For years, the government was a distant presence in some of Baringo’s most remote areas, so distant that residents travelled for hours to access basic services, while insecurity made some administrators too afraid to live in the areas they were meant to serve.

In the worst-hit parts of the Kerio Valley and other hard-to-reach areas, bandits took advantage of the vacuum, turning villages into hideouts for stolen livestock and armed criminals. Schools closed, businesses suffered, and families were forced to flee their homes as insecurity tightened its grip.

But that story is slowly changing. The creation of Baringo West, Mukutani and Kolowa sub-counties is bringing government closer to communities that for decades felt neglected, isolated and forgotten.

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Gazetted last year, the three administrative units have increased the number of sub-counties in Baringo from six to nine. Already, residents say they are beginning to feel the difference through improved access to government services, increased security and the opening up of areas once paralysed by banditry.

Centre-One trading centre in Mochongoi, Baringo County has been frequently attacked by bandits who hide in the Korokoron hills — Deserted Centre-One trading centre in Mochongoi, Baringo County.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

For communities accustomed to travelling hundreds of kilometres to administrative centres, the arrival of government offices, administrators and security personnel means more than a change in administrative boundaries. For many, it is the return of government.

For Mr Reuben Chepkong’a, an elderly resident of Barwessa, the creation of Baringo West Sub-County was long overdue.

Before the new administrative unit was established, residents travelled more than 50 kilometres to Kabartonjo town to access government services a journey that was costly, time-consuming and, at times, difficult to make. Today, many of those services are much closer to home.

One of the most visible signs of change came during the recent recruitment of young people into the disciplined services. For the first time, youths from the new sub-county secured their share of slots in the Kenya Police Service, prisons and the military.

“In the past, our youths could travel all the way from Kerio Valley to Kabartonjo town to be enlisted into the military or the police. But now that we have our own administrative unit established last year, our youths this year benefited as the pioneer recruits of the Kenya Police, prisons and even the military. We had our own share this time,” Mr Chepkong’a said.

The new administrative unit has also created employment opportunities, with locals recruited as clerks while assistant chiefs have been appointed to newly created administrative units.

The creation of the sub-county has also raised hopes for improved infrastructure, including plans to refurbish the road linking Kapkiamo to Barwessa.

“When a new sub-county is established, there are resources that accompany development of such areas, which is an added advantage to us. New locations and sub-locations have also been created and village elders from the new administrative units will be hired,” Mr Chepkong’a said.

Read: Kerio Valley: The transformation of the 'valley of death' after decades of bloodshed

A new assistant chief from Senebo, which was created a year ago, is also expected to be installed soon. But perhaps the most important change for residents has been security. With government officers now closer to the people, Mr Chepkong’a says incidents of livestock theft and other forms of insecurity have declined.

“In the past, a lot of insecurity cases had cropped up in this area, including livestock theft, because government officers were far away. Now that is a thing of the past,” he said.
In Mukutani, on the border of Tiaty and Baringo South constituencies, the change has been even more dramatic.

Police from the Rapid Deployment Unit during an operation in Baringo County.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

Ms Nasaru Kiriambu, a resident of the newly established Mukutani Sub-County, describes the creation of the administrative unit as a “miracle” for a community that has endured years of insecurity and marginalisation.

The area, largely inhabited by the minority Ilchamus community, had long struggled with its remote location and limited government presence. Criminals took advantage of the isolation, using the area as a hideout after stealing livestock from neighbouring communities.

“For a long time, the area had been neglected and, due to being far from government, armed criminals had turned it into a hideout and bandits’ paradise where they could steal livestock from other villages and communities and go and hide there because they knew they were far from authorities and could not be traced,” Ms Kiriambu said.

But she is keen to emphasise that Mukutani’s new status should not be viewed as an Ilchamus affair.

“As a community, we are now getting the fruits of independence. This is not an Ilchamus affair but an achievement for the vast county to get an additional administrative unit, which also means that services will be closer to the people. This is not going to alienate the community from the others in the region, but we will co-exist peacefully,” she said.

Perhaps the clearest symbol of the transformation came during this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations, when Mukutani hosted the county’s celebrations.

Read: Baringo's miracle: Peace returns to county's deadly bandit corridor

For residents, watching hundreds of people, government officials and security personnel converge in an area once associated with fear was a powerful reminder that the security situation had changed.

“Since independence, Mukutani has been marred by insecurity, but this year, it was a miracle that, of all the places in the county, we hosted the Madaraka Day celebrations. This was more than an achievement to us,” Ms Kiriambu said.

The gathering would have been almost unimaginable in the past.

Mukutani once had an administrative division, but the assistant county commissioner was stationed in Marigat, more than 50 kilometres away, because of insecurity. Residents seeking government services had to make the journey to Marigat, sometimes relying on lifts from police vehicles because public transport was unreliable or unavailable.

That has now changed. Mukutani has its own Deputy County Commissioner, while the establishment of a police post has further strengthened security.

“Normalcy has returned and displaced families have returned to their homes,” Ms Kiriambu said.
For residents, the significance goes beyond the presence of government offices. Families that fled now feel confident enough to return, while communities that had learned to live with insecurity are beginning to imagine a different future.

In remote Tirioko Ward, residents are hoping the creation of Kolowa Sub-County will usher a similar transformation. Mr Sammy Samali, a resident of Ng’oron, says the area has for years suffered from a glaring lack of government presence despite its history of insecurity.

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The vast ward comprises three divisions Akoret, Ng’oron and Tirioko but, according to Mr Samali, none had a police station or police post. The absence of administrators on the ground further weakened government presence.

“To worsen the situation, most administrators, including assistant county commissioners and chiefs, did not live in their areas of jurisdiction. There was no law and order here, and the creation of Kolowa Sub-County is a turning point,” Mr Samali said.

The problem, he said, was compounded by the sheer distance from the former administrative headquarters in Chemolingot.

The establishment of Kolowa has now brought administration closer to residents who previously had to travel all the way to Chemolingot for basic government services.

During the launch of Kolowa Sub-County three weeks ago, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the new administrative unit would help consolidate security gains made in the region while bringing essential government services closer to residents.

“...It is not merely the creation of another administrative unit, but correcting decades of historical marginalisation that have affected this region and underserved parts of the country,” Mr Murkomen said.

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