Police reservist killed in clash with gunmen in Marsabit

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A member of the National Police Reserve was shot and killed in an attack in Walda, Sololo, Marsabit County.

Police said unknown gunmen shot Wako Abduba in an ambush on Wednesday morning. According to police, a G3 rifle with two magazines and 32 rounds of ammunition was later found on his body.

He had been shot in the back, and his motorcycle was found a few meters away after the June 18 incident. His colleague, who was missing, was found alive a few kilometers away. The area has been facing security challenges amid operations to address the menace.

Two weeks ago, armed raiders struck a village in Loiyangalani, Marsabit County, and killed two herders in an incident.

The attackers also injured two other herders as they escaped with an unknown number of shoats after the June 5 incident in Marti area.

Police said the two other injured in the attack 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. This is the latest attack in the area amid operations to tame such incidents.

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).