A Baringo chief was on Friday, March 21, shot dead in Chipilat, Tiaty Constituency, Baringo County, after a gunfire exchange between police and bandits.
The chief was caught in the crossfire of the exchange in a mission aimed at recovering livestock from the bandits who had raided the Ngaratuko area on Thursday evening.
The body of the chief was discovered in the wee hours of Friday after the gunfire had subsided. The chief perished despite being under heavy protection from security agencies pursuing the bandits.
Baringo Police Commander Julius Kiragu confirmed the incident, adding that police were currently actively pursuing the bandits.
The chief’s demise marked the second death in less than a week after another person died in Ngaratuko during an attempted raid.
The banditry situation in Baringo has for long been a thorn in the government’s backside, with efforts being made to restore peace and disarm bandits in the region, albeit with varying success.
People in Baringo, especially Kerio Valley, as well as the greater North Rift, have been living turbulent lives for the last two years due to the clashes that have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people.
More than 100 people, including security personnel, were killed in 2024, prompting the government to classify as disturbed and dangerous six banditry-prone counties of Turkana, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Laikipia, and Samburu.
To curb the situation, the state, under the then Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, rolled out a massive security operation to restore security and peace in the area, coordinated by police assisted by the military.
Further, the government then recently rolled out a compensation program to compensate Kenyans who lost their lives and livestock due to the clashes.
The program is to be rolled out in three different phases, the first phase involves compensating communities that lost people and livestock.
The second phase involves compensating those who got injuries and lost their properties, while the third phase involves compensating those who lost livestock but did not get injured or killed.
Apart from ensuring a return to normalcy, the program also aims at improving the quality of livestock in the area, strengthening the economy, and increasing food production.
