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Herder shot dead, 120 camels stolen in Isiolo bandit attack

Camels graze near the Mlango area in Burat Ward, Isiolo North Constituency, where a herder was killed on March 22, 2024. (Photo: Waweru Wairimu)

By Waweru Wairimu | Sunday, March 24, 2024

Residents claimed four homes lost 120 camels in the incident at Mlango in Burat Ward, but police said the number was yet to be confirmed.

A herder was shot dead and tens of camels stolen in a bandit attack in the Isiolo North Constituency on Saturday evening.

Residents claimed four homes lost 120 camels in the incident at Mlango in Burat Ward, but police said the number was yet to be confirmed.

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Reports indicated that the attackers numbered about 10 and came from a neighbouring county.

Isiolo Sub-County Police Commander Edward Kang'ara said 20 camels were found in a search after the incident and that a manhunt for the assailants was underway. Seventeen camels were recovered last evening, and the rest on Sunday morning.

"We are hunting down the criminals while also pursuing the remaining animals," the police boss told The Eastleigh Voice.

The herder was buried at Taqwa Muslim Cemetery, a ceremony at which residents asked security agencies to expedite the probe, bring the culprits to book, and find all the stolen animals.

Some of them questioned the role of the Anti-Stock Theft Unit in the area, which Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki created last year, saying the security officers there should have thwarted the attack.

"Sadly, we expected the security situation to improve, but the bandits have returned and are unleashing terror with impunity," one of the mourners said.

Several ambushes have taken place in Mlango, leaving more than 40 people dead between January 2022 and mid-last year.

While condemning the attack, Osman Shariff Abukar, a community and youth leader, said it was time the government changed tactics in dealing with cattle rustling and related crimes.

Osman also questioned the inability of the National Police Reservists deployed to the area and the ASTU officers to prevent the incident.

He said elders and chiefs should be held responsible whenever cattle rustling incidents are reported, as they do not provide crucial information to aid arrests.

"There is no way stolen livestock can be driven through your location to neighbouring areas without your knowledge. There is a need to probe them over alleged collusion with criminals so that those liable are held accountable," he said.

Residents were urged to give any useful information to the police.