A 16-year-old Grade Nine pupil was shot dead during a bandit attack in Isiolo County as security officers recovered livestock stolen during the raid.
Police said the victim, a student at Galmadido Junior School, was killed during the attack at the Agarsu Gutha grazing fields in Sericho Sub-County.
A security response team that visited the scene recovered the teenager’s body with two gunshot wounds. One bullet had entered through the back and exited through the chest, while another struck him in the neck.
The body was moved to Kinna Township, where it was handed over to the family for burial in accordance with Islamic rites.
Police also established that the attackers had stolen 265 goats and sheep (shoats) during the raid.
All the animals have since been recovered.
Authorities said security has been heightened in the area as tensions remain high between the two communities following the incident.
Investigations are ongoing as police pursue those behind the attack.
The area is among those under Operation Maliza Uhalifu aimed at dealing with bandits.
The operation has managed to contain crime in the area and other counties amid persistence.
The operation targets Baringo, West Pokot, Turkana, Samburu, Marsabit, 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 belt.
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 subsidized agricultural inputs and extension services to area residents in a bid to revive farming activities as a source of livelihood.
Murkomen ordered fresh vetting for all National Police Reservists (NPRs) as part of efforts to bolster the operations.
He said plans to distribute subsidized agricultural inputs and extension services to area residents in a bid to revive farming activities as a source of livelihood.
He also announced a new policy shift, which institutionalizes the command structure of the NPR officers, stating they will hence be under the direct command of the Officer Commanding Police
Stations (OCS) as part of efforts to enhance their operations.
The attacks have affected development at large. Most of the stolen animals are driven to urban centres and in particular where they are slaughtered and sold as products.
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