Three shot dead, one injured in separate attacks in Baringo
A lonely dog at an abandoned home in Kosile village where Jacob Kimosop was shot dead by bandits on March 15, 2022. Locals fled their homes since early this year to safer grounds, following incessant banditry attacks.
What you need to know:
- Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Mohamed Maalim has directed all security officers in banditry-prone counties in the region to be on high alert for bandits, who are said to be stealing livestock from neighbouring communities to restock their herds following the onset of the long rains.
- He said tension was high in Loruk following the incident.
Three people were shot dead and another was seriously wounded in separate attacks in Baringo North sub-county.
The first incident happened on Wednesday at 10am when armed attackers from the neighbouring Tiaty sub-county struck Ng’aratuko village, shot at herders indiscriminately before driving away hundreds of livestock.
Residents said some locals joined police reservists and pursued the stolen animals, which had been driven towards Kositei, but they were ambushed and attacked by the raiders, who injured a herder identified as Chongwo Francis.
The injured person was evacuated from the scene and rushed to Marigat Sub-County Hospital, said resident Joshua Changwony. The patient was later taken to Baringo County Referral Hospital in Kabarnet.
An aerial view of Chepkesin Primary School in Baringo North. The school is yet to be opened since last year due to incessant flare-ups.
Mr Changwony expressed concerns about the safety of learners who had just resumed learning.
“It is sad that some people who had fled the village in March had started coming back after normality returned and are now pondering the next move following the fresh attacks,” he said.
“Barely two months ago, we buried two people in the same area and now a brother of one of those killed has been shot dead. Do we really have a future if people are killed one after the other?”
Tension is high in the area, and residents of Loruk, several kilometres away, barricaded the Loruk-Chemolingot road to protest the violence.
Confirming the incident, Baringo County Police Commander Adamson Bungei said they were on patrol when they received information about the body of a resident who had gone missing while pursuing the stolen livestock.
The body, the commander stated, was being held by the bandits, who were waiting to attack anyone who would come to collect it.
“The raid happened on Wednesday afternoon and unfortunately, one of the locals, George Chebor, who had been reported missing after pursuing the stolen livestock was found dead, with his body riddled with bullets,” Mr Bungei said.
“Another person sustained serious gunshot injuries and was taken to Baringo County Referral Hospital, where he is receiving medical attention.”
Of the hundreds of livestock stolen, he said, police recovered 80 goats.
“We have deployed more security officers to pursue the attackers and recover the remaining herd. We also have enough officers who have gone deep into the thickets to evacuate the body of the deceased person,” he stated.
Some of the classes at Kapindasum Primary School in the porous Baringo South overgrown with shrubs. The institution is among those that are yet to reopen due to incessant banditry attacks and livestock theft in the region.
In a separate incident, another body with gunshot wounds was found in the morning on the side of a road in Chepilat, on the border of Baringo North and Tiaty sub-counties, Mr Bungei said. It was suspected to be that of a bandit involved in the raid.
At the Loruk shopping centre, an off-duty security officer was shot dead by an unknown person on Wednesday evening. The attacker fled into the bush without taking anything.
“We are treating this as an isolated incident because it is suspected to be a family feud, according to the relatives. The officer, who is married to a woman from the neighbouring community, is said to have been on leave and was grazing his livestock a few metres from his homestead when he was shot dead,” Mr Bungei said.
The bodies were moved to the Baringo County Referral Hospital morgue.
Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Mohamed Maalim has directed all security officers in banditry-prone counties in the region to be on high alert for bandits, who are said to be stealing livestock from neighbouring communities to restock their herds following the onset of the long rains.
“We have also convened a peace forum in the volatile Loruk on Friday, which will bring together residents, local administration and the security team to quell the heightened tension. We are calling on the affected locals to be calm and avoid retaliatory attacks because we have deployed enough officers to bring sanity and pursue the criminals,” Mr Maalim said.
He said tension was high in Loruk following the incident. “But we cannot allow retaliation among communities. The locals should allow us to deal with the criminals.”
The latest deaths bring to 30 the number of people killed in the county since the beginning of the year.
