We cannot fix Haiti while Kenya struggles- Senator Kajwang'

Pressure is mounting on the government to tackle rising insecurity within the country after a deadly bandit attack in Mwingi North, with Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’ warning that Kenya risks neglecting its own citizens while engaging in foreign security missions.

Addressing the Senate, Kajwang’ said it was important for the state to secure lives at home before committing resources and personnel abroad. His remarks followed the return of Kenyan officers from a security mission in Haiti, where they had been deployed to help contain gang violence.

“Speaker, charity must begin at home,” Kajwang’ said.

“Yesterday (Tuesday), our very valiant policemen and women came back from Haiti, where they went and contained gun violence. But you cannot be fixing Haiti if you cannot fix problems back in Kenya, Mr Speaker."

The debate comes days after a brutal daytime attack at Kwa Kamari Trading Centre in Tseikuru subcounty, where seven people were killed when heavily armed assailants struck without warning.

Reports indicate that around 40 attackers, carrying rifles and machetes, raided the area on April 25, shooting residents and causing widespread panic. Six men and one woman died during the incident, while another victim, who was shot, is receiving treatment at Tseikuru Level IV Hospital.

According to Tseikuru Deputy County Commissioner Ann Mwangi, the attackers are suspected to have passed through the Mwingi North Game Reserve, where they had taken livestock before launching the raid. Witness accounts suggest they used two unmarked Probox vehicles.

Mwangi said the victims suffered gunshot injuries and deep cuts, and their bodies were moved to Kyuso Level IV Hospital mortuary. The attackers also burned down three shops, a petrol station and a motorcycle before fleeing.

Security officials believe the violence could be linked to revenge attacks involving pastoralist groups and nearby communities.

“It is retaliation after a herder from one community killed a herder from another in the game park. This appears to be a counterattack,” Mwangi said.

The attack triggered fear across the area, forcing residents to abandon their homes and seek safety in nearby bushes, leaving businesses and farms unattended.

“These people are ruthless. They arrived and, within about an hour, seven people were dead,” said resident Kilonzo Mughi.

In his address, Kajwang’ dismissed the tendency to describe such killings as cultural or tribal clashes, insisting they must be treated as criminal acts.

“Seven lives is too many,” he said.

“Not too far back, in the county of my friend here, the Senator from Turkana, 42 people were killed. And every time they are killed, they are called tribal warfare or cultural practices. Mr Speaker, this is crime.”

He added that the state has an obligation to protect all citizens equally, warning that failure to act decisively could erode public trust.

“There’s an imagined theory in this country that if you want action from the national government, kill a politician. If you want action, beat up a politician. If you want action, raid the property of a politician. That’s when action will be taken,” Kajwang’ said.

“The right to life that is enshrined in this constitution, that right must be guaranteed by the state, failure to which Kenya shall revert back to the right to self-defence.”

“We cannot export security while insecurity reigns in our own villages,” he said.

His comments came shortly after the last group of 150 officers from the National Police Service arrived back in the country after completing their assignment in Haiti, where they had been supporting efforts to restore order and protect civilians.