Learning paralysed along KisiiTransmara border as communal clashes escalate

Learning remained paralysed along the Kisii–Transmara border on Monday as schools reopened across the country, with renewed communal clashes forcing many learners to stay at home.

Several schools remained closed, including Nyangeti Secondary School, Riyabu Comprehensive School, Endereti Primary and Secondary Schools, Iyenga Primary School, Bendera Primary and Secondary Schools, and Nyamesocho Primary School.

At Nyangeti DEB Comprehensive School, only a small number of learners reported for classes. Headteacher Reuben Ongao said some students, particularly adults, had joined the clashes, while some Maasai learners had also failed to report.

“Some of our students are adults and they have gone to fight. Also, some of our Maasai students have not reported to school,” Ongao said.

Teachers at the school said they were working under difficult and frightening conditions. Clinton Omariba, a teacher, called for hardship allowances, saying teachers sometimes report to work knowing they may have to flee at short notice.

“We are asking for hardship allowances. Here teachers teach while wearing rubber shoes, knowing that at any moment they may have to run for their lives,” Omariba said.

KUPPET Narok Branch chairman Kipkoech Chepkwony urged the government, through Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, to intervene urgently and restore peace so that learning can resume normally.

He said candidates had only a few weeks before sitting their national examinations and needed adequate time to prepare.

“I am appealing to the government, especially the Minister for Interior Kipchumba Murkomen, please chip in and make sure that this is done and completed, since candidates have no time to waste,” Chepkwony said.

Chepkwony also said the safety of teachers must be prioritised, noting that some teachers come from both the Kisii and Maasai communities.

KNUT Executive Secretary for Transmara Branch Rodgers Limpaso also appealed to parents to allow their children to return to school.

“I am appealing to parents to allow their children to go to school so that they are not left behind,” Limpaso said.

Parents, however, said they remained concerned about the safety of their children. Ruth Nyabuto said families would continue keeping their children at home if the government failed to end the violence.

“We are asking the government to intervene and end these clashes. If this situation continues, we will continue staying with our children at home,” she said.

For some families, the crisis has also brought severe economic hardship. Richard Mainga, a resident of Kiango, said many parents had lost their sources of income after fleeing their farms and businesses.

He appealed to the government to allow affected children to attend school without paying fees for the term.

“We have really suffered. We had cultivated farms in Maasai land, but we fled as soon as the clashes started. We are asking our government to allow our children to learn for free this term,” Mainga said.

The violence has affected more than education. Communities living along the volatile Transmara–Kisii border have for years faced insecurity, displacement and disputes over land and livestock, disrupting farming and trade.

Joseph Nyambega, a resident of Nyabitunwa who has lived in the area for more than 30 years, said recurring clashes have disrupted livelihoods.

He identified livestock theft as another major source of tension. According to him, a raid is often followed by a counter-raid by those seeking to recover stolen animals or replenish their herds.

The latest violence has left two people dead, scores injured and several farms torched.

Community elder Julius Ole Kilusu said elders were ready to engage young people and help find a peaceful solution.

“When we speak with the youth, they will hear what we say here and endorse it,” Kilusu said.

He urged elders and community leaders to use their influence to encourage young people to resolve disagreements peacefully rather than resorting to violence.

Mainga said farmers and traders had borne the brunt of the violence, with crops destroyed and businesses forced to close.

“Now we are affected. Our vegetables are still on the farms and have gone to waste. Everything has been destroyed, including maize, while business has also been badly affected,” Mainga said.

Police and General Service Unit officers have been deployed to the area as part of an operation to restore calm.

Kenyenya Deputy County Commissioner William Bett appealed to parents to take their children back to school, assuring them that security had been strengthened.

“We are appealing to parents who have not brought their children to school to do so. We assure them that no one will harm schoolchildren,” Bett said.

Narok County Commissioner Kipkech Lotiatia and his Kisii counterpart, James Kamau, said the government would take firm action against political leaders, individuals, and groups blamed for perpetuating violence along the Kisii–Narok border.

They said the government would not tolerate actions that threaten peace and undermine development in the region.

The two administrators spoke on Monday during an emergency security meeting at Nyabitunwa trading centre.

Leaders from both counties have also urged residents to end the violence.

Narok County Assembly Speaker Davis Ole Dikirr appealed to residents to abandon the fighting, saying the clashes were holding back development.

“Those who are continuing with the clashes, we are humbly asking you to stop because this is not helping our country move forward but is taking us backwards,” Dikirr said.

South Mugirango MP Silvanus Osoro also warned residents on both sides of the border to lay down their weapons and embrace dialogue.

“My people and my neighbours, the Maasai, I have asked you to down your arrows and allow dialogue to take charge,” Osoro said, warning that continued violence would not be allowed to disrupt children's education.

The latest violence comes after previous conflicts along the border, often linked to livestock theft, land disputes and retaliatory attacks.

In March last year, clashes erupted in the area after the theft of a cow, leaving one person dead and several others injured in arrow attacks.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen subsequently visited the border and urged the Maasai and Abagusii communities living around Kiango to pursue peace and work together to promote development.

Murkomen said it was unfortunate that communities that had intermarried and conducted business together had turned against each other.

“I was saddened to hear that communities that have intermarried and conducted business together are now fighting among themselves,” he said.

He said he had engaged local leaders and agreed with them to address the root causes of conflict in the region.

Murkomen also directed security agencies to arrest those involved in livestock theft and ensure they faced the law, warning that simply returning stolen animals would not prevent repeat offences.

He further ordered security agencies to dismantle criminal gangs operating in the area under the guise of protecting communities.

The CS cautioned residents against allowing political leaders to persuade them to form gangs, saying such groups only fuel insecurity and undermine peaceful coexistence.