GSU officers missing after shootout with bandits in Laikipia

Two GSU officers are reported missing following a weekend shootout with bandits in Matweku, near the Laikipia Nature Conservancy, on the border of Laikipia and Baringo counties. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The source further said the suspected bandits fled after the attack, some with gunshot wounds.
  • Laikipia County police commander Simon Kipkeu, when contacted for comment, remained tight-lipped about the matter.

Two General Service Unit (GSU) officers are reported missing following a weekend shootout with bandits in Matweku, near the Laikipia Nature Conservancy, on the border of Laikipia and Baringo counties.

The Nation has established that the whereabouts of the two officers is unknown.

A police source, who sought anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, disclosed to the Nation that a platoon of GSU officers was engaged in a fierce shootout with the bandits believed to be illegal herders before the two went missing and were yet to be found.

“My colleagues went missing after the attack and have not been traced. I fear they may have been killed after being taken hostage,” said the source in a telephone interview.

The source further said the suspected bandits fled after the attack, some with gunshot wounds.

But Laikipia County police commander Simon Kipkeu, when contacted for comment, remained tight-lipped about the matter, only confirming that an Administration Police officer attached to the Rumuruti Police Station was injured during a shootout between bandits and the police at Ol Maisor ranch on Wednesday night.

“I am not aware of any missing GSU officers, but I know of a police officer who was injured while on duty,” said Mr Kipkeu.

A security officer at the Ol Maisor ranch also confirmed that a police officer and a worker suffered gunshot wounds after an attack last week.