The killing fields of the North Rift have claimed fresh victims, prompting a furious ultimatum from Isiolo Governor Abdi Ibrahim Guyo. Following a dawn raid that left several herders dead and hundreds of livestock stolen along the Isiolo-Samburu border, the Governor has declared the security situation "a state of war" and demanded the immediate establishment of a permanent military barracks in the buffer zone.

The attack, carried out by a heavily armed militia estimated to number over 50 men, targeted grazing fields in the disputed Kom area. Witnesses describe a scene of carnage where bandits, emboldened by the lack of state presence, opened fire indiscriminately before driving away cattle worth millions of shillings. This latest incident shatters a fragile three-month lull in violence.

"We Are Being Hunted Like Antelopes"

"The Ministry of Interior issues press statements in Nairobi while my people are being buried in Isiolo," Governor Guyo said, visibly emotional, during a security meeting with rift valley regional commissioners. "We are not asking for police reservists anymore. Those are being outgunned. We are demanding a full KDF battalion permanently stationed at the border. If the government cannot protect us, tell us to protect ourselves."

The Governor’s sharp rhetoric points to a growing frustration among Northern Kenya leaders who feel the "Operation Maliza Uhalifu" launched in 2024 has lost steam. Guyo warned that without decisive action, the region risks sliding into total anarchy.

The Cost of Inaction

• Economic Paralysis: The resurgence of banditry has paralyzed the livestock trade, the region's economic backbone. Markets in Isiolo town are reporting a 40% drop in supply as herders flee the rich grazing lands of the north for safety.
• Political Fallout: The insecurity is fast becoming a political liability for the Kenya Kwanza administration in the North. Leaders are accusing the state of abandoning the region after securing votes, a sentiment that could fuel voter apathy or rebellion in 2027.

As families bury their dead today, the silence from the corridors of power in Nairobi is deafening. For the residents of Samburu and Isiolo, the government’s primary duty—protection of life—feels like a distant rumour.