Matatu Full of Passengers Ambushed & Sprayed With Bullets Along Kitale-Lodwar Road

Bandits in Turkana County opened fire on a matatu full of passengers that was traveling along the Kitale-Lodwar road on Friday, February 3 night.

One of the passengers was caught in the crossfire and shot in the thigh during the night incident. He was rushed to the Lodwar Referral Hospital for emergency medical attention.

Witnesses told the press that the matatu was headed to Lodwar from Eldoret.

"While I was on the road, I saw young men herding cows and I assumed that it was common but upon approaching, I realised they were carrying guns," the matatu driver stated.

An undated image of a gun-carrying bandit.

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The driver added that the young men shot at the matatu and injured one passenger.

Following the night ambush, the residents and other stakeholders called upon the government to intervene and tame the rogue bandits.

They urged police officers to beef up security around the Kainuk-Kangkong Highway as the cases of bandits targeting road users continued to rise.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki had vowed to deal ruthlessly with bandits in the most affected areas across the country promising that the government will use its manpower to guarantee the safety of its residents.

On January 28, Kindiki declared banditry a threat to national security vowing to flush them out of their hideouts.

"The Government will use force to flush out armed and dangerous bandits and bring permanent peace and security in this area and other affected parts of our Country," he affirmed.

However, three days after the declaration, bandits attacked a school and injured two pupils in broad daylight in Samburu County.

Some of the residents have been left homeless while school-going students have been forced to look for other learning institutions due to fear.

Interior CS Kithure Kindiki with senior officers at the Border Police Unit airstrip in Kanyonyo, Kitui County on November 25, 2022.

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Ministry of Interior