Cop shot dead in ambush by gunmen in Dagahaley, Wajir

A police officer was shot and killed in an ambush by gunmen believed to be al-Shabaab members in the Dagahaley area, Wajir County.

The shooting happened on the evening of Wednesday, October 22, 2025, as the deceased, identified as Constable Elijah Orwa, and his two colleagues responded to a shooting report.

They were in the company of two members of the National Police Reserve, police authorities said.

Police said the group had been alerted to a shooting incident in the area along the Dagahaley–Mathabaquay route when they responded to the scene.

On arrival aboard a private salon car, they were ambushed by gunmen who were waiting, prompting a shootout.

This occurred after the driver stopped the car, prompting the officers to take cover in a thicket.

It was then that the body of Constable Orwa was found lying in a pool of blood next to his rifle, which was loaded with 30 bullets and three pouches.

The team remained at the scene with the body for hours while seeking reinforcement, as they feared the gunmen were still in the area waiting for an opportunity to strike.

The gunmen are believed to be members of the al-Shabaab terror group, which operates in the area amid ongoing operations targeting their activities.

The gang is known to cross from Somalia through the porous Kenya–Somalia border for such missions.

Police have intensified operations in the area to address such incidents. This has led to a reduction in attacks that had been common in most parts of the region, affecting its overall economic development.

Most of the attackers are members of the al-Shabaab terror group and their collaborators operating in the area, officials said.

Somalia has not had an effective central government since the 1991 overthrow of President Siad Barre’s military regime, which ushered in more than two decades of anarchy and conflict in a country deeply divided along clan lines.

Kenya launched Operation Linda Nchi on October 14, 2011, after gunmen seized tourists at the Coast — an act the government saw as a threat to the country’s sovereignty and its economic lifeline, tourism.

Kenya’s incursion into southern Somalia began after the kidnapping of two Spanish women who were working for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) at the Dadaab refugee camp.

The abductions were carried out by militants whom the troops sought to repel under Operation Linda Nchi.

Two years later, the troops managed to take control of Kismayo Port under Operation Sledge Hammer. The troops have since liberated many regions near Kenya’s porous border.