The government will restore National Police Reservists in 14 counties that are prone to banditry, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has said.
He also faulted a past decision to withdraw nearly 10,000 reservists saying it had caused loss of lives and property.
After a tour in Kerio Valley on Tuesday, the CS said the number will be enhanced from the previous 10,000 who had been designated in the regions facing insecurity.
“The decision to withdraw the nearly 10,000 reservists abruptly and without basis has caused great loss of innocent lives and deprivation of property,” he said.
“The new measure will go a long way in supplementing the work of the specialised formed units in preventing and thwarting the security threats posed by marauding bandits.”
The Interior CS was accompanied by his Transport and Infrastructure counterpart Kipchumba Murkomen and a host of local leaders and visited a family that lost two daughters after a bandit attack on Sunday.
Murkomen said he is optimistic that the measures put in place by the government will offer lasting solutions.
“We condoled with the family of Daniel Kibowen whose two daughters were brutally murdered by evil bandits,” he said.
The two, a Form Three student and her younger sister who is a Standard Seven pupil died after the bandits sprayed them with bullets before stealing the livestock they were herding.
The killings have also sparked fresh animosity between the two communities.
There has been a lull from such attacks due to various measures taken by authorities.
Tension remains high there as security agencies gathered to pursue the attackers.
President William Ruto and Kindiki have in the past issued a stern warning to bandits in the area. They vowed to crush the practice, terming it criminal.
