8 police officers among 11 killed after bandits raid Turkana

The attack that left 11 people dead took place at Namariat near Kakitetei and police say the other three casualties comprise a local chief and two civilians.

Condemning the incident as a cowardly attack, National Police Service spokesperson Bruno Shioso said the officers were pursuing bandits believed to be from the Pokot community, who had earlier raided a village and stolen livestock.

“The officers were in hot pursuit of Pokot bandits who had  raided a village in Turkana East and made away with livestock. A local chief, two (2) members of the public and eight (8) police officers succumbed to the injuries,” Shioso said in a statement on Saturday.

Additional police officers have meanwhile been dispatched to reinforce the troops on the ground as they pursue the bandits who are still at large.

“NPS reassures the public that all necessary measures shall be taken to restore security and safety in the region,” the police spokesperson added.

Insecurity has been a major issue in the neighbouring Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet and West Pokot counties for some time now, with the government resorting to curfews to clamp down on bandits.

In July, the government extended the dusk-to-dawn curfew in parts of Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet and West Pokot counties by 30 more days, 

Although he noted that goals had been achieved in the previous 30 days in terms of weapon recovery restoring peace, Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Maalim Mohamed at the time disclosed that police were trailing bandits believed to have crossed over to Turkana.

“That is the message to our security officers as a regional team to ensure that we are not in a hurry to lift the curfew because we have seen some good work happening there. That is our message to the residents of Kerio Valley,” Mohamed said then.

The curfew lapsed and was lifted just a day to the August 9 General Election.