Families of peace ambassadors killed in Kerio Valley by bandits appeal for justice

Three peace ambassadors were shot dead in the Chesongoch area of Marakwet West, sparking fears of a renewed wave of banditry after months of calm.

Families of the deceased in Elgeyo Marakwet are now asking the government to bring to book all those involved in the cold-blood murder. 

The families could not hold back their tears as they visited the morgue in Iten where the bodies of their fathers and husbands had been brought.

The three were on a peace mission in Kerio Valley where they were ambushed and shot dead.

Speaking at Iten County Referral Hospital morgue, local leaders led by Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wesley Rotich, Marakwet West MP Timothy Kipchumba condemned the killing of the peace ambassadors and called upon the Interior Cabinet Secretary to act with speed.

“I am so pained by the killing of these men...we are not going to leave this here...we want the CS for the Interior to enhance security,” Governor Rotich said.

The leaders noted that the bandits staged the attack with the killings sparking tension in Kerio Valley.

“This is an act of terrorism…killing innocent men who are on a peace mission is a claw-back to the peace we saw recently,” MP Kipchumba said.

Governor Rotich added: “We are calling on our people not to engage in any form of retaliation.”

Over 300 people have been killed in the Kerio Valley belt, the latest killings adding up the number of those killed by bandits who roam freely with guns that the government promised to remove from the community.