Hardly a fortnight ago, I visited remote Kom Durte in Kom sub-location, Merti sub-county of Isiolo County, to assess the security situation following incidents of insecurity in the area. Together with the area governor, we met jovial Kenyans genuinely trying to eke out a living through mining gold. Yes, gold!
Though I had visited several parts of Isiolo previously to assess the security situation as demanded by my docket, this was when I realised there was that kind of economic activity going on in that county.
Kom Durte is home to about 3,000 people. The residents informed me that the area generates at least Sh10 million in revenue daily.
The minefields of Kom Durte are hazardous and scary. The quarries themselves are very deep and steep. Miners use ladders, some jembe-like farm equipment and bare hands to get the gold deposits from the bottom of the mines in a laborious and potentially perilous exercise.
After the excavation, the impure deposits are put in a sack and water poured on it to sieve the sand manually. Once that is done the miners collect the ‘cleaner’ remains and transport them to Migori where smelting is done using some more advanced purification technology.
What comes out is considered the final product, and therefore its weight is measured, and the vendor paid for the worth of the exact final weight of the gold.
To put this in context, Kom Durte gold mining mirrors exactly what goes on in Migori in Nyanza, the only difference with the latter being that some investors have brought some form of order and formality to the mining venture.
Kom Durte area is quite cosmopolitan but brimming with makeshift structures save for one mosque, which is the only permanent structure there.
Nonetheless, the face of Kenya is well represented there. My assessment deduced that at least 30 ethnic communities of Kenya are in Kom Durte.
That notwithstanding, the area is extremely insecure.
Just after elections in August, the driver of a lorry carrying 13 miners was shot dead and three other people were killed in an ensuing conflict. Earlier this year, the government ordered an immediate ban on unlicensed mining activities in the area due to insecurity.
Even more disturbing, the safety of the miners is totally compromised because of poor or lack of protective gear.
The whole enterprise is made worse by the poor technology applied in the mining process.
I ordered and directed the immediate relocation of the nearest General Service Unit (GSU) camp to this area which has been the cry of the locals for a long time.
Whereas this and other measures that we have put in place now will lessen the insecurity burden in the area, there is a need to look at the wholesome security aspect of the northern frontier of our country and free up this part for economic development.
How do you move millions of shillings in a day in the 21st century without formal banking institutions to process such colossal payments?
A single interception of a lorry ferrying the traders and their coveted wares by armed gangs and the entire amount is lost.
I have spent more than half of my time since my appointment two months ago in northern Kenya and I can confirm that there is a lot of untapped economic potential in those areas.
The long and short of this is that we need to secure banditry-stricken zones for economic take off. This will take dealing ruthlessly with the gangs and their masters that have held the area hostage.
As we do so, we also need to rethink wholesomely what it takes to secure our nation in the 21st century.
The new year 2023 presents us with the opportunity to bring on board the traditionally forgotten corners of our country into economic productivity and thus reduce the strain we have put on a few areas to support Kenya’s entire economy.
The security threats of the 21st century have evolved and therefore we must also keep pace.
The devastating effects of climate change have left communities in conflict for scarce resources such as water and food, meaning acute drought will lead to more inter-ethnic conflicts in the foreseeable future. We must be prepared to deal with them.
The securitisation of the raging pandemics means that security is not just limited to conventional interventions.
We must engird other imperatives that affect security, including environmental issues, public health and human rights.
As we say goodbye to 2022, let us welcome 2023 with fresh thinking and new ideas that promote our values as enshrined in the Constitution under Article 10.
More importantly, let us secure the rights of every citizen and in every part of our country and make 2023 the year that we re-engineer security as the central pillar of our economic renaissance.
I wish you a safe and secure 2023.
Prof Kindiki is Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration.
