The order concerns specifically Turkana, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Laikipia and Sambunu counties, where the violence was intensified by devastating droughts.
In a separate statement issued on Monday, Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki called the situation a national emergency and gave bandits until Thursday to surrender their weapons or “meet the full force of the law.”
“Painful and decisive measures must be taken effective immediately,” he said, declaring a night curfew in the designated areas, where “murderous gangs” were terrorizing the population, burning schools, vehicles and forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes.
According to a report by Kenyan media, local leaders have long piled pressure for the army to be deployed in the region. The measure appeared to be received positively by the local population.
“We thank the government for finally hearing our cry. We hope the operation will this time achieve its objective,” said one of the interviewed residents.
In the past six months, over 100 civilians and 16 policemen have been killed by marauding gangs.
In the latest incident on Monday, heavily armed attackers tried to lay siege on a police post in the town of Ol Moran in central Kenya in an attempt to steal again hundreds of cattle that was recovered and held in the vicinity.
In another incident on Friday last week, around 300 bandits attacked a police convoy on the Lodwar-Kitale close to the Ugandan border. In the resulting gun battle, which lasted for over two hours, four policemen and two civilians succumbed to the shots and at least 12 other people had to be hospitalized.
Cattle rustling in northern arid regions of Kenya is a longstanding issue but has been aggravated by a series of devastating droughts in recent years and proliferation of automatic firearms. Ruto, who was elected last August, has pledged to restore security in these conflict-ridden areas.
