NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 23 – President Uhuru Kenyatta has given Marsabit leaders two weeks to come up with a lasting solution to the communal conflicts within the region.
Speaking when he hosted a delegation of leaders from Marsabit, Isiolo and Tana River counties, the President cautioned the leaders that failure to bring forward a concrete strategy to stop the conflicts will push the Government to deploy security agencies with strict instructions to forcefully end insecurity in the county.
“My dear friends from Marsabit you should sit down together and decide that you want peace amongst yourselves. You must agree amongst yourselves and bring me the solution because you have it. I will call you after two weeks, if you do not bring an agreed solution then you will have decided that the Government intervenes and you know what that means,” the President said.
The President emphasized the need for Marsabit leaders to change their approach and work together to promote unity instead of fuelling conflicts among residents.
“Peace is an important thing that brings a lot of benefits. Make peace so that you can benefit fully by being at the center of government. Instead of focusing on war and petty tribal clashes, focus on how you will uplift the lives of the people of Marsabit County,” President Kenyatta said.
Saying he has worked with many leaders with a view of building a strong and stable country, the President urged Marsabit leaders to embrace the same approach to ensure their county is peaceful.
“The most important thing is for the 50 million Kenyans to live together peacefully. Let us work for peace as this is what will enable us to achieve our development agenda. Please learn from me, I have worked with most of you. You can all see, despite having had political differences with the ODM leader Raila Odinga, we decided to discard our differences and join hands to build a peaceful country,” President Kenyatta said.
He once again advised leaders across the country not to allow political competition to undermine peace and security urging them to work together towards uniting all Kenyans.
Responding to development issues raised by the delegation of leaders, President Kenyatta said the construction of Lamu Port and the road infrastructure in the region is intended to benefit the counties of Tana River, Isiolo, Marsabit and Mandera as the country expects to connect with Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Regarding taking services closer to wananchi, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said already the Government has commenced the process of creating six new sub counties in the three counties.
He assured that the Government will also review police deployment in the North Eastern region to tackle security challenges.
The leaders, led by Marsabit Governor Mohamud Mohamed, commended President Kenyatta for flagging off a convoy of relief supplies which, they said, will go a long way in alleviating hunger in the region.
They pledged to support the President in his endeavour to unite all Kenyans, noting that they will continue working together in supporting his development agenda.
Also present were Transport and Infrastructure CS James Macharia, Mandera Governor Ali Roba, Marsabit Senator Godana Hargurah and several MPs from the three counties among other grassroots leaders.
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