Police foil another raid in Kerio Valley
What you need to know:
- Elgeyo -Marakwet outgoing county police Commander Shariff Abdalla said: “Our police response team on the ground was quick and prompt. But from the look of things, the raiders are now turning naughty but will come to regret their actions.”
- Leaders condemned the attack, saying it was a confirmation that the Pokot attackers do not recognize the government given the fresh raid attempt, soon after senior government officials visited the region.
Police have foiled an attempted cattle raid in Kerio Valley, barely a day after Deputy President William Ruto toured the region on a peace mission.
Nation.co.ke learnt that more than 30 suspected rustlers from Pokot attacked a group of herders in Marakwet, but a contingent of police officers deployed to restore peace in the troubled region thwarted the attack after a fierce gun fight.
The rustlers had attacked the herders in the Sindar and Mia Mbili grazing fields, along the Turkwel power lines, where herds of cattle were grazing.
Endo chief Joseph Lokanda said the gunfight occurred in Kaben location, which is only 15 kilometers from Tot trading Centre, where the DP, Interior CS Joseph Nkaiserry and Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet held a peace meeting on Thursday.
"The raiders laid an ambush and were targeting larger herds of cattle. The police were of great help to the herders who were already under siege," said Mr Lokanda.
Elgeyo-Marakwet Deputy County Commissioner Erick Mlevu said the attackers, armed with AK 47 rifles, crossed river Kerio and opened fire on Marakwet herders.
This resulted in a fierce exchange of fire that lasted the better part of Friday morning.
“The raiders were eventually repulsed and they escaped towards Cheptulel location in Pokot Central,” said the County commissioner.
He went on: “These must be very daring people. Now that they are proving to be naughty, they are courting trouble and they will learn the hard way."
Elgeyo -Marakwet outgoing county police Commander Shariff Abdalla said: “Our police response team on the ground was quick and prompt. But from the look of things, the raiders are now turning naughty but will come to regret their actions.”
Leaders condemned the attack, saying it was a confirmation that the Pokot attackers do not recognize the government given the fresh raid attempt, soon after senior government officials visited the region.
"It is regrettable that they have attacked again when we are still involved in arrangements to bury one of the victims of the clashes on Saturday as well as discharge from hospitals those who were injured," said Festus Kirop, the Endo Ward Rep.
On Thursday, the DP ordered the hiring of more police reservists to help bring peace in the region.
He further ordered the relocation of all police stations on the Marakwet side to the border with their Pokot counterparts.
"We have decided to move all these policemen from their comfort zones and station them along the boundaries of River Kerio," said Ruto at the World Vision Centre in Tot Trading Centre, Elgeyo-Marakwet County.
