Five killed, 5 injured in fresh Elgeyo Marakwet clashes
Elgeyo Marakwet County Commissioner Ahmed Omar addresses residents of Kaptoyoi village in Maron on May 5, 2021 after unknown attackers torched their houses.
What you need to know:
- At least 100 bandits suspected to be from Tiaty, Baringo County, entered Elgeyo Marakwet from West Pokot and attacked herders grazing their livestock.
Five people have been killed and five injured in revenge attacks at Chepkorowo grazing field, Elgeyo Marakwet, a week after Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i issued a seven-day ultimatum for criminals to surrender.
In the attack at 12.30pm on Tuesday, at least 100 bandits suspected to be from Tiaty, Baringo County, entered Elgeyo Marakwet from West Pokot and attacked herders grazing their livestock.
Shots were fired as the two communities clashed for more than two hours, reports indicated.
Elgeyo Marakwet County Commissioner Ahmed Omar said no livestock were stolen as the locals managed to subdue their attackers.
“We have received reports that as many as 100 Pokot bandits from Kolowa, all the way down to Keben and West Pokot’s Cheptulel area, attacked Marakwet who were herding along the border. The Pokot injured five people and lost five people,” Dr Omar told the Nation.
He said Marakwet youths burned the five bodies after blocking the police from collecting them.
“We do not have bodies to show,” he said, noting his officers had responded accordingly.
The injured people were admitted to Kapsowar Mission Hospital.
Dr Omar said it is suspected that the bandits wreaking havoc in the Kerio Valley belt are the ones who staged attacks in Kapedo and escaped the security operations that took place there.
“They were hit hard by operations in Baringo. Many armed bandits escaped. It seems they notified each other of the move to Marakwet,” he said.
