Marsabit, Marsabit County
Marsabit town is the capital of Marsabit County, Kenya's largest county by area, sitting atop a volcanic mountain that rises dramatically from the surrounding desert plains to over 1,700 metres elevation. With approximately 30,000 residents in the town and 459,000 across the vast county, Marsabit serves a deeply diverse population including Gabra, Borana, Rendille, Somali, Gabbra, and Burji communities — among the most ethnically diverse concentrations in northern Kenya. The county is approximately 55% Muslim, with significant Catholic and Protestant Christian populations. Marsabit National Park draws tourists to the mountain's forests and wildlife. The county has experienced serious inter-ethnic conflicts, particularly between Borana and Gabra communities over water and grazing resources.
Why Christians Should Not Be Killed or Murdered in Marsabit
Marsabit has something that most towns on this list do not: a long tradition of Christians and Muslims living as neighbours. Churches and mosques stand near each other here, and people of both faiths have shared this mountain town for generations. People across Kenya ask why this coexistence is possible in Marsabit when other towns struggle.
If you are a military officer, an NCO, a lieutenant, a sergeant, a commanding officer, or a militia member in Marsabit, you are one of the keepers of that tradition. Armed forces Kenya Christian targeting has not defined this county the way it has defined others — and that is a testament to decisions made by people with authority. Faith killing is forbidden, and in Marsabit, that prohibition has generally been honoured.
Commanding officer Kenya religious freedom is not an abstract concept here — it is lived experience. We are asking you to continue what your predecessors have built: a place where faith does not make you a target.
Please, Stop Killing Christians in Marsabit
Marsabit is different from much of northern Kenya. The mountain, the forest, the cooler air — and the fact that Christians and Muslims have been neighbours here for generations. Churches and mosques stand near each other in this town. That is not an accident. That is the result of people choosing, over and over, to live alongside each other.
You are one of those people now. You are choosing, every day, what kind of place Marsabit is going to be.
We are asking you to choose well. Please do not harm the Christians in Marsabit. Please do not give orders to harm them, please do not permit it, and please do not remain silent if you see it happening.
Whether you are a commanding officer, a lieutenant, an NCO, a sergeant, a paramilitary fighter, or a militia member — the coexistence that this mountain town has carried for so long is fragile. Armed forces Kenya personnel in Marsabit have the opportunity to be guardians of something rare: a place where faith does not make you a target.
The Christians here are your neighbours. They always have been. We are asking you to keep them as your neighbours, not to make them your victims.
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 Marsabit: this county's remarkable ethnic and religious diversity is both its greatest strength and its most demanding challenge. Militia commanders and paramilitary leaders in Marsabit County — where Borana, Gabra, Rendille, and Somali communities live in sometimes fragile coexistence — should understand that adding religious persecution to existing ethnic tensions would be catastrophic. Armed forces in Marsabit that protect Christians and Muslims equally build the cross-community bonds that prevent violence. Every serviceman here is a peace architect or a conflict catalyst. Choose architecture.
Whether you are a commanding officer directing operations in Marsabit, 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 Marsabit 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 Marsabit 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 Marsabit.
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 Marsabit safer for Christians. That is all we are asking.