WAJIR—Activists in the walk of hope campaign have reiterated that their march was meant to instill hope in the people of the formerly North Eastern Kenya.
The activists, who are set to launch their second, and perhaps, the last leg of the campaign today at the historic Orahey grounds in Wajir, said they want to highlight the plight of the ordinary people in the region.
“The participants are walking in pursuit of hope for the ordinary people of the region previously known as North Eastern Kenya. This region has had an unfortunate history in the last fifty (years),” Salah Abdi, a participant in the walk, said.
The group which has covered over 350 kilometers since it was launched 18-days ago at Garissa, stated that they showed the world in their walk that the region was not as insecure as it is widely portrayed.
“It (North Eastern province) has carried the wrongful tag of insecurity and the rather factual tag of underdevelopment and marginalization. We need to restore hope,” he added.
The walk comes at the wake of increasing call by different trade unions in the country calling on their members to leave the region over insecurity. Kenya National Union of Teachers, the biggest trade union in the country, has directed the non-local teachers in the region to leave the area, saying their lives were in danger. Heeding the call of protest, the ministry of Education reported at least 1000 teachers have left schools in the region since the beginning of the year.
Kenya Union of Nurses and other health-related trade unionist have also instructed their members to leave the region. The call of protest has widely been criticised since no professional group has been exclusively targeted in the twin attacks carried out by the militant group Al Shabab in Mandera, December, and in Garissa on April. The group has similarly not threatened to target the teachers and the medical workers either.
The group are today set to embark their last leg of the walk which will cover another 350 kilometers to Border Point One in Mandera County. This last leg of the campaign is particularly dangerous as it will cover areas that has recently experienced clan clashes and its proximity to Somalia.
