Residents flee after livestock owner killed

The killing of a retired chief has stirred tension in Loruk in Baringo North Sub-County.

Wilson Chebungei, 63, was shot dead by suspected bandits on Sunday morning as he drove cattle to a grazing field on his way to church. Two shops and a posho mill were reportedly burned down in an apparent retaliation, raising fears of further attacks, making some residents to flee.

Chebungei was killed shortly after he left home around 10am with the livestock, according to Mr Alvis Chesang, his son.

“We heard some gunshots only a few minutes after he left. We ran towards the direction of the gunshots, where we found our father’s lifeless body in a pool of blood.

“It seems the bandits were just on a mission to kill our father because they shot him four times in the neck and they fled without taking anything,” said Mr Chesang.

Residents said the retired chief had been threatened because he was vocal on the boundary dispute between the Pokot and Tugen communities, the warring neighbours in the region. He had reported the threats to police.

The bandits who killed him reportedly fled towards Kadingding Village in the neighbouring Tiaty Sub-County.

Baringo North OCPD Jasper Makau said they had received reports on the threat and were investigating the killing.

REMAIN CALM

“We call on the residents to remain calm and avoid retaliatory attacks and we promise to be quick in apprehending the suspects,” he said.

On Sunday night, two shops and a posho mill at Loruk trading centre belonging to a Pokot businessman were reportedly torched.

The two incidents have sparked fresh animosity between the Tugens and Pokots. Hundreds of residents have fled their homes for fear of revenge attacks. They fled towards the neighbouring Kampi Samaki Village, leaving the town deserted.

County Commissioner Peter Okwanyo has condemned the killing. More security officers had been deployed to the area, he said.