A section of Maasai leaders have condemned the violence witnessed at Olposimoru area, at the border of Narok North Sub County and Nakuru county asking the government to investigate the cause of the on-and-off fracas in the area.
Led by a prominent youth leader in the county Tempes Ole Ntimama, the leaders said already a number of persons had died due to conflicts, saying this could be avoided if the root cause of the violence would be identified and resolved accordingly.
Although uneasy calm has been restored in the volatile land, four people have been reported dead, scores of others injured and several houses burnt in fresh clashes that erupted a week ago.
The clashes were triggered by the theft of 25 cattle and killing of one youth who was in the company of three others when grazing in the forest land.
The leaders who spoke on Friday in a Narok hotel requested conflict resolution organizations to tour the area and take time to speak with the residents to unravel the underlying causes.
“We call upon the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), The National Steering Committee on Peace and Conflict resolution among others to visit the embattled land to seek for a lasting solution,” he said.
“The two communities living in Olposimoru have intermarried and do business together, I don’t understand why the theft of cows lead to killing of innocent people and destroying property worth millions of shillings,” added Ole Ntimama, who went on to ask the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) to investigate the death and injuries caused, alleging that most of them were caused by police shootings.
Kelena Ole Nchoe, a former Narok County Council Chair asked the youth not to be used to cause war as they are in the front line when violence occurs.
“We call on our young people to engage on productive business that will keep them busy instead of being used to cause war that derail development in the area,” said Ole Nchoe.
Meanwhile, Sankok Ole Mpusia, the father to one of the deceased alleged that his son was shot by a police officer.
“The incident is a big blow to my family as my son had just graduated from a teachers training college and we had expectations that he would support the family financially,” Ole Mpusia said.
`Three of the people nursing injuries at the Narok County Referral Hospital have bullets lodged in their bodies and are set to undergo surgery on Monday.
Narok County Commissioner Samuel Kimiti has confirmed that calm has been restored in the troubled land and normalcy slowly being restored.
By Ann Salaton
