Gunmen raided a village in Loiyangalani, Marsabit County and killed two herders in an incident.
The attackers escaped with an unknown number of shoats after the Thursday June 5 incident in Marti area.
Police said two other herders were injured in the attack and are fighting for their lives in the hospital.
A team of police responded to the scene and managed to recover all the shoats as the assailants escaped.
This was after an exchange of fire. Police said a hunt on the gunmen is ongoing amid rising tension and the possibility of retaliatory attacks.
The bodies were moved to the mortuary pending autopsy.
The area is under Operation Maliza Uhalifu, which was launched in 2024 targeting cattle rustlers.
The operation has managed to contain crime in the area and other counties amid persistence.
The operation targets Baringo, West Pokot, Turkana, Samburu, Marsabit, Meru and Isiolo counties.
Besides retributive reaction, strategic investment and sustainable development have also taken a prominent place among the government’s planned crime control interventions for Kenya’s Northern frontier and the Kerio Valley belt.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said, the long-term vision is to empower the communities to actively take part in the war against animal rustling and undertake legitimate nation-building activities.
He said plans to distribute subsidized agricultural inputs and extension services to area residents in a bid to revive farming activities as a source of livelihood.
“We are coming to dismantle not only the criminals themselves but also to bring down the entire chain that has been the cattle and livestock rustling industry,” he said.
Murkomen ordered fresh vetting for all National Police Reservists (NPSs).
He also announced a new policy shift, which institutionalises the command structure of the NPR officers, stating they will hence be under the direct command of the Officer Commanding Police Stations (OCS) as part of efforts to enhance their operations.
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