- Police said the gang had tried to steal and drive with livestock when a clash happened
- Multi-agency teams were sent to the area to pursue the other gang members who escaped the scene.
A suspected bandit was shot and killed in a shootout with police in Marsabit Central, Marsabit County.
Police said the shootout happened on Sunday evening as a group of about 15 bandits tried to drive off with dozens of stolen livestock.
A G3 rifle with two bullets was recovered from the slain gunman.
Multi-agency teams were sent to the area to pursue the other gang members who escaped the scene.
More security personnel were sent to the area to join the hunt for the gang members who escaped into a nearby forest amid fears of more attacks.
In the neigbouring Samburu County, gunmen laid a siege on the main Marsabit-Isiolo highway attacking and stealing from motorists.
Road users said six men emerged from the bushes and stopped their vehicles.
One of the victims said the gang stopped the vehicle by firing damaging the front and rear windscreen.
One bullet also hit and injured the driver on the right hand.
The driver and his conductor were robbed of their mobile phones and cash.
The injured victim was treated at Sere Olipi Dispensary and discharged in fair condition.
Police say gang attacks on major routes in the area are on the rise amid calls for caution and planned operations to address the menace.
This is affecting transport at large and the supply of food and other services on the affected route.
On Sunday, a Member of the Samburu County Assembly was shot and killed in an ambush in the Soit Pus area of Samburu North.
Police said Angata Nanyekie MCA Paul Leshimpiro was shot dead by suspected bandits at Soit Pus on Maralal-Baragoi Highway.
He was rushed to Morijo Dispensary where he succumbed to gunshot wounds, police said.
The MCA was with his driver, who escaped unhurt. The body of the ward representative was taken to the Samburu County Referral Hospital mortuary awaiting postmortem examination.
Police said in the past one month, parts of Soit Pus, Morijo and Angata Nanyekie have been haunted by banditry following numerous attacks targeting villagers and even travellers in the region.
The area has been facing increased attacks, which paralyzed operations at large.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has been leading the operations in the areas vowing to end the menace.
Kindiki said cattle rustling in Northern Kenya has over the years become an organised criminal enterprise responsible for deaths, poverty and displacement.
“Its impacts are severe. It deprives pastoral communities of their economic mainstay and aggravates the conditions of poverty in the rangelands, fuelling communal grievances and revenge attacks,” he said.
The government has promised more resources in the war against banditry.