Aden Duale, the defence cabinet secretary, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to combating banditry and the al Shabaab threat on Sunday.
His comments come at a time when attacks in the Northeastern Coast Area and North Rift have increased. Security personnel among those killed, and growth has also been seriously hampered.
He was addressing at Madarasatul Khadija in Garissa town during the graduation ceremony. At Hagarbur, close to Dadaab, Garissa County, two security officers were killed and two others were injured in the most recent attack two weeks ago.
Despite efforts to control the trend, banditry occurrences in North Rift have resulted in hundreds of deaths, injuries, and livestock thefts during the previous few months. Duale urged Kenyans, particularly in insecure areas, to engage closely with the security forces to not only find criminals hiding among them but also to serve as peace ambassadors.
“The people of Northern Kenya, you must do this one right for me. As a government, we will make sure that we smoke them out everyone.
The country will invest in the greatest equipment and special teams, according to the former Garissa township MP, who also noted that the nation cannot be held captive by a few extremists and criminal gangs.
As President Ruto ordered a joint operation with the National Police Service, CS Duale published a gazette last month announcing the deployment of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) to the North Rift to quell banditry.
Duale stated in the notice that KDF would assist the National Police Service in resolving the security crisis in the counties of Turkana, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Laikipia, and Samburu.
Last week on Wednesday, Duale traveled to a number of forward operating locations in the North Rift to monitor the development of the continuing campaign against banditry in the area.
Duale emphasized the government’s resolve to putting an end to banditry and restoring peace and normalcy in the six counties designated as dangerous and disturbed during his visit to the “Operation Maliza Uhalifu” North Rift.