Lorry carrying twelve Pokot chiefs comes under fire in bandit attack
Security officers on patrol at Kabetwa, Elgeyo-Marakwet County, on January 30, 2017. A lorry carrying administrators from Pokot was attacked by cattle rustlers on February 2, 2017. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The administrators from Pokot were travelling in lorry before it came under fire between Chepkalacha and Nosokuro.
- The lorry was damaged during the shooting but no injuries were reported.
Twelve chiefs on a peace mission escaped death narrowly after they were caught up in a gunfight between cattle rustlers in Baringo County.
The administrators from Pokot were travelling in a lorry when it came under fire between Chepkalacha and Nosokuro.
Police said the 3.30pm shooting on Thursday involved morans from the Pokot and Ilchumus communities.
“The chiefs’ mission was to talk to herders from their areas who had migrated to Nosokuru in search of pasture,” according to police.
The herders, most of them youngsters aged between seven and 14 years, had sparked tension between the Tugen and Ilchumus communities in the area.
The chiefs had hoped to convince them to return to their territories and leave the grazing fields to local communities.
“Their (chiefs’) visit was arranged by the county security committee at a meeting in Marigat,” the police report added.
The lorry was damaged in the shooting but no injuries were reported.
