The Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has ordered the immediate arrest of the principal Tot Secondary School following the Thursday bandit attack on the school’s bus that left the driver dead and 15 people injured in Kerio Valley.
Matiangi was speaking during issuing security padlocks for national exams at the Kenya School of Government in Kabete on Friday.
Matiang’i expressed the government’s regrets concerning the attack on the school bus.
The CS reiterated the attack ought not to have happened in the first place because the
“The attack we had on a school bus in Tot last night, ought not to have happened in the first place because that school was in violation of the government policy of moving children beyond six O’clock,” Matiang’i said.
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He said the principal will be arrested for violating public policy restricting the travel of school buses beyond 6.30 pm.
The CS revealed in the coming week he will go to the National Security Council to seek the authorisation of the council to declare the Pokot warriors and the Pokot movement outlawed organisations and categorise them as terror groups in the country.
“Next week I am going to the National Security Council to seek authorisation of the council to declare the Pokot warriors and the Pokot movement there outlawed organisations and we will categorise them the same way we categorised MRC and the terror groups in the country,” the CS said.
Matiang’i explained the move meant the government was going to apply a new level of force to deal with the organisation.
“What that means in terms of security is that we are going to apply a new level of force and fire to wipe out that organisation because it is no longer a matter of cattle rustling. Because what cattle was in that bus that they attacked,” he said.
Matiangi said despite the violation of the government policy, it did not warrant an attack on the student school bus.
He said it was clear to the government that the attackers are part of a criminal outfit masquerading as cattle rustlers.
“It’s abundantly clear to us that this is a criminal organisation that is disguised as a cattle rustling effort,” the CS said.
Matiang’i also hinted at the government’s intention of placing sections of the North Rift affected by the security unrest under curfew.
With the national exams approaching, the government has established adequate measures to secure both KCPE and KCSE scheduled to begin next month.