Illegal firearm holders in Transmara ordered to surrender within 14 days
Rift Valley
By
George Sayagie
| Oct 23, 2025
The Narok County Security Committee has come under renewed scrutiny over its failure to curb persistent violence, cattle rustling, and armed conflict in the Transmara region — particularly in Transmara West and South.
Residents have now been ordered to surrender illegal firearms within 14 days, ahead of a forceful disarmament operation set to begin after the amnesty period lapses.
Narok County Commissioner Kipkech Lotiatia warned that those in possession of illegal weapons must surrender them voluntarily before the deadline.
“The government has offered this window for residents to return the weapons freely, under no condition at all. Those who fail to comply will have themselves to blame,” said Lotiatia.
The latest directive follows renewed skirmishes in Ongata Barikoi, Transmara South, triggered by long-standing land disputes.
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Despite multiple amnesty campaigns and disarmament drives in the past, illegal arms remain in widespread circulation across Transmara.
Lotiatia defended the move, saying the government’s patience has worn thin amid continued defiance and bloodshed.
“Illegal arms have been at the center of deadly conflicts, destruction of property, and the displacement of families. This is not just a local issue — it’s a national security threat,” he said.
Repeated initiatives — including similar ultimatums issued by then County Commissioner Moffat Kangi in 2017 and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen in August 2025 — have failed to end gun-related violence in the region.
As the amnesty period nears its end, attention now turns to whether residents will heed the warning — or if the region will once again descend into a cycle of raids, revenge attacks, and retaliation.
Transmara’s history of gun violence is long-standing. In 2018, 14 people were killed in clashes between the Siria and Uasin Gishu clans at the Nkararo-Enorateet border. A subsequent disarmament exercise recovered 115 firearms, hundreds of arrows, and other weapons. However, later efforts have been far less effective.
In April 2020, a mop-up operation in Moita led to the recovery of six firearms, including AK-47 and G3 rifles, but by May only nine guns had been surrendered voluntarily — despite estimates that more than 200 remained in illegal hands.
In 2021, the total number of recovered weapons in Transmara West since the 2018 operation stood at 115, with sporadic returns in subsequent years.
In December 2023, a family in Siteti village surrendered a single functional rifle and four bullets — a sign of the slow pace of disarmament.
Violence has persisted. In March 2025, two people were killed and more than a dozen injured in cross-border clashes with Kisii over livestock theft.
In June, a confrontation between police and residents in Lolkuruk village left three dead and seven injured following a land invasion dispute near the Angama Mara area.
Earlier this month, eight people were injured in another cattle-rustling clash along the Kisii-Transmara border.