Police beef up security in troubled Samburu North

A contingent of police officers has been deployed in Baragoi in Samburu North Sub-County to contain increased cattle rustling activities and retaliatory attacks.

The officers from the General Service Unit (GSU), Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU), Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU) and regular police officers, have been deployed in various red zones in Samburu North to curb rising insecurity.

Samburu County Police Commandant Samson Ogelo said the officers were deployed on Monday after a series of killings and cattle rustling incidents in the region.

Among the insecurity-prone areas in the county are Baragoi town, Nachola, Bendera, Marti and Suguta Valley in Samburu North.

More than six people, among them children, have been killed by bandits and tens of families displaced in the past one month.

Mr Ogelo said they have intensified operations to restore normalcy in troubled areas of the county.

Tackling banditry

"We will not relent until we restore order. Our officers are in various hotspots and bandits will face their wrath should they continue their heinous acts," Mr Ogelo said.

He revealed that the government has also deployed armoured personnel carriers in the area to help tackle banditry. He condemned the recent cattle theft incidents in Samburu North.

"I want to condemn the relentless attacks that we have witnessed in the past few days. It is unfortunate that we lost lives," he said.

"We will not tolerate such attacks and I want to assure locals that banditry activities will come to an end," he added.

Most families in the region have been impoverished by decades-long tribal conflicts brought about by inter-communal livestock raids between the Samburu and the Turkana in the Suguta Valley.