Inside the notorious Korkoron, Ng’elecha hills, a bandits’ hideout

The undulating Korkoron hills dotted by trees look like silhouettes in a glorious expanse, with the sky punched with clouds and stretching out like a dome amid pleasant sounds of chirping birds. It is beautiful scenery to behold.

But beneath the lush green landscape, at the foot of the expansive hill are desolate houses, except for some cows that can be spotted from the hilltop, descending to quench their thirst at rivers flowing in the densely forested area.

The pasture-rich Korkoron hills in the insecurity-prone Baringo South bears some sad tales for the inhabitants, now turned displaced persons.

About 20km square, the hill is now home to hundreds of armed bandits who graze their livestock at the top as they survey adjacent villages, planning their next attacks.

The area is now a hideout for armed criminals suspected to be from the neighbouring community who invaded last year with thousands of livestock in the guise of looking for water and pasture.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 20 people have been shot dead by the criminals, who also made away with hundreds of livestock, driven towards the volatile hideout, never to be recovered.

Villages deserted

Due to the series of attacks and stock theft, thousands of locals fled the villages in February to safer areas, resulting in the closure of social amenities, including several schools, which are yet to reopen after the attackers occupied the deserted shelters.

Among the deserted border villages are Kitorongon, Menmeno, Seretion, Chepng’anian, Kapsikwon, Lomulel and Korkoron, Kapkechir, Tuiyotich and Korkoron, Lamaiywe, Karne, Tuiyotich, Kapkechir, Tandar, Sinoni, Kasiela, Arabal and Kapindasum.

Following the killing of seven people in Kasiela and Sinoni villages by the attackers in March, Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Mohamed Maalim toured the area to assess the situation and issued a shoot-to-kill order to police.

According to locals, the bandits have pitched camp in the Korkoron and Ng’elecha hills, on the border of Baringo South and Tiaty sub-counties, despite numerous government orders to vacate.

Bandits’ haven

Benjamin Kangogo, an ex-police reservist (NPR) from Lamaiywe village, told the Nation that whenever stolen livestock are driven by raiders towards the Korkoron or Ng’elecha hills, chances of recovering them are minimal, thanks to the rough terrain in the region.

There are no accessible roads to the two hills, which borders dozens of desolate villages, providing a good hideout for the criminals.

“There is a General Service Unit (GSU) camp in the volatile Lamaiywe village, at the foot of the Korkoron hills, that was deployed this year to restore sanity in the border area,” he said. 

“There is only a one-kilometre road from the camp heading to the bandits’ haven. Beyond there, you will be forced to manoeuvre the thick bushes invested by the criminals on foot.”

The area, he said, is also full of hills and valleys, which have played to the advantage of criminals, who climb to the hilltops to spy on who is trailing them, where the villagers are herding livestock and what area they can ambush.

For locals, police reservists and security officers, scaling the hill is a death trap because they can be seen climbing and can easily be ambushed.

The rugged terrain is conducive for criminals, who don jungle green attire to camouflage themselves and ambush unsuspecting security personnel, most of whom are not familiar with the terrain coupled with the sweltering heat.

The raiders can ambush police officers because they know the rugged terrain, giving them the upper hand. 

In March, a senior GSU officer was shot dead and another suffered gunshot wounds when they were ambushed by bandits a few metres from the hill while they were on patrol.

Gamble

In a bid to tame rampant attacks and flush out the bandits, the government deployed two platoons of GSU officers in Lamaiywe to allow the return of people to their homes.

“Going to that area is a gamble because you are not sure if you will come back alive,” said the former NPR.

“The hill faces Kasiela and dozens of other villages, and on the other side it faces the Ng’elecha hills, also a den of criminals where they hide stolen livestock inside the inaccessible valley. No one can dare access the area unnoticed.

“If there were accessible roads in [Korkoron and Ng’elecha], it would have been easier to repulse the attackers. They are now taking advantage of the poor road network to attack locals or police officers, steal and vanish into the valleys with the proceeds.”

As in Korkoron, villages bordering the Ng’elecha hills also remain deserted, with social amenities including health facilities and schools vandalised by the criminals, who are now the inhabitants. They include Laramoru, Ngelecha, Koisarat, Katipsogon and Ramacha.

In 2016, bandits attacked a group of people who were opening up a 20km road from Ng’elecha to Mukutani in a bid to ease security patrols and transport.

“Those criminals do not want the area to be opened up, because they don’t want to be reached by the authorities. Since that attack, the construction of the said road stopped,” said Mr Kangogo, who added that the area can only be accessed by air.

“Because locals moved out of the area more than eight years ago, the hill is now bushy and dangerous to traverse.” 

An Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) officer responsible for pursuing stolen livestock in the area, who sought anonymity for fear of victimization, indicated that some of the criminals are ex-officers.

They have combat skills and are familiar with the rugged terrain.

White helicopter

Two months ago, locals raised concerns about a white helicopter that was seen flying and landing on the infamous Korkoron hills, where hundreds of armed bandits graze thousands of livestock.

Paul Kipyemat, from Arabal in the same constituency, said the valleys are also rich in minerals such as ruby, and this might be prompting bandits to invade the area and displace locals.

“There are also permanent rivers like Mukutani and Arabal and this is why the bandits have displaced locals so that they can have exclusive access to the resources, especially during drought. It is also a pasture-rich area with vast grazing fields,” said Mr Kipyemat.

“Thousands of acres of land lie idle in the deserted villages. The government should smoke out the attackers because they have now occupied a big junk of land in the name of looking for water and pasture.”

Rugged terrain and poor road network

Baringo County Police Commander Adamson Bungei acknowledged that the rugged terrain and poor road network in the troubled area has disadvantaged security officers in their pursuit of the armed criminals.

“The rugged terrain and poor roads has given an advantage to the criminals to strike and flee into the bushy hills and valleys with stolen livestock, because police vehicles cannot access the areas. They are also at the top of the hills where they carry out surveillance on any possible threats,” said Mr Bungei.

However, he said they are working with local leaders and the national government to open up security roads and flush out the invaders and return locals to their villagers.

“Our main target is Korkoron, which the criminals have occupied. We recently lost a senior security officer while trying to carry out routine patrols in the area, an indication that it needs massive operation,” he said.

While pursuing stolen livestock, he said, security officers normally follow the footprints of the herds in the thick forests, which sometimes is not fruitful because of the terrain.

Sometimes reports of stock theft reach the police hours after a raid, making it hard to trail the attackers, he said.

“Once they have climbed the hills, it is very hard to pursue them because they are also armed, unless we use aerial surveillance or attack,” he said. 

“We have had several casualties of reservists and police officers being ambushed and attacked during recovery missions.”     BY DAILY NATION