Kitui residents are in shock after the killing of yet another man by suspected bandits roaming in the county.
Locals said the latest victim is a charcoal burner identified as Mutunga Muli.
Muli was killed as he went on with his work at Kisang’u forest in Kitui East on Friday, December 9, 2022, weeks after President William Ruto ordered an end to the conflict between farmers and pastoralists in the Eastern region.
According to area Member of Assembly Erastus Mbuno, the charcoal burner was killed in cold blood.
The killers are said to have shot Muli in the lower abdomen and dragged his body some two kilometres away before dumping it on a camel carcass.
The body of the deceased also had a deep cut on the head.
“He was shot dead in the lower abdomen and cut on the head with a panga and later dragged for a distance of about two kilometres before the assailants dumped his body on a camel carcass,” the MCA said.
The MCA further disclosed that one person and some herds of cattle were missing after the attack.
Mbuno said some residents had fled their homes to spend nights in forests for fear of being attacked.
Kitui County Commissioner Erastus Mbui confirmed the incident but did not get into details of what really transpired.
The attack comes weeks after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki asked illegal camel herders in the county to vacate or risk forceful eviction.
Speaking during his visit to Ngomeni area where bandits have been terrorising locals, the CS said the government was determined to restore order in the area.
The tough-talking CS said illegal camel herders from the Northern region who had invaded various parts of Kitui county had subjected locals to untold suffering due to frequent attacks that have left several people dead.
Deploy enough security in Kitui
Kindiki promised to deploy enough security in the county to deal with the ‘criminals’, who have been grazing their camels on farms without consent from landowners.
“We won’t entertain any cases of insecurity in this area…I want to challenge the criminals who think they have better weapons, better tactics and instruments of violence than the government of Kenya that we are coming for you,” Kindiki said.
“I am ordering that all grazers and herders who have been grazing in this area and don’t come from here return to their homeland. County Commissioner let me know how many officers we need to implement that order. We are not going to negotiate with criminals,” he added further warning residents against violence.
The CS also ordered the immediate recruitment of 250 police reservists to enhance security in the area.
Kindiki visited the volatile area after Ruto ordered county administrators and the police to calm the tension.
