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The search for the bandits, the report states, has now been ramped up with a multi-agency team intensifying patrols in the area.
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The recovery comes amid a broader security challenge in six banditry-prone counties, including West Pokot.
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Security officers in Pokot have managed to recover a tribe of goats said to have been stolen during a Saturday night raid in the Kainuk area.
The goats which are currently held at Kainuk police station pending identification by the owners were found in the Marich area following a tip-off.
According to a police report, officers from Marich police station led by the OCS, the Anti-stock theft unit and police reservists were pursuing their leads when they encountered the suspects driving the herd.
When they approached them, they vanished into the nearby bush leaving the 14 goats, police say.
“The team recovered the goats and handed them over to Kainuk Police Station for identification by the owners,” it states.
The search for the bandits, the report states, has now been ramped up with a multi-agency team intensifying patrols in the area.
The recovery comes amid the persistent security challenges in the six banditry-prone counties, including West Pokot.
A recent report by the National Assembly indicates that security operation to restore law and order in the region has not yielded significant fruits.
The findings of an inquiry into the security situation in Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, Turkana, Samburu and Laikipia showed that certain areas within the counties have continued to experience recurrent and sporadic attacks leading to destruction of property and loss of lives.
The report by the National Assembly’s Committee on Administration and National Security said government success faces multiple obstacles.
The Gabriel Tongoyo-led committee named the obstacles as limited resources, proliferation of arms, commercialisation of banditry and vast and rugged terrain.
“Additionally, underlying social-economic factors including poverty, unemployment and limited access to essential services further contribute to the state of lawlessness in the region,” the report read in part.
The inquiry was carried out for nine months, from August 2023 to April 2024.
The committee sought to assess the state of security in the affected counties, determine the causes and develop an understanding of what fuels the crisis.
It also sought to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions put in place by the government since January 2023 to restore peace and normalcy in the affected regions.
The committee conducted a fact-finding visit to the six counties where they engaged with respective county security committees, security forces, elected leaders and affected communities.
In February 2023, the Ministry of Interior and National Administration declared the security situation in the six counties as a national emergency.