Police fatally shoot four suspected bandits in clash, two rifles found on them in Marsabit

At least four suspected bandits have been shot dead in a clash with police in Sinkinte, Marsabit county.

Police said they recovered two AK47 rifles while some accomplices escaped in the Saturday drama.

The multi-agency teams from Samburu, Isiolo and Marsabit counties recovered 57 of the 60 heads of cattle stolen from Samburu herders.

They trailed the gang for hours before a shootout ensued leading to the killings.

Their bodies were moved to the mortuary pending identification and postmortem.

Another group of bandits had earlier raided a village in Merti, Isiolo county and stole livestock after shooting and killing two men.

The deceased are said to be road construction workers. Their bodies were retrieved from the scene, processed and handed back to the families for burial, police said.

The area is among those under Operation Maliza Uhalifu seeking to deal with bandits.

The operation targets Baringo, West Pokot, Turkana, Samburu, Marsabit, Elgeyo Marakwet, Meru and Isiolo counties.

Besides retributive reaction, strategic investment and sustainable development have also taken a prominent place among the government’s planned crime control interventions for Kenya’s Northern frontier and the Kerio Valley.

There is also an ongoing deradicalisation process among cattle rustlers.

This has prompted some of those handling the illegal arms in Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo counties to surrender them and so far more than 300 weapons have been recovered, police say.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the long-term vision is to empower the communities to actively take part in the war against animal rustling and undertake legitimate nation-building activities.

He said plans to distribute subsidised agricultural inputs and extension to revive farming activities are also underway.

Murkomen ordered fresh vetting for all National Police Reservists as part of efforts to bolster operations.

“We are coming to dismantle not only the criminals themselves but also to bring down the entire chain that has been the cattle and livestock rustling industry,” he said.

He also announced a new policy shift, which institutionalises the command structure of the NPR officers, saying they will hence be under the direct command of the officer commanding police stations as part of efforts to enhance their operations.