A 24-year-old herder was shot and killed in an attack by gunmen in a village near the Kenya-Ethiopia border, Turkana.
Police said the incident happened Wednesday evening in Merikuka village in Kokuro, near the Loyoro Fishing Site.
The body of Kai Ebu was found with a gunshot wound to the head.
Ebu was grazing his calves in a grazing field along the bank of
the Loyoro Rive when he was targeted and killed.
The motive of the attack is yet to be known.
Police and villagers said he may have been attacked by raiders
from neighbouring Ethiopia who had been seen there earlier on.
The attackers escaped soon after the incident.
Multi-agency teams
visited the scene and stated that efforts to trace the attackers were ongoing.
This will deter any form of retaliation.
The body of the herder was moved to the mortuary pending autopsy
and other procedures.
In the same area of Loima, Tiya sub-location police recovered an
AK47 rifle with four bullets from a suspect wanted for cattle rustling.
This is after locals joined police in a rare move in an operation in the area.
The suspect was arrested and disarmed of his rifle that was hidden
in his house.
The area has been facing different forms of insecurity from raiders.
As part of efforts to tame the practice, the government launched
an operation covering other counties including Turkana.
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 and the Kenya Defence Forces in a
coordinated effort to restore peace and stability in the region.
Security officers on the ground have effectively disarmed hundreds
of bandits, dismantled their hideouts in the rugged terrain, and restored
stability to affected communities.
To strengthen local security, the government has
restructured the management and command of the National Police Reservists.
In 2023, a total of 1,702 reservists were
recruited and trained in Baringo, Samburu, Laikipia, Meru, Turkana, and West
Pokot.
At least 400 reservists in Elgeyo Marakwet and
Isiolo were re-armed to supplement the ongoing security operations in the area.
To enhance governance and improve service delivery, the government
gazetted 126 new administrative units across Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Turkana,
Samburu, Meru, and Laikipia Counties.
This initiative is aimed at strengthening local
administration, improving resource allocation, and enabling a more effective
response to security challenges.
