- A Marsabit chief and his driver were on Wednesday arraigned over the murder of six people in the county.
- They were attacked while on their pursuit of stolen animals on April 28.
Image: CYRUS OMBATI
A soldier attached to the KDF was Friday arrested by police in the ongoing probe into the killing of six people in Marsabit county last week.
The soldier based at one of the barracks in Nairobi was picked up by a special team that is investigating the April 28 incident that left four other residents injured.
This brings to three, the number of those so far in custody over the incident.
Officials aware of the probe said the soldier had been mentioned in the ongoing probe and was placed near the scene.
A special team of detectives is investigating the ambush on local officials that left Loglogo senior chief Kennedy Kongoman, his assistant and four others dead.
They were attacked while on the pursuit of stolen animals on April 28.
A Marsabit chief and his driver were on Wednesday arraigned over the murder of six people in the county.
Shurr chief Isaacko Warguto Bewa and his driver Boru Abudo Guyo appeared before magistrate SK Arome but did not take plea as police asked for 21 days to complete investigations.
The two will be remanded at Laisamis police station awaiting to be brought back to court on May 19.
A security operation is ongoing in the area to flush out criminals behind attacks and those hiding in the mines in neighbouring Isiolo county.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i said the operation which started on May 2 will initially last for 30 days with the option of an extension.
The operation will run in tandem with a disarmament exercise targeting illegal guns and ammunition.
He said the National Security Council had decided to launch 'Operation Rejesha Amani Marsabit' following incessant inter-ethnic attacks that have defied peace initiatives and the lapse of the 30-day window sought by county leaders to secure reconciliation.
It will be extended to Kom and Merti in Isiolo county.
“You may recall that just recently our security forces intercepted a huge cache of explosives in Merti. Those explosives were meant for Nairobi," Matiang'i said.
"They were being moved by a terrorist cell, and that route has become worrisome to all of us over the recent years.
"I cannot count the number of times our police officers have disrupted planned terror activity that is being channeled through that route.”
Special forces from different police units are among troops deployed to conduct a month-long operation for illegal guns and ammunition.
Further, they are liaising with their Ethiopian counterparts across the border to tame any crossings by the suspected killers who may be fleeing.
The animosity between the Borana and Gabra communities has progressively boiled over, and Matiang’i has expressed concerns over political leaders who have frustrated previous attempts to pacify the area.
Matiang'i said rival groups have been armed and transformed into competitive political militias meting out violence on innocent civilians in what has become one the costliest security challenge in the country.
The operation by security teams drawn from the GSU, the Rapid Deployment Unit, the Quick Response Unit, the Anti-Stock Theft Unit, among others, will also be extended to Sololo where suspected Oromo Liberation Front militias are active.
Meanwhile, 37 people were arrested for defying a curfew order on Wednesday and taken to court.
They were fined Sh2,000 each and released. They were arrested in Marsabit and Laisamis.
(edited by Amol Awuor)