Marakwet East sub county police commander Vincent Kitili has denied reports going round that the government has disarmed all National Police Reservists in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
Kitili said the police were conducting a mass biometric registration exercise for all security personnel and weapons which is an exercise being conducted country wide.
According to the police boss, the registration exercise will take at least two days before the weapons are returned to the reservists, adding that the government knows the vital role played by the reservists in the maintenance of peace and therefore cannot do away with them.
Reports doing around in social whatsapp groups indicated that the government had disarmed reservists in the Marakwet side, thus leaving people at the mercy of rustlers from neighbouring counties.
Kitili said this was not true saying “officers from Nairobi who were conducting the exercise started from Baringo and West Pokot last week before coming here on Friday for the registration which we completed yesterday,” he said.
He added that all the 272 police reservists and their weapons had been registered, adding that the weapons will be returned in the next two to three days.
“For the time being we have mobilised all security personnel from the regular police, General Service Unit and the Anti Stock Theft unit to patrol the area to ensure no ugly incident takes place,” he assured the public.
By Alice Wanjiru
