NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 29— The National Liberal Party (NLP) has called for the declaration of escalating violence in Mwingi and along the Mwingi–Garissa Highway as a national emergency, warning that Kenya risks sliding into inter-community conflict if urgent action is not taken.
Party leader Augustus Kyalo Muli sounded the alarm following fresh attacks in Ukasi that allegedly left a child dead and passenger buses under siege.
Video footage circulating online shows smashed windscreens and terrified drivers fleeing as residents blocked the road with burning tyres, leaving hundreds of travellers stranded.
The latest incident follows a string of deadly attacks in Tseikuru’s Kwa Kamari village, where seven people were gunned down and hacked to death by suspected bandits travelling in Probox vehicles.
Shops and a petrol station were also torched, forcing villagers to flee into bushland.
According to police reports, the violence has followed a disturbing pattern: on March 29, a Kamba herdsman was killed; on March 30, four Somalis were slain in retaliation; on April 25, seven Kambas were massacred in Kwa Kamari; and on April 28, the Ukasi bus attack claimed another young life.
In total, at least 14 people have been killed in the past 30 days.
“This is a cycle of ethnic retaliation that threatens to escalate into inter-community war,” Muli said.
He called on Inspector General Douglas Kanja and Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat to camp in Mwingi until all perpetrators are apprehended.
“Calling for calm while killers roam free is surrender,” he added.
The NLP is urging the immediate deployment of National Police Reservists, the General Service Unit (GSU), and, if necessary, the military to secure the corridor and provide armed escorts for passenger buses.
The party noted that the highway is a critical economic lifeline to northern Kenya and warned that its disruption is choking livelihoods across Ukambani.
The statement also called for the arrest of inciters, noting that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations has already detained a Garissa political aspirant whose video allegedly fueled retaliatory attacks.
“Ethnic mobilisation is terrorism,” the party said.
To de-escalate tensions, the NLP is proposing a ceasefire summit within 48 hours, bringing together elders, clergy, and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission under heavy security in Mwingi.
“No community wins a blood feud,” the statement read.
Muli also issued a direct appeal to residents to reject violence.
“Stoning a bus with children because of a pasture dispute is evil.
Burning shops because a herder was killed is evil. You are not defending your people—you are destroying them,” he said.
He linked the unrest to decades of marginalisation, referencing post-independence policies that classified some regions as “low-potential,” depriving them of critical investment in infrastructure and services.
“That is why youth throw stones instead of reading textbooks. That is why bandits find recruits,” Muli said.
He pointed to the party’s proposed projects—including Thwake Dam, revival of Kitui Textiles, and TVET-to-industry linkages—as long-term solutions to the crisis.
In a direct appeal to William Ruto, Muli called for equal urgency in responding to the violence.
“Treat Kwa Kamari like you would Westlands. Send the same resources. Demand the same urgency,” he said.
He also questioned the response from political actors.
“Where is the government? And where is the United Opposition when our people are in need?”
“Seven dead in one village. A child killed on a bus. A highway closed. This is a national emergency,” he noted