NTV investigative reporter has just returned from the dangerous Baringo county, where cattle rustlers reign supreme.
Okari got to interview Pokot warriors, who are said to be the main aggressors in the never-ending war.
Afer travelling a long way and waiting for them even longer, the warriors started streaming in to the interview location. Nicholas Lemachia, who would soon become their ‘spokesman’, made a grand entrance dragging a 12 foot python.
Excited kids soon surrounded him with knives, ready for a feast. He would later explain that they would rather eat snakes rather than touch their livestock.
When the subject of why they were fighting was introduced, Lemachia made a case on why they should be allowed to continue killing the Marakwet.
He argued that the government has abandoned them, yet equipped their ‘enemies’ with weapons. He said that Ruto gave the Marakwet about 240 guns to kill the Pokot, perhaps referring to a recent move by the government to commission about two hundred police reservists.
He further blamed the government for taking sides, saying that they should be left to resolve the conflict themselves. Lemachia argued that the government should leave them to teach the Marakwet a lesson, until they surrender and friendship then can resume. ”Tuwachwe tupige wao mpaka waridhike..” he kept saying.
The warrior further commended retired president Mwai Kibaki for his handsoff approach, saying he ordered the government not to intervene. ”We fought for a while until the Marakwet surrendered when we killed them too much. They then asked for peace,” he explained.
Another warrior told Okari that when they attack, it is usually revenge for something the other community has done. Asked whether they spare women and children, he said that they kill anything and everything on their way.
Okari also interviewed a man whose wife was murdered while breastfeeding. He expressed anger at the Pokot, revealing that they also stole 51 of his cattle, leaving him with nothing.
Watch this incredibly eye-opening feature.
