Three shot dead in bandit attacks in Turkana

A pupil is among three people killed by bandits in Turkana South District.

The 14-year-old schoolgirl was killed and her companion seriously injured at Loyapat as they gathered firewood on Monday evening.

“One girl was killed on the spot while the other sustained serious gunshot wounds on both legs when they were attacked by bandits who were on a cattle raid,” said a senior provincial administrator who asked not to be named.

The injured girl is being treated at Eldoret’s Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.

In another bandit attack, two people died and another was injured when the vehicle they were travelling in was attacked on the Kitale-Lodwar highway.

“The bandits fired at the vehicle near Kaninuk trading centre, killing two people and injuring another,” said a provincial administrator in the area.

The driver sped off and reported the incident at Lodwar police station two hours later.

Turkana South district commissioner Joseph Kanyiri said 14 people suspected to be gangsters have been arrested.

Seven guns have been recovered in a crackdown on banditry on the Kitale-Lodwar highway.

Mr Kanyiri appealed to motorists to ask for security escort when travelling on the highway as banditry and carjacking attacks were rife in the area.