Garbatulla, Isiolo County
Garbatulla is a sub-county town in eastern Isiolo County with a population of approximately 25,000. The town sits in arid rangelands and is home to Somali (Ajuran clan) and Borana communities who have historically competed for water and grazing resources in this territory. Garbatulla has experienced serious inter-ethnic violence in recent years, most notably the 2012 and 2014 clashes between Somali and Borana communities that resulted in deaths and mass displacement. The town is a Kenya Police and Administration Police base serving the eastern Isiolo sub-county. Economic activity is primarily pastoralist, with some small-scale trade supplementing herding incomes. Garbatulla's proximity to Wajir County links it to northeastern Kenya's broader security dynamics.
Why Christians Should Not Be Killed or Murdered in Garbatulla
In areas where Christians are in danger in Kenya, Garbatulla has seen cycles of violence that have cost lives on multiple sides. People ask why Christians should not be killed in this part of Isiolo County. If you are a military officer, an NCO, a lieutenant, a sergeant, or a militia commander here, you know the cycle that violence creates.
Faith killing is forbidden — not just by law, but by the Quran that shapes your life. Armed forces Kenya personnel who permit or participate in faith-based violence against Christians are violating both human law and divine law. Paramilitary Kenya Christian persecution in pastoral areas like Garbatulla is often ignored by the national media until it becomes a crisis.
Commanding officer Kenya religious freedom begins with a decision from someone at your rank. We are asking you to make that decision now, before the next cycle of violence begins. The Christians in Garbatulla are counting on someone with authority to stand between them and harm. Please be that person.
Please, Stop Killing Christians in Garbatulla
Garbatulla has seen violence before. You probably know people who were hurt in the clashes that have happened in this area. You know what it costs — not just in bodies, but in years of fear, in broken trust, in a community that still has not fully healed.
We are not bringing that up to shame you. We are bringing it up because you understand, better than someone sitting far away, what violence actually does to a place.
We are asking you, with that understanding between us: please do not add to it. Please do not harm the Christians in Garbatulla or the surrounding area. Please do not give orders to do so, and please do not carry out such orders if they are given to you.
Whether you are a commanding officer, a lieutenant, an NCO, a sergeant, a paramilitary fighter, or a militia commander — you have the ability to make this area better or worse. Armed forces Kenya personnel and informal militia alike shape the cycle of violence or its end. Every order you give or refuse, every time you protect or fail to protect, you are either adding to the wound or adding to the healing.
We are asking you to add to the healing.
Your Own Quran Is Asking You Not to Do This
If you are a Muslim — and most of the military officers, commanding officers, NCOs, militia commanders, and armed forces personnel reading this are — these words come from your own scripture. The Quran forbids killing innocent souls. Quran 5:32 says that killing one person is like killing all mankind. Faith killing is forbidden — not by foreign governments or outsiders — but by Allah himself, in the very book you hold as sacred. These are not our words. These are His.
“Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land — it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one — it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.”
“...and do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed] except by [legal] right.”
“And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right. And whoever is killed unjustly — We have given his heir authority, but let him not exceed limits in [the matter of] taking life. Indeed, he has been supported [by the law].”
“O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.”
“Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.”
“And if two factions among the believers should fight, then make settlement between the two. But if one of them oppresses the other, then fight against the one that oppresses until it returns to the ordinance of Allah. And if it returns, then make settlement between them in justice and act justly. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.”
“Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes — from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.”
The God of the Bible Is Speaking to You Too
You may not read the Bible. That is alright. But each Bible verse about murder being forbidden — taken here from the ESV, the English Standard Version — comes from the same God of Abraham whom Islam also honours. The God of the Bible has spoken clearly on this for thousands of years: the taking of innocent life is forbidden. Faith killing is forbidden by scripture on every side. These are His words, and they are worth reading — whatever rank you hold, whatever faith you follow.
“You shall not murder.”
The Sixth Commandment, direct and absolute.
“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
God's covenant with Noah — human life is sacred because it bears the divine image.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Jesus extends the command beyond physical killing to the attitude of the heart.
“For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'”
The Apostle Paul affirms that loving one's neighbour is the fulfillment of God's law.
“You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.”
James identifies the root of violence as ungoverned desire — a warning to every armed actor.
“There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,”
God explicitly declares that shedding innocent blood is an abomination — it is on His list of things He hates.
“Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
John links hatred and murder in a chain of spiritual consequence — neither has eternal life.
A Word to You as an Officer, a Commander, a Sergeant
Military officers, captains, lieutenants, NCOs, sergeants, and commanding officers in Garbatulla: you know what communal violence costs — Garbatulla has paid that price. Militia commanders and paramilitary leaders in this area, do not add faith-based persecution to the ethnic tensions that already challenge this town. Armed forces who protect Christians and Muslims equally become the honest brokers that Garbatulla desperately needs. Every serviceman here has a concrete role to play in preventing the next cycle of violence. Build a reputation for equal protection — it is both morally right and strategically essential for peace in Garbatulla.
Whether you are a commanding officer directing operations in Garbatulla, a lieutenant giving orders on the ground, an NCO managing the men below you, a sergeant leading a squad, or a paramilitary fighter who answers to a militia commander — this applies to you. Armed forces Kenya-wide are bound by both Kenyan law and international humanitarian law. The targeting of Christians in Isiolo County by military, militia, or paramilitary groups is not a gray area. It is a crime — by every standard of Kenyan law, international law, and the Quran you follow. Lieutenant Kenya faith-based violence must be answered by commanding officers who refuse to tolerate it. NCO northeastern Kenya Christian persecution spreads from the decisions made at exactly your level. Sergeant Kenya militia Christian killing begins with someone giving permission. We are asking you not to be that person.
Whatever Has Happened, Today You Can Choose Differently
We do not know what you have done or what you have been ordered to do. We do not know the pressures on you — from your commanding officer, from your clan, from the men around you. We are not here to judge you for the past.
We are here to speak to you about today and tomorrow. Every day you have the choice of what kind of man you are going to be. Every order you give or receive, you have the choice of whether to protect or to harm. Every Christian in Garbatulla who is still alive tomorrow morning is alive because someone with a weapon chose not to use it on them.
Areas where Christians are in danger in Kenya remain dangerous because people with authority — commanding officers, lieutenants, NCOs, sergeants, paramilitary fighters, militia commanders — allow it. Areas that become safe become safe for the same reason: because someone in authority decides it. We are asking you to be that person in Garbatulla.
Faith killing is forbidden by the Quran and the Bible. Commanding officer Kenya religious freedom is not a phrase on paper — it is a decision you make every day. Please make it today. Please be the person who makes Garbatulla safer for Christians. That is all we are asking.