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Herder injured by explosive at grazing field in Samburu

KahawaTungu Reporter
At least two people were Thursday February 27 shot dead and ten others injured in the latest banditry attack in Samburu County. Suspected bandits ambushed a bus travelling along the Maralal-Baragoi route at the Mbukoi area in Samburu North, opening fire on passengers. Two conductors were killed on the spot, while ten other passengers were injured and are receiving treatment at Samburu County Referral Hospital, police said. Locals said the attack after threats from eye bandits. “We have been threatened for a long time…I even have video clips of the threats,” one local said. The director of Medical Services in Samburu, Dr.Ezra Lekenit, said two patients recovering in the hospital were in critical condition. "The patients were six in number who included four females and two males. Of the four females, two are in critical condition, and one has a penetrating gun wound,” he said. Local leaders have condemned the government’s failure to curb rising insecurity, as attacks on vehicles using the route continue to escalate. "It seems the government is unable to end insecurity in this region because for the whole year, people have been killed along this road as if there is no government. Anything that happens, no government intervention, and we have gone to all security offices, even in the Interior Ministry,” Samburu North MP Elly Letipila said. "There is no safe passage in this county anymore in Wamba; there is insecurity, Baragoi road is unpassable, the road to Basaloi is also impassable we don’t know what to do,” lamented Samburu Woman Rep Pauline Lenguris. The area is among those under Operation Maliza Uhalifu targeting bandits. Launched in February 2023, Operation Maliza Uhalifu North Rift is a government security initiative that targeted escalating banditry, cattle rustling, and violence in nine counties including Baringo, Turkana, Samburu, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, Marsabit, Laikipia, Isiolo, and Meru. Hot spot areas in these counties were designated as “Disturbed” and “Dangerous,” in the operation that brought together the National Police Service (NPS) and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in a coordinated effort to restore peace and stability in the region. Security officers on the ground have effectively disarmed hundreds of bandits, dismantled their hideouts in the rugged terrain, and restored stability to affected communities. To strengthen local security, the government has restructured the management and command of the National Police Reservists. In 2023, a total of 1,702 reservists were recruited and trained in Baringo, Samburu, Laikipia, Meru, Turkana, and West Pokot. At least 400 reservists in Elgeyo Marakwet and Isiolo were re-armed to supplement the ongoing security operations in the area. To enhance governance and improve service delivery, the Government gazetted 126 new administrative units across Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Turkana, Samburu, Meru, and Laikipia Counties. This initiative is aimed at strengthening local administration, improving resource allocation, and enabling a more effective response to security challenges.

At least two people were Thursday February 27 shot dead and ten others injured in the latest banditry attack in Samburu County. Suspected bandits ambushed a bus travelling along the Maralal-Baragoi route at the Mbukoi area in Samburu North, opening fire on passengers. Two conductors were killed on the spot, while ten other passengers were injured and are receiving treatment at Samburu County Referral Hospital, police said. Locals said the attack after threats from eye bandits. “We have been threatened for a long time…I even have video clips of the threats,” one local said. The director of Medical Services in Samburu, Dr.Ezra Lekenit, said two patients recovering in the hospital were in critical condition. "The patients were six in number who included four females and two males. Of the four females, two are in critical condition, and one has a penetrating gun wound,” he said. Local leaders have condemned the government’s failure to curb rising insecurity, as attacks on vehicles using the route continue to escalate. "It seems the government is unable to end insecurity in this region because for the whole year, people have been killed along this road as if there is no government. Anything that happens, no government intervention, and we have gone to all security offices, even in the Interior Ministry,” Samburu North MP Elly Letipila said. "There is no safe passage in this county anymore in Wamba; there is insecurity, Baragoi road is unpassable, the road to Basaloi is also impassable we don’t know what to do,” lamented Samburu Woman Rep Pauline Lenguris. The area is among those under Operation Maliza Uhalifu targeting bandits. Launched in February 2023, Operation Maliza Uhalifu North Rift is a government security initiative that targeted escalating banditry, cattle rustling, and violence in nine counties including Baringo, Turkana, Samburu, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, Marsabit, Laikipia, Isiolo, and Meru. Hot spot areas in these counties were designated as “Disturbed” and “Dangerous,” in the operation that brought together the National Police Service (NPS) and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in a coordinated effort to restore peace and stability in the region. Security officers on the ground have effectively disarmed hundreds of bandits, dismantled their hideouts in the rugged terrain, and restored stability to affected communities. To strengthen local security, the government has restructured the management and command of the National Police Reservists. In 2023, a total of 1,702 reservists were recruited and trained in Baringo, Samburu, Laikipia, Meru, Turkana, and West Pokot. At least 400 reservists in Elgeyo Marakwet and Isiolo were re-armed to supplement the ongoing security operations in the area. To enhance governance and improve service delivery, the Government gazetted 126 new administrative units across Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Turkana, Samburu, Meru, and Laikipia Counties. This initiative is aimed at strengthening local administration, improving resource allocation, and enabling a more effective response to security challenges.

A herder was injured by an explosive he found and stepped on at a grazing field in Kamanga, Samburu County.

The victim, an eight-year-old boy, was taking care of the family’s goats in the area when he stepped on the device that was on the ground, oblivious to the dangers it posed.

The explosive, whose details are yet to be explained, went off and seriously wounded the boy in the abdomen and legs, police said.

The victim was rushed to the hospital and admitted there in stable condition. The area is used as a training field for many agencies. This is among others aimed at ensuring the region, which is turning to be a terror hotbed, is safe, officials say.

The Kenya Defence Forces personnel are among those who visited the scene as part of the probe into the incident on November 18, police said.

There have been calls on authorities to mop up explosives abandoned in the training fields that continue to maim many locals.

Elsewhere in Nairobi’s Huruma area, police recovered a Falcon pistol from an escaping suspect. The suspect had been hiding in a dark alley when police on patrol approached him. He instead sprinted off prompting a brief chase by the curious officers.

Police said he dropped the weapon on the road in the Kiamaiko area and disappeared into the darkness in the Wednesday dawn drama.

The suspect knew police focus would shift to the weapon and not him. And it worked out when the police opened the paper bag that contained the weapon and confirmed it was a weapon.

Police said they are looking for the suspect and that the weapon was taken for ballistic tests to know if it had been used in any form of crime.

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