Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has announced his intentions to gazette some parts of Isiolo, Marsabit, and Samburu Counties as security operation zones in sustained efforts to end banditry.

Speaking during the graduation of 140 National Police Reservists (NPR) at Ndumuru in Igembe North, Meru County Hon Kindiki said he will next week impose curfews to flush out cattle rustlers who have invaded parts of Nyambene region.

“From next week, the Government will commence an operation in parts of Eastern Region as an extension to the ongoing Operation Maliza Uhalifu in North Rift Valley Counties,” the CS said.

Speaking during the graduation of 140 National Police Reservists (NPR) at Ndumuru in Igembe North, Meru County, CS Kindiki said he will gazette these areas by next week where serious operations and curfews will be introduced to weed out cattle rustlers that were spilling to parts of Nyambene region.

He said the issue of cattle rustling has been rampant in these areas and as a result, his ministry will take the same measures they were using in other similar areas in the country to end the culture of stealing animals as well as killing innocent Kenyans.

“The vice is a longstanding issue for the last 40 years affecting 14 Counties in the republic. When President William Ruto was campaigning he promised to end this issue completely during his reign.”

“For the time we have been in office we have tried to deal with these things and though we have not succeeded, we have put a foundation that if we build on it we will eradicate the menace,” said Hon. Kindiki.

He called on the residents to cooperate with security officers if at all they wanted the exercise to succeed.

“This year we have started a journey to liberate our places that were raided by banditry. While 2023 was about flipping the issue of cattle rustling, 2024 will be sustaining the victory against livestock rustlers and bandits,” said CS Kindiki.

He said the NPR graduands will stay in a camp, where the Interior Ministry will provide resources and the Inspector General will work with Regional Commanders and Officers Commanding Stations to ensure proper command and control in order to work with synchrony with police service to stop the banditry menace once and for all.