- Kioi who has served in Lamu since 2014 where he was posted shortly after the first spate of terror attacks hit Mpeketoni leaving over 100 people dead
- Unconfirmed reports indicate his transfer is directly linked to the recent Al Shabaab terror incidents in the county
Lamu county police commander Muchangi Kioi has been transferred.
Kioi who has served in Lamu since 2014 where he was posted shortly after the first spate of terror attacks hit Mpeketoni, leaving over 100 people dead.
He was OCPD for Lamu East before he was promoted to county police commander in 2017 to replace Ephantus Kiura. Kioi has been recalled back to Vigilance House police headquarters in Nairobi from where he awaits deployment.
The Star can confirm that Kioi has been replaced by Issa Mohamud.
Kioi's transfer was confirmed by Lamu county commissioner Irungu Macharia who stated that the commander was expected to hand over to his replacement anytime from now.
He said the transfer was a normal procedure and rubbished speculations that it was linked to the recent terror incidents in Lamu.
“Mr Kioi has been transferred and it is normal procedure in our line of work. I want to assure you that the move had nothing to do with the recent terror attacks here. Its normal for government officers who have served for long in some places to be transferred,”Macharia said.
Kioi’s sudden transfer comes days after two terror attacks that shook the region and left at least six people dead.
Unconfirmed reports indicate his transfer is directly linked to the recent al Shabaab terror incidents in the county.
On January 2, three people died and three others were seriously wounded after a convoy of buses traveling from Mombasa to Lamu was attacked by al Shabaab militants at Nyongoro area in Witu, Lamu west.
Four militants were gunned down and one captured alive shortly after the attack.
Two days later on January 5, heavily armed al Shabaab militants attacked the Manda-Magogoni naval base in Manda Bay that also houses a US military camp named Camp Simba at around 5am.
Three people were killed including a US service member and two US Department of Defence contractors and two others were injured.
Five al Shabaab terrorists were killed and five others captured alive.
The incidents have sparked fear and prompted negative publicity for the region among locals and outsiders.
The former county police boss will be remembered for leading a spirited fight against al Shabaab militants between 2014 and 2017 in a move that saw terror attacks and ambushes in the region reduced considerably.
He is also among the brains that proposed to have security camps established in terror prone areas in Lamu.