A police officer was shot dead before being robbed of his gun in an ambush by gunmen in the Marti area, Samburu County.
Constable
Humphrey Oroba was among a group of police officers who were on Monday, February
10 escorting a group of remandees from Maralal GK Prisons when they came under
attack.
The
officers from Baragoi Police Station had picked up eight remandees from the
prison and were to take them to the station ahead of planned court sessions on
February 11 when they were attacked.
A mobile
court was to visit the station for the sessions, officials said.
Two other
police officers were escorting the suspects at the time of the attack, police said.
Police
said on reaching the Charda area along the Maralal-Baragoi-South Horr road they
came under attack.
Gunmen
who were waiting opened fire and killed Oroba on the spot forcing his
colleagues to seek refuge in a bush.
The body
of Oroba was found at the scene with multiple bullet wounds with his AK47 rifle
with 30 bullets missing.
The two
officers with the eight remandees were missing, a team that responded to the
scene said.
More
police officers responded to the scene, staged a search and found the
missing colleagues with their firearms.
The
suspects were however missing.
Police
said five of the suspects were facing charges of defilement, one had a case of
illegal possession of a firearm and another was facing murder and robbery
charges.
The
eighth suspect was facing assault and grievous harm charges.
Police
said on Tuesday no arrest had been made on the attackers and those who escaped.
The assailants are suspected to have known the movements of the team before staging the deadly attack.
The body
of the deceased officer was moved to Baragoi Sub County Hospital Morgue pending
autopsy.
More
personnel have been mobilised to hunt down the gunmen, police headquarters
said.
The area
is among those under ongoing Operation Maliza Uhalifu
North Rift.
The
operation has led to a general decline in banditry attacks in the larger north
rift and other surrounding areas in the past year.
At least 172 illegal firearms were last year
recovered in ongoing Operation Maliza Uhalifu North Rift.
The operation has also seen a significant drop
in cattle rustling cases, the Ministry of Interior said.
“The operation has led to a 62% reduction in the
number of cattle rustling occurrences, with cases dropping from 63,054
stolen livestock to 23,668—a decline of 39,386 heads of cattle.”
“Notably, 172 illegal firearms were collected
during mop-up exercises and 10,173 livestock have been recovered,” a statement
from the Ministry of Interior said.
During the same period, 250 suspects, including
14 political leaders, were arrested and prosecuted.
Launched in February 2023, Operation Maliza
Uhalifu North Rift is a government security initiative that targeted
escalating banditry, cattle rustling, and violence in nine counties
including Baringo, Turkana, Samburu, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, Marsabit,
Laikipia, Isiolo, and Meru.
Hot spot areas in these counties were designated as “Disturbed” and “Dangerous,” in the operation that brought together the National Police Service (NPS) and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in a coordinated effort to restore peace and stability in the region.
