenge.

According to Mr Wafula, the border regions between East Pokot and Baringo are veritable arms markets where an AK47 gun goes for as little as Sh25,000. “The guns are cheap nowadays” he said. “Other human rights activists from the region tell us that the guns are readily available. There is a lot of tension in this area but it may not erupt into fully fledged violence. If it does, it could lead to a lethal war.”

He said guns were dismantled and put in charcoal bags to fool the many police officers at roadblocks on the Kabarnet-Eldoret highway. In that way, he said, guns from East Pokot and Kapedo South find their way to Nakuru or Eldoret. The majority of the 1,133 Kenyans who died during the post-election violence were killed in the Rift Valley, which was also affected by ethnic violence most election years.

On Tuesday, President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga indicated to mediator Kofi Annan that the country was not likely to form a special tribunal to try suspects. The two said that they were ready to discuss with the ICC the way forward.

Smuggle guns

On Lake Victoria, fishermen have complained that gunrunners from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are smuggle guns through the lake. The security department charged with the control of small arms and light weapons is asking the Cabinet and MPs to tighten gun laws.

It wants the Firearms Act changed to make the ownership of military-type assault rifles a capital offence. If the Cabinet adopts the proposals, stiffer sentences will be imposed for gun offences.

Reported by Barnabas Bii, Kenneth Ogosia, Benjamin Ouma, Biwott Koross