Three people killed after bandits spray matatu with bullets in Turkana

Three people were killed and one critically injured in a bandit attack at Kakong area of Turkana South.

The bandits who posed as bystanders along the road ambushed a Lodwar-bound Public Service Vehicle, spraying it with bullets as the driver sped off in a zig zag manner to avoid a hit.

A bullet ridded the vehicle belonging to Turkrift Sacco that plies the Kitale - Lodwar route, making it the target for armed bandits in the Thursday morning attack.

According to the driver Ishmael Wekesa, the attackers appeared to be pedestrians on the road who posed no danger.

“Sikuwa najua kama ni wahalifu lakini ile ng’ombe inakuwanga kwa barabara hatukuwa tunaona, wakati walishoot ya kwanza juu, nikaona hapa siwezi simama ni kujiokoa, nikapeleka zig zag...walipiga zingine na wakapata gari,” he said.

The attack claimed three people and critically injured one. Among the dead was a secondary school student, and a refugee who studies in Kitale and was enroute to the camp in Lodwar.

Locals now want the government to ensure the dangerous zones along the highway are well protected.

Bandits had earlier attacked Kakong village killing two people and making away with more than 150 goats.

The attack along the highway however raises new concerns; it is the fourth such incident this month.

Turkana County Police Commander Samuel Ndayi said more officers have been deployed to patrol the area to repulse further attacks.

Ndayi named the stretch between Kakong and KWS as the most dangerous hotspot along the Kitale - Lodwar highway.

Several bandit attacks have been witnessed in Turkana South in the recent past, with communities calling on the government to scale up its deployment of officers in the area and increase the number of National Police Reservists.