Bandits making a mockery of Interior CS Kithure Kindiki tour
3 min read
Bandits making a mockery of Interior CS Kithure Kindiki tour after a series of attacks in which three police officers were killed
Bandits making a mockery of Interior CS Kithure Kindiki tour after a series of attacks in which three police officers were killed.
Three police officers were shot and killed by armed gunmen in Turkana County hours after Cabinet Secretary for Interior Kithure Kindiki ended his visit of the North Rift region with a warning that bandits have nowhere to hide in Kenya.
The bandits allegedly stripped the police officers during the 8 a.m. incident and fled with their uniforms, weapons, and ammo.
Another General Service Unit (GSU) officer is still missing after the bandits ambushed a police convoy along the Lodwar–Kitale highway.
The officers were on their way to the location where gunmen, also thought to be bandits, had attacked a vehicle carrying passengers to Turkana on Friday, shot and injured two persons, and fled with animals from a nearby hamlet, according to Turkana County Police Commander Samuel Ndanyi.
According to Mr. Ndanyi, the police commander for Turkana South was hurt during a firefight with alleged bandits from the neighboring West Pokot county.
“During the operation, we managed to recover one mobile phone, 31 rounds of ammunition, money, solar panel, footwear (Akalas), and a live tortoise that was tied to a tree where they kept their things,” Ndanyi said.
The team of police officers who came face to face with the bandits along the highway comprised officers from GSU, the Administration Police, Rapid Deployment Unit, and officers from the local police station.
This was after their convoy was overpowered by the gunmen, and they had to return to their camp.
US Embassy issues terror alert in Nairobi
Bandits dare interior CS Kithure Kindiki
Ruto issues tough warning to bandits after Turkana massacre of GSU officers
This latest incident comes hours after Interior CS Kithure Kindiki held a meeting with senior security commanders from Turkana and Baringo counties during his latest tour of the volatile region in an effort to find a lasting solution to perennial banditry attacks in parts of the region.
Kindiki met with a team of senior security chiefs from the Rift Valley to discuss how to cope with the threat that has wreaked devastation and caused tremendous misery among the locals.
The meetings, which were held behind closed doors in a hotel in Baringo, focused on state intervention and also laid out the police’s operational zones.
The bandit attacks have left many questions on whether Kindiki will succeed in taming banditry in the region where his predecessors have failed.
Kindiki and even President William Ruto have repeatedly warned that the State would crash the bandits who have now become a pain to the residents and by extension the government.
Even after assurances from the government to end the insecurity menace, some of the residents from the affected areas are skeptical that the Ruto-led administration will succeed.
In addition, a section of the political leaders from the troubled region are however blaming the government for laxity.
Also read,
Kenya responds to unilateral terror alerts issued by US and UK
UK issues travel advisory against Kenya after US terror alert
Eight people (4 women and children) burnt beyond recognition in a bandit attack
Follow us
