Tension high in Baringo as bandits kill police officer

Bartabwa, Baringo County

Kenya Police Reservists patrol Chemoe area in Bartabwa, Baringo County, on October 30, 2014. Suspected raiders shot and killed a police officer in the area on December 12, 2021.  

Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group

Tension is high in Chepkesin in Baringo North after a police officer was shot dead by armed criminals suspected to be from the neighbouring Tiaty Sub-county.

Baringo North Sub-county Police Commander Fredrick Odinga said the slain officer was among a group of RDU and regular officers who had toured the volatile border to carry out patrol and flush out the armed criminals who had moved into the area with their livestock, raising fears among locals.

The Sub-County  police boss told the Nation.Africa that a fierce shootout between the attackers and the officers that lasted for hours ensued and one of the officers was shot in the neck at 3:30pm.

"He was rushed to Bartabwa Health Center where he succumbed to his injuries," said Mr Odinga.

Hundreds of locals have fled their homes to the safer Bartabwa area, tens of kilometers away for fear of their lives.