Security council to meet as bandits terrorise Laikipia

The National Security Advisory Council (NSAC) is today expected to hold an emergency meeting over the insecurity in Laikipia County amidst rising tension in the county.

Yesterday, two people were killed by armed bandits in three different attacks in Mirango and Ratia villages in Ol Moran Ward.

The attacks also left a class eight pupil at Mirango Primary school nursing gunshot wounds.

The Friday raids came a few days after about 50 armed bandits attacked Kamwenje General Service Unit (GSU) command center in Laikipia West fatally injuring a GSU officer. 

Leaders and residents of Laikipia West and North sub-counties are enraged by escalating banditry attacks that have claimed lives of more than 10 people in the past three weeks.

The leaders, who include Governor Ndiritu Muriithi, want the National Police Reservists redeployed in the area and the government to move swiftly and tame the insecurity.

Tens of people killed

Others pushing for redeployment of police reservists are Senator John Kinyua, MPs Sarah Lekorere (Laikipia North), Patrick Mariru (Laikipia West) and former Laikipia West MP Wachira Karani. The leaders claim that withdrawal of reservists had left residents vulnerable to banditry attacks and cattle rustling.

Hundreds of cattle have been stolen and tens of people killed since January, sparking an outcry.

Tension is still high in Ol Moran in Laikipia West after two people were killed while a Class Eight pupil was injured in three separate attacks yesterday.

"We have pushed hard for the government to end insecurity and we have been assured that NPRs will be reintroduced in the county. But it seems that these are only empty promises.Laikipia people need security more than anything else because without it, there will be no economic development of our people. It is the work of the government to protect lives and property,” said Senator Kinyua.

The government withdrew more than 3,000 firearms from the NPRs in the North Rift in the war on banditry in 2019 after it emerged that some of the reservists had been misusing the firearms to engage in banditry and other criminal activities.

The reservists were ordered to hand back the guns at police stations where they had been deployed with the government saying that the officers had to go to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations offices for  biometric registration, labelling of weapons and shooting practices.

Armed bandits attack

In the Friday incident,a 31-year-old man identified as Cyrus Gataka died after he was shot in the chest by armed bandits at his Ngare Naro village home.

“He succumbed to bullet injuries as he was shot on the left side of the chest,” said George Mbugua, a medic in-charge of Sipili Nursing Home.

A few kilometres away, at Ratia Farm, a farm hand was shot dead after another group of armed raiders attacked them.

In another attack, a pupil at Mirango Primary School sustained gunshot wounds on the leg when unknown number of bandits raided their home on Friday morning.

"My daughter together with her mother were preparing breakfast when the armed bandits attacked our home and started shooting indiscriminately," said Mr Simon Gakuru.

Sossian ward MCA Jacob Edung said residents are afraid of walking around.

He called upon security agencies to take action that will lead to the arrest of suspects who launched attacks.