Inside North Rift Schools Gen Ogolla Was Determined To Renovate After Bandit Attacks

When President William Ruto made a commitment on April 8 during the commissioning of the Sebit Cemtech Clinker plant in West Pokot to ensure Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) reached schools affected by banditry in the Chesegon area,the military quickly got into action.

The goal was to beef up security and reconstruction.

And the commitment went high up, with Gen Francis Ogolla, the Chief of the Defence Forces, who perished in a chopper crash after inspecting the reconstruction, leading from the front.

While on the peace mission, Gen Ogolla told locals that the KDF was working hard to ensure the schools, which had been closed two years ago due to killings and attacks in the region, were renovated and security beefed up to reopen for next term.

However, this was not the first commitment by the Kenya Kwanza regime to rehabilitate schools affected by banditry in the region.

Early last year, Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof Kithure Kindiki promised to renovate the schools and ensure learners are in school.

But the schools didn't reopen and are still shut down.

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Prof Kindiki had promised to allocate Sh100 million to renovate the schools vandalized by bandits in the region.

A . survey shows shoddy construction work in a few schools.

Last year, a few schools were reconstructed by the KDF, supported by National Youth Service (NYS) officers.

The schools include Chesegon Primary, Cheptulel Primary, Cheptulel Boys Secondary, Sapulmoi Primary and Kissa ECD schools in Central Pokot Sub County.

Others are Lonyangalem primary, Ptoh, Kases, Takaywa, Lonyanyalem, Pough, Kour, and Songok primary schools in Pokot North Sub-County and Karon Primary School in West Pokot Sub-County.

Learners in schools in Pokot Central sub-County in West Pokot County failed to sit their 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) exams due to banditry attacks.

Late last year, over 205 National Police Reservists were trained and recruited to beef security in the area. Some were deployed in schools.

However, learners and teachers have kept off the schools for fear of attacks.

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A spot check in the affected schools shows ugly scenes and ruins of vandalized property by bandits, destroyed desks and scattered books on floors of classrooms, long-grown grasses and twigs and anthill homes in the school compounds.

Chesegon Technical Institute, which was under construction, stalled due to attacks and now houses security officers.

Villages remain deserted after locals migrated from the area due to fear of perennial attacks.

Local leaders raised concern over the shoddy work, corruption and failure of the affected schools to reopen.

Sigor Member of Parliament Peter Lochakapong, West Pokot Senator Julius Murgor and West Pokot Women Representative Rael Kasiwai asked President William Ruto during his recent visit to intervene.

The leaders lamented the delay in disbursing funds meant for the construction of the schools.

Murgor, Lochakapong and Kasiwai said the schools are not yet ready to host learners because the rehabilitation was still pending.

They said schools were exposed to danger after the KDF officers stationed at Cheptulel moved to the neighbouring Elgeyo Marakwet County.

We need the KDF back in the Seketou area. Nothing happened in the staff room and laboratory.

'The schools need more renovations and it has not reached the level where learners can come, said Lochakapong.