A man was on Monday, July 11, 2022, shot dead while two other minors sustain injuries after being attacked by Pokot bandits while grazing their parent’s goats and sheep in Maralal, Samburu County.
14-year-old Selina Letowon and her neighbour Colian Loretu aged 13 were grazing 100 goats and sheep when Pokot morans armed with riffles attacked them.
The bandits made away with the animals towards the Molaso bridge after staging the deadly attack in Maralal.
“They both tried to escape but Selina was caught up and dragged to where the cattle were. They robbed her of around 100 animals and drove towards Molaso ridge,” the police report read.
Bandits shot the girl
One of the Pokot morans shot Selina in her right hand but she managed to escape and raised the alarm. Samburu morans quickly mobilized and went after the bandits.
A shootout ensued when the Samburu morans caught up with the Pokot bandits. One person was shot dead during the incident.
“Samburu morans mobilized and pursued the thugs and they recovered 20 animals. A shoot-out ensued and one of them known by the name Lenkediye was fatally shot,” the police report read in part.
The young girl who was shot was rushed to Samburu County Hospital where she is in stable condition. Meanwhile, the body of the deceased was moved to the morgue awaiting postmortem.
On Thursday last week, the government extended the curfew in the North Rift regions up to August 7.
In early June, the government imposed a 30-day curfew and launched a massive disarmament operation in Kerio Valley and other areas in the North Rift which were ravaged by banditry attacks.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi said the government had exhausted all means and the time came for them to deal with the conflicts experienced in the neighbourhood between Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot and Baringo counties with unprecedented firmness.
300 more security personnel were also deployed to boost security.
Banditry in the region claimed around 110 lives since the start of the year. The security situation in the area has since improved since the curfew was imposed.
The police have arrested 135 suspects involved in the banditry and 35 illegal guns have also been recovered.
