DIG Masengeli, TSC officials visit Hulugho after Al-Shabaab attack

The DIG Gilbert Masengeli  and a team from EACC at a home of one of the affected families./HANDOUT

Deputy Inspector-General of the Administration Police Service (DIG-APS) Gilbert Masengeli on Tuesday led a team to visit Hulugho Township following the killing of a local chief and a teacher in a suspected al-Shabaab attack.

The attack left the local community shaken amid fears of an exodus of non-locals.

The attackers also blew up the chief’s car at his home on Monday, January 26, 2026.

Masengeli represented Inspector-General of the National Police Service (IG-NPS) Douglas Kanja during the visit, which focused on consoling bereaved families, engaging the local community, and assessing security operations in the area.

He paid his condolences to the family of the late Abdifatah Ghani, the chief of Boma Location, who was killed in the early-morning attack.

Masengeli also visited Hulugho Primary School, where he met teachers and pupils mourning their colleague, Peter Musili, a young teacher who was killed in the same incident.

Masengeli assured residents that multi-agency security teams had been deployed and were actively pursuing the attackers.

“The National Police Service is fully committed to ensuring that those responsible for this senseless act are apprehended and brought to justice,” the statement read, adding that security operations in Hulugho and surrounding areas had been intensified.

Masengeli noted that such an incident was unprecedented in the township and urged residents to work closely with security agencies by sharing timely intelligence to prevent future attacks.

He later visited the widow of the slain chief, Aftina Shalle Wabi, conveying condolences on behalf of the National Police Service and the government.

Chief Ghani was laid to rest on Tuesday in accordance with Islamic rites.

The DIG also held a closed-door meeting with officers from local formed-up units and forward operating bases (FOBs), where he received briefings on ongoing security operations and challenges in the region.

He called for a more robust and proactive approach to policing, directing officers to intensify patrols within the township and along the porous Kenya–Somalia border.

Accompanying Masengeli were General Service Unit (GSU) Commandant Ranson Lolmodooni and National Police Service spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga.

Officials from the Teachers Service Commission, including Director of Administration Ibrahim Mumin and Director of Staffing Antonina Lentoijoni, also attended the visit.

The attack comes amid persistent security challenges in parts of northern Kenya, where al-Shabaab militants have repeatedly targeted non-local teachers, security officers, and other government workers.

The Teachers Service Commission said it takes the safety and welfare of teachers seriously and will continue to work with the government and security agencies to enhance protection measures for its staff, particularly those serving in high-risk regions.

The killings have once again sparked calls for enhanced security and support for teachers deployed to remote and volatile areas, as the education community mourns yet another life lost in the line of duty.

Kenya has deployed additional personnel to counter the attacks.