Nkaissery heads to Kerio Valley after twin bandit attacks
Residents of Endo Village in Elgeyo Marakwet armed with arrows and bows during a peace meeting following an attack by bandits in March 2016. Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery Tuesday heads to the Kerio Valley after twin weekend attacks by cattle rustlers killed three people. FILE PHOTO | CHEBOITE KIGEN | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Suspected bandits from Kakapul in Tiaty Sub-county allegedly struck Chesongoch, killed two people and made away with hundreds of livestock.
- Tension is high in the area as the attack has sparked fears and ignited more animosities between the warring Pokot and the Marakwet.
- A police officer was seriously injured after he was ambushed by armed bandits suspected to be from the Pokot community.
- The officer was referred to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret to remove the bullet.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery Tuesday heads to the Kerio Valley after twin weekend attacks by cattle rustlers killed three people.
One person was killed and two others injured in the valley with over 200 head of cattle driven away following renewed cattle rustling between two warring communities.
According to affected residents of Murkutwo and Kaben locations, suspected Pokot raiders mounted simultaneous attacks at the same time of the day attacking two distant Marakwet locations in co-ordinated attacks on Sunday afternoon.
And in a separate attack, two people died in a bandit attack in Marakwet East after they were killed by cattle raiders suspected to be from the neighbouring Pokot community in Baringo County.
The Sunday midday attack happened when suspected bandits from Kakapul in Tiaty Sub-county allegedly struck Chesongoch, killed two people and made away with hundreds of livestock.
TENSION HIGH
Tension is high in the area as the attack has sparked fears and ignited more animosities between the warring Pokot and the Marakwet communities.
At the same time, a police officer was seriously injured after he was ambushed by armed bandits suspected to be from the Pokot community in Arabal, Baringo South Sub-county.
The attack happened when a group of police officers were on a routine patrol in the volatile area when more than 200 armed bandits who had blocked the road with large boulders ambushed them.
Baringo County Commissioner Peter Okwanyo said a shoot-out ensued between the officers and the armed bandits leading to one officer being shot in the head.
“The hundreds of raiders who were planning to raid Arabal area on Sunday ambushed an armoured police vehicle and during the shootout they shot a police officer in the head,” said Mr Okwanyo.
The policeman is admitted to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.
Marakwet East MP Kangogo Bowen Monday confirmed that Mr Nkaissery and top security officials would Tuesday visit the worst hit areas in Kerio Valley.
The commissioner said the police officer had been referred to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret to remove the bullet.
