Bandits on Saturday, March 4, staged yet another daring attack in Samburu North, Samburu County, and killed two children despite an ongoing security operation by the military.
Reports indicated that the incident occurred about 200 metres from a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) camp.
Locals, who spoke to the press, stated that the daring bandits drove the animals towards Moruakiring, an area believed to be their hideout.
In addition, the 300 officers at the KDF camp were faulted for not repulsing the bandits.
"We cannot live this way. Two innocent children have been killed even when the government is leading a security operation. What else can we say?" Joseph Ekutan, a resident in Marti, told Nation.
School-going children are among those affected as learning is yet to resume owing to the increase in banditry activities.
Locals also intimated that the bandits pinpointed Malaso and Kur Kur valleys as their base of operations as it offers a distant view of the villages across the region and which enables them to easily detect security officers from afar.
In a separate incident, two herdsmen were also gunned down on Saturday afternoon at around 2:00 pm in Lolmolok area.
The local herders urged Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki to keep his promise and drive the bandits out of the region.
"We are being killed in our land. Where else do we go? This is becoming worse because the bandits are displacing us," Boniface Lesuyai lamented.
While attending the burial of a chief in the region, Samburu West MP Naisula Lesuuda faulted Interior PS Raymond Omollo for opting not to attend the burial over security concerns.
She warned him not to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Karanja Kibicho who was accused of not visiting the bandit-prone regions during his tenure.
"Don't be like the former PS whom Natembeya lamented that he never visited these regions due to security concerns. How do you think these people are living?" she posed.
