Outgunned: Police open up on pursuing bandits

When families were merrymaking on Christmas Day, a contingent of police officers were fighting armed bandits who had raided Pura in Samburu County.

Maralal Police Station Commander (OCS) Johnston Kitila Musyoki, who led the operation to recover stolen livestock, was ambushed and shot by bandits in the bush near the Pura market.

One officer and a civilian were killed in the ambush.

Mr Musyoki suffered severe pelvic injuries and was rushed to Maralal Referral Hospital. His health deteriorated and he was transferred to Nairobi West Hospital for specialised treatment but he succumbed.

Mr Musyoki was not the first police officer in bandit attacks. On January 2, assailants with G3 rifles attacked the Lerata police post in Samburu East, killing a constable.

Other officers were out on patrol when they heard the sound of gunshots emanating from their post. Investigations revealed that the raiders had tricked the officer, Constable Moses Mwambia, that they needed drinking water.

Officers killed

The attack came a few months after two other officers were killed by armed bandits in Marti while on a mission to recover stolen cattle in Suyan, Samburu North.

The recent killings of three police officers across Samburu in a span of one month is only the tip of the iceberg. Several law enforcement officers have fallen victim to these senseless attacks in ambushes during security operations or normal patrols.

Samburu, some 500km northwest of Nairobi, has recorded the highest number of police officer deaths, with the 2012 Suguta Valley massacre, where 40 officers and reservists were killed, the deadliest.

Although the massacre served as an opportunity for the security apparatus to change its strategy and remain vigilant, Samburu remains volatile and several police officers have died in subsequent attacks.

Officers interviewed by the Nation said they are often overpowered by bandits because the latter have more sophisticated weapons, are well trained and understand the terrain better.

“On the other hand, the National Police Service deploys police officers there as a punishment and so these officers go there demoralised. They also deploy novices as backups who cannot respond quickly enough to attacks,” said one officer.

“We also have broken vehicles, sometimes with no fuel and yet in this terrain, you cannot speed up during an attack, because the roads are bad.

“If the vehicle is broken, you just die. Sometimes officers have the will to go help colleagues but they don’t have the machinery to do so.”

In their hundreds

The officer said that some of the most recent attacks were staged by bandits moving together in their hundreds - all of them armed.

"In most cases, you find about 10 of us fighting more than 60 armed gunmen. It becomes impossible to repulse," said another junior police officer, who did not want to be named.

The officer, attached to a station in Samburu, revealed that they are badly exposed in the fight against cattle rustling. Most criminals have acquired sophisticated weapons like the American M16 rifles and G3s.

The entire Samburu, including the Suguta Valley, Lomirok South Horr, Nachola Pura and Merti, has long been the battleground for herdsmen from the rival communities of Turkana, Pokot and Samburu.

In April last year, the Rift Valley regional commissioner at the time, George Natembeya, described Samburu as the most dangerous place in East and Central Africa where life is not respected.

Mr Natembeya likened Baragoi to 'Baghdad', saying the area had seen many senseless killings over the years in cattle raiding.

Mr Natembeya, in an interview as he left office, told the Nation that Samburu was one of the regions where violence is fuelled by political incitement.

“They support the youth to acquire guns and they have not come out strongly to condemn banditry, cattle rustling and these sporadic attacks,” he said.

Disarmament campaigns

Mr Natembeya regretted that disarmament campaigns in Samburu and other volatile parts of the Rift Valley had not succeeded because of lack of funding and support from the government.

Police spokesman Bruno Shiosho dismissed claims by junior police officers in Samburu that they are badly exposed in the fight against bandit activities.

Mr Shiosho, in an interview with the Nation, said Kenyan police officers are well trained and have the capacity to repulse any attacks to protect locals.

"It is unfortunate for those who die in the line of duty. Our police are well equipped and I do not think they are exposed," Mr Shiosho said on Monday.

He added that a security team was working to contain cattle rustling and retaliatory attacks in Samburu. The officers are drawn from the General Service Unit (GSU), Anti Stock Theft Unit (ASTU), Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU) and regular police.

Other measures that Mr Shiosho said were adopted include the integration of National Police Reservists (NPR) as a homegrown solution in the fight against endemic cattle rustling.

Police reservists

He said the government had deployed NPRs in Samburu West to contain rampant cattle rustling. They had undergone a month-long training with the GSU. They are expected to work closely with local police officers to tame banditry.

In 2019, the government withdrew guns from NPRs on allegations that some were using the weapons to commit crime.

But Mr Shiosho said local authorities had vetted the NPRs on discipline and integrity so as to avoid a repeat of past mistakes.

"The vetting process was thorough and we are confident that those recruited are best suited to work closely with our officers. The skills they acquired in the month-long training will (give) them the required discipline," Mr Shiosho said.

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