A herder was fatally shot in a banditry attack in the North Horr area, Marsabit County, police said.
Another herder was shot and seriously
injured in the November 1, 2025, attack in the Siboloi area, police said.
The attackers managed to drive off
with more than 400 livestock.
Police who responded to the scene said
they clashed with the attackers, who engaged them in a shootout as they escaped
with the animals.
It was then that the body of Jillo
Yattani, 30, was found in a thicket.
The injured man had a wound in the thigh and was rushed to a local hospital for medical attention. The gang managed to escape the scene as more security teams responded there. Tension remained high in the area on Sunday and Monday as locals vowed revenge on the raiders.
The area has been experiencing cases
of armed attacks amid efforts to address the menace.
Officials said they had deployed more teams on the ground to pursue the gang.
Multi agencies have since been deployed there to address the same gangs that are terrorizing locals and neighbouring counties.
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 programme in the area to address the menace.
This has prompted the surrender of weapons by locals to the state. More than 600 assorted weapons and 3,000 bullets have been surrendered in the past two months in the drive, officials said.
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 there are plans to distribute subsidized agricultural inputs and extension services to area residents in a bid to revive farming activities as a source of livelihood.
