Residents lament bandit attacks, fear learners likely to miss school

Children in Kitui County are likely to skip school as tensions triggered by banditry in parts of the county escalate.

Sosoma/Mwanzele Village Administrator Beatrice Mbithe said schools that might be affected include Sosoma Secondary, Sosoma Primary, Ngooni Primary and Kathungu Early Childhood Education centre.

Some villages have fled their homes as a result of bandit attacks, she said.

"Children together with their parents, especially mothers, have fled all the affected areas and they are not likely to return any time soon if the situation will remain as it is now," Ms Mbithe told the Nation on Monday.

She also said teachers might fail to report back to school.

So far, she said, people from Inyanzae, Kasiluni, Mukavo and Mangombo villages have fled their homes.

As a result, she said, Inyanzae and Kasiluni primary schools might not open for first term, which starts on Wednesday this week.

Ruth Muema, a resident of Kathungu, said her village was nearly overrun by bandits on Friday.

"Most of us spend nights in the bushes. We neither have shelter nor food to eat," Ms Muema said.

Jacob Musyoki, a pastor, said some residents are seeking refuge churches, dispensaries and police posts, but some are living in bushes.

Pastor Musyoki claimed that bandits use Mwanzele shopping centre as their hideout.

On August 22 last year, Eastern Regional Coordinator Wycliffe Ogolla visited the market and sought to reassure locals that the government was working to end banditry, but the problem has persisted.