A 12-year old boy lost his life when a landmine went off on Tuesday, December 31, in Soit Oudo area of Laikipia County.
Reports from the Daily Nation on January 1, 2019, indicated that the minor, identified as Ldisiwa Lekesier, was herding his family's livestock in Morpusi Group Ranch when he stepped on the device.
Bernard Kisier, the deceased's brother, told the publication that their father too had been maimed by a similar device while herding cattle in the same region.
The statements were echoed by the Morpusi Group Ranch Chairman Francis Kilua who urged the government to step in and compensate the victims of landmine incidences in the areas.
“We want Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i and Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai to ensure that the affected families are compensated,” he was quoted.
Reports further indicated that the ranch is still in use by the British troops and incidents of abandoned mines going off have been reported in the area for several years.
The British Army established its training grounds in the region in 1972, at an area identified as Kiwanja Ndege, and according to the Daily Nation, it has been engaging in activities that have left serious catastrophes involving mostly herders who graze their animals on the same grounds.
This led to victims of the mines in the Samburu and Laikipia regions to head to the UK High Court in 2002 to ask for relevant action to be taken before the British Department of Defence opted to solve the issue out of court.
A report by The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) titled Landmine Monitor Report 2003: Towards a Mine-free World, indicated that the British Army and Kenyan authorities started clearance activities around Archer's Post and Dol Dol Areas in April 2001 in an effort to placate the protesting herder's.
The British also settled on a multi-million shilling settlement to those who had been affected by the explosions, as the report indicated.
"In July 2002, Britain agreed to pay more than Ksh700 million to more than 200 Kenyans killed or injured by mines left in military training fields by the British Army in Nothern Kenya. Most of the casualties were children who accidentally detonated unexploded ordinances while herding livestock," the report stated.
