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Gunmen shoot and kill two villagers in attack in Merti, Isiolo

The attackers escaped with unknown number of livestock

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by CYRUS OMBATI

North-eastern20 October 2025 - 09:30
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In Summary


  • Tension remained high in the area on Sunday amid fears of more retaliatory attacks. Police were forced to send teams to the area as a precautionary.
  • In the Oldonyiro area in the same county, two people were shot and injured by bandits who were on the run.
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Police are investigating an incident where at least two people were shot and killed in an attack in a village in Merti, Isiolo County.

Police said they were called to a village in the Kilisa area following an attack by gunmen and recovered the bodies of Idris Yussuf Malicha, 35 and Ibrahim Jilo, 32.

The attackers escaped with an unknown number of livestock after the Friday, October 17 attack.

Police said the bodies were released to the families for burial even as they investigate the incident.

Tension remained high in the area on Sunday amid fears of more retaliatory attacks. Police were forced to send teams to the area as a precautionary.

In the Oldonyiro area in the same county, two people were shot and injured by bandits who were on the run.

The men armed with AK-47 rifles attacked motorists in the Kipsing area.

The gunmen also escaped with an unknown amount of money and other valuables from the victims.

The victims were taken to hospital in stable condition, police said. This is the latest such an attack amid ongoing operations targeting banditry.

The area is among those under Operation Maliza Uhalifu aimed at dealing with bandits.

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.

There is also an ongoing deradicalisation process on the menace.

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 subsidised agricultural inputs and extension services to area residents in a bid to revive farming activities as a source of livelihood.

Murkomen ordered fresh vetting for all National Police Reservists (NPRs) as part of efforts to bolster the operations.

He said plans to distribute subsidised 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.

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.

The gangs behind the trend keeps attacking villages for livestock.

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