Four police officers are nursing gunshot wounds after they were attacked on Saturday, August 14 by suspected bandits in Laikipia.
According to police, the officers were relaxing inside a tent in Laikipia Nature Conservancy at 10pm when armed bandits ambushed them and started shooting at the officers who were unprepared.
One of the officers was shot on his left cheek. Two other officers were also shot on their legs.
“Three police officers were rushed to Sopili Nursing Home where doctors and nurses worked around the clock to contain their bleeding,” the police report read in part.
Another police officer was shot in his chest and was transferred to another hospital for further treatment.
It has emerged that bandits who have been carrying attacks in Laikipia usually hide in the vast conservancy.
They are believed to be behind the continuous theft of livestock and caring attacks on police officers especially those from the Anti-stock Theft Police Unit (ATPU).
The incident comes barely a month after Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Dr Fred Matiang’i tasked officers drawn from the Kenya Defense Force (KDF) and those from the Special Unit to deal with the bandits.
Dr Matiang’I further asked the officers to ensure that they protect the ranchers who have invested widely in Laikipia.
“Police officers have been tasked with ensuring that they flash out all those bandits. It is not going to be business as usual and I want to assure investors that everything will be fine,” Dr Matiang’I said.
Before the meeting between Dr Matiang’I and the officers, ranchers had raised concerns over a series of attacks which caught the attention of the CS.
On July 31, a police officer lost his life during a shoot-out with herders who attacked a ranch which belongs to a foreigner known as Kuki Gallman.
