Uneasy calm has been restored in the volatile Nkararo land in Trans Mara West Sub County, after a 17-year-old man was allegedly killed in fresh clashes that occurred in the area last Friday.
The boy had been shot on the chest with an arrow during a clash involving the Siria and Uasin Gishu Maasai clans that live in the area.
It all started when a group of young men from one clan, while armed with bows and arrows, attempted to prevent men from the other clan from planting sugarcane in a land that borders the two clans.
This led to conflict between the two clans as the members of each group started conflicting with each other causing tension in the volatile land.
However, Narok County Commissioner Evans Achoki has confirmed that calm has been restored in the area and a heavy security team deployed on the ground to maintain peace.
He reiterated that the security team is investigating the cause of death of the young secondary school boy since he died on the way to a Nairobi hospital and there is not enough proof that he was injured at the scene of war.
“As for now, we agree with what the family is saying that the boy was injured at the sugarcane plantation. However, we are carrying out investigations to ascertain the truth of the matter,” he said.
Achoki confirmed that there were no injuries during the chaos as security officers arrived on time and calmed the situation.
He called on the members of the public to be calm as they restore peace on the ground, warning those with the intention of causing conflict in the volatile land of dire consequences.
The Nkararo land has hit headlines in the past for prolonged conflict between the two Maasai clans that often battle each other because of land issues.
In 2018, a security team launched an operation to recover all loose guns in the hands of civilians after 14 people were shot dead in prolonged clashes between the Siria and Uasin Gishu clans.
During the disarmament process, 115 guns were recovered and members of the public returned hundreds of bows and arrows voluntarily.
Additionally, in 2020 the Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya visited the area and imposed a 4pm to 7am curfew after several houses were torched and people injured in clashes between the two clans.
This prompted the government to quicken the process of issuing 1273 title deeds to the residents with an aim of restoring permanent peace on the controversial land, citing land dispute as the major cause of conflicts in the area.
By Ann Salaton
