[Sophie_Neveu]

Fresh skirmishes in laikipia a blow to healing published on march 16, 2008, 12:00 am by job weru the ongoing clashes in laikipia west district have widened rifts among communities. This has raised fears the animosity could derail the healing process after the post-election violence. In separate interviews, residents told the sunday standard the attacks were disguised as cattle raids but were aimed at evicting a certain community. In the latest attack on monday, four family members were shot dead by a gang of warriors who did not steal anything. In laikipia, renewed violence broke out last week near rumuruti. Up to 20 people have been killed, say residents, but government officials put the figure at 14. Violence has mainly hit gatundia area, where more than 1,000 people have fled their homes. Addressing more than 200 displaced people at gatundia police post, area dc, mr julius mutula said more than 400 people had been displaced by last monday. Former councillor, mr munyiri mutitu, who accompanied former area mp mr gg kariuki in visiting the idps, accused a certain community of using guns to attack farmers. The area is occupied by the kikuyu, turkana, kalenjin and the pokot. Kariuki urged the government to disarm residents. "the guns are now being used to kill innocent people," he said. Scenes similar to those in the post-poll violence are being witnessed in the area, two weeks after the power-sharing deal between president kibaki and odm leader mr raila odinga. More than ten schools have been closed , including two secondary schools. Mr mureithi kamanja, the kenya national union of teachers (knut) executive secretary, advised teachers to stay away. "teachers fear they may be attacked any time while in schools," he said. The area is also prone to highway robberies and cattle raids. Past efforts to disarm the residents have failed. Due to cattle rustling, residents say they have to arm themselves to ward off attacks. The guns are always used in inter-community clashes. Mureithi says all the communities have perpetrated violence. "the incidents happened in a tense atmosphere. When you add the fact that the country was fractured, you see why people are making hasty conclusions," he says. He proposed that the residents be involved in a community-policing programme to end the crisis. Kariuki says the clashes have rekindled memories of 1997 and 1998, when thousands of people were evicted from ol’moran and rumuruti divisions. "the memories are now awakened by the scenes we are witnessing," he said. "the government has for years refused to address the problem of illegal grazing, which is the root cause of the problem in this area," he said. He claimed the instigators target farmers so that they can have ample grazing grounds. Some herdsmen have even been grazing their cattle on the abandoned farms. This has raised fears the crisis will fuel more poverty and cause a food crisis. Scores of granaries and homes have been torched in the last two weeks. "we cannot allow this to happen. These people own their lands legally, and whoever takes up a gun to fight his neighbour so that he can graze in his land should know that kenya is governed by the law," said kariuki. Ms ann wambui, a displaced person and resident of ndagara, where more than 100 houses were torched, accused police officers of being selective in handling the crisis. "they were taking too long to respond, thereby giving the attackers time to escape," she said. An elderly woman camping at gatundia police post, ms ekeru meroni, said the government has sidelined some communities. "we are being incriminated and arrested when found armed," she said. She said youths arm themselves whenever they are attacked, but the government is arresting them, leaving women defenceless. "why can’t the police arrest the war mongers and those torching houses?" she asked. But area dc denied the allegations, saying the government is handling the crisis impartially. "we have to ensure that all are safe. We are targeting all armed people, and you should understand that we are not taking the issue as a tribal affair," he said. This is lawlessness and we cannot allow some people to arm themselves," he added.