Maalim: Arrest parents of two boys linked to highway banditry
Rift Valley Regional Coordinator Maalim Mohamed.
Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Maalim Mohamed has ordered the arrest of parents of two underage boys linked to a spate of highway bandit attacks in Turkana South sub-county.
Mr Mohamed said the boys, aged 11 and 13, were with adults Epae Longuny, 25, and Loreng Kalulu, 18 when they were arrested by officers from the Kainuk Police Station and the Rapid Deployment Unit at the Nariamao camp.
He said police were tipped off by locals about armed bandits targeting motorists last Saturday in the KWS area on the Kainuk-Lokichar road.
"The officers laid an ambush and the criminals had no option but to surrender. We [seized] two AK-47 rifles and nine rounds of ammunition. We didn't want to shoot them, because we wanted them to help us to unravel the highway banditry syndicate at the border," he said.
He asked the office of Turkana County commissioner Muthama Wambua to help arrest the parents of the two children. The four suspects are from Kaakong village.
Turkana County Police Commander Samwel Ndanyi said the suspects are notorious criminals who have been harassing motorists on the highway.
"Besides arresting the parents to establish the source of the guns and if they are the ones coordinating the attacks on motorists along the Kapenguria-Lokichar road, we urge members of the public who have ever been robbed, injured or raped between Kainuk and Lokichar to visit the Lokichar Police Station to identify if the four are perpetrators," Mr Ndanyi said.
The suspects were to be arraigned on charges of possessing illegal firearms.
Meanwhile, Mr Ndanyi confirmed that General Service Unit officers on patrol on Saturday encountered three armed bandits on a motorbike in Kapelbok village.
"The bandits opened fire on the officers. One bandit was gunned down and an AK-47 rifle [seized]. The other two managed to escape," he said.
He assured residents the security operation would continue until the border area is pacified.
Bandits who had established settlements in the South Turkana National Reserve heeded an order to vacate the area, and attacks in the area had drastically reduced.
Mr Mohamed announced that a dusk-to-dawn curfew would be imposed on specific disturbed areas in Turkana South and Turkana East sub-counties starting next week.
Bandits are said to have moved to these areas after a curfew was imposed in the larger North Rift region.
Sustained bandit attacks targeting motorists and herders on the border of Turkana and West Pokot occurred between February and May.
