Eldoret: The Catholic Diocese of Eldoret's Bishop Dominic Kimengich has urged leaders, security agencies, and local communities to pursue a permanent solution to insecurity in the Kerio Valley. Bishop Kimengich noted that many of the disasters witnessed in the region are closely linked to long years of conflict and displacement.
According to Kenya News Agency, Bishop Kimengich spoke at St Maurus Primary School grounds in Chesongoch during a memorial gathering. He highlighted that residents have been forced to live and farm along the dangerous hanging valley due to persistent insecurity in the lowlands. Bishop Kimengich explained that those residing on the hanging valley are there because of ongoing insecurity in the region. For many years, numerous lives have been lost due to conflict, prompting people to move to the hills for safety.
He warned that the continued tilling of steep slopes has worsened environmental degradation, exposing communities to mudslides and landslides. Bishop Kimengich pointed out that because residents are farming on fragile slopes, vegetation cover has disappeared, leaving nothing to hold the soil. He emphasized the interconnection between insecurity, displacement, and environmental destruction.
Bishop Kimengich stressed the need for preventive action, stating that tragedies should not be allowed to repeat. He affirmed that if preventive measures can be taken, they should be, so that people can have peace and live safely. Although the region currently enjoys relative calm, the bishop insisted that more work must be done to revive and sustain long-term peace.
He noted that there is plenty of arable land in the lowlands, but residents cannot use it because they fear for their lives, prompting them to flee to the hanging valley to live and farm. Reminding leaders and communities that this is not the first time tragedy has struck the region, Bishop Kimengich emphasized the need for a genuine solution to insecurity to prevent future occurrences.
Bishop Kimengich also called for harmony and unity among residents, stating that true peace is built on mutual respect rather than fear. He urged all stakeholders to work together to restore stability and protect lives, asserting that the Kerio Valley deserves a future free from violence and environmental disasters.