Two weeks after Deputy President William Ruto visited a volatile area in Baringo County, the situation remains dire. Ruto had issued a shoot-to-kill order against bandits terrorizing residents, and security officers were subsequently deployed to the county.
However, new reports indicate that there is mass displacement of people, partly contributed by police officers. Residents of Baringo are fleeing their homes, and it is claimed that security officers have torched some houses.
According to Ann Mokoino of Makutani, quoted by the Star, on Sunday, March 5, the police torched about 20 houses, leading to the displacement of roughly 400 people. Mokoino also alleged that the police stole more than KSh20,000 cash from the homesteads.
The police, through area commander Robinson Ndiwa, denied the allegations, dismissing them as rumors.
Meanwhile, the deployed officers had captured Ruggu's from the bandits by Friday, March 3, an area that had been occupied by the bandits for the past 12 years. Rift Valley Regional Coordinator Wanyama Musiambo confirmed that the operation was progressing well and they were expecting to flush out the bandits from all hotspots.
The officers are responding to a shoot-to-kill order issued by the Deputy President. A contingent of security officers is pursuing bandits in Baringo.
An image of AP officers carrying an injured colleague to a helicopter after a bandit attack was provided by Nation.
A video related to the incident is available courtesy of K24.
The recovered account cited reporting by Tuko.
