A man was shot and killed and another was seriously injured in an attack at a trading centre in Garbatulla, Isiolo County.
Police
said the incident happened in Yaq Barsadi shopping centre on Monday night and was
carried out by a lone attacker armed with an AK-47 rifle.
The
victim identified as Galgalo Agula died on the spot. A second victim was
injured in the left arm and rushed to a hospital in serious but stable
condition, police said.
Isiolo
County Police Commander Moses Mutisya said the incident is still under
investigation.
The
area, along Kulamawe-Kachuru road, is deemed unsafe as escaping gunmen use it to
flee towards Samburu and Marsabit.
Mutisya
said the attacker emerged from the nearby thicket and shot at the two people
outside a kiosk.
The motive
of the attack is yet to be known, police said.
A
hunt for the gunman is ongoing in the area.
Elsewhere
in Makutano, Tharaka Nithi, gunmen raided a home and stole more than 20 goats.
The
gang slashed the owner of the home using a panga before escaping with the livestock.
Police
said the attackers had arrived on board a vehicle that they used in ferrying the
stolen animals.
There
was no recovery made and police declared they had launched an operation for the
gang behind the incident that happened on Monday night.
Such
attacks on animals are common in the area. This has forced the government to
extend an operation targeting cattle rustlers to Meru.
Operation Maliza Uhalifu was launched targeting Marsabit, Turkana, West Pokot,
Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Laikipia and Samburu.
It
was however extended to Meru and now Tharaka Nithi as part of efforts to
contain the cattle rustling menace.
Launched in February 2023, Operation Maliza
Uhalifu North Rift is a government security initiative that targeted escalating
banditry, cattle rustling, and violence in the counties.
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.
