Bandits kill two more in fresh attacks in Baringo, West Pokot
An armored Personnel Carrier on the Mochongoi-Kasiela-Chemorongion-Marigat road In Baringo County on March 16, 2023. The second phase of an operation to flush out bandits in the North Rift is going on and the Kenya Defence Forces bombed Tandare valley, one of the hideouts for bandits.
What you need to know:
- Baringo County police commander Julius Kiragu said police officers were deployed to pursue the attackers
- In West Pokot, bandits gunned down one person at the Ramos gold mines area and drove away livestock from Takaiywa village in a daytime attack
- The killing happened after a peace meeting attended by more than 50 people on the West Pokot-Turkana counties border
Two more people were killed in sustained attacks by bandits in Baringo and West Pokot counties.
The attack in Baringo happened in the volatile Kosile village in Baringo North sub-county, where the armed criminals also made away with six cows and several goats in a Sunday 4pm incident.
The Baringo killings brought to two the number of people killed by armed criminals in the area and four injured in one week.
The deceased — Raymond Kwonyike, 35 —and his elder brother Moses Kwonyike, 45, were searching for their stolen livestock when they were ambushed by the bandits at River Sibilo. The criminals suspected to be from the neighbouring Tiaty Sub-County shot at them before fleeing into the bush.
Kwonyike was shot in the chest and died on the spot while his brother sustained gunshot wounds on his arm and thigh. The injured man was rushed to Baringo County Referral Hospital for medical attention, while his brother’s body was taken to the mortuary.
Volunteer information
Baringo County police commander Julius Kiragu said police officers were deployed to pursue the attackers and recover the stolen livestock.
He appealed to residents to volunteer information on the criminals or to help in tracking and smoking them out of their hideouts.
In West Pokot, bandits gunned down one person at the Ramos gold mines area and drove away livestock from Takaiywa village in a daytime attack on the West Pokot-Turkana counties border.
The killing happened after a peace meeting attended by more than 50 people.
Lopet Location Chief Isaac Lomwai confirmed that the man was killed while manning a borehole in the area.
Persistent attacks
Over the past month, hundreds of livestock have been stolen from Ombolion, Sarimach, Cheprochpohog, Turkwel, Takaywa, Kases, Masol, and Lami Nyeusi areas along the border by bandits suspected to be from the neighbouring county.
Residents from the two communities had a peace agreement to draw water from the same borehole in the Kaptolong’o area.
However, cattle raids and retaliatory attacks persist despite the presence of the Kenya Police Service and Kenya Defence Forces who are undertaking a joint security operation in the troubled Kerio Valley region.
West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin condemned the recent killings, calling on the government to change its strategy in tackling insecurity in the region.
“Let the government come up with better ways of tackling insecurity because bandits have become so daring. Let it use a lot of intelligence,” he said.
