This archive report was first published on 6 May 2020.
On April 30, 2020, a police truck carrying 12 officers was swept away by raging river Kagir in Baringo, leaving one officer saved by nature's call and four others rescued the following day.
Five bodies were recovered on the same day, with the last body retrieved on Saturday before the rains surged again.
However, the recovery mission was hampered by heavy rains pounding the area, causing the seasonal river to swell two-fold.
According to Baringo County Police Commander Robinson Ndiwa, the rescue and recovery mission came to a halt after the recovery of the body of the seventh officer, Noah Kipng'eno, who was the driver of the ill-fated police truck.
‘The body of Noah Kipng'eno was recovered 40 kilometres away from where the truck carrying 12 officers was swept at Nginyang Bridge,' said the commander.
He added that all the bodies had been transferred to Umash funeral home as plans for their burial started.
The recovery mission had been complicated by the loss of a substantial number of ammunition carried by the officers on the fateful day, which had been recovered and would be recovered more when the water level on the river subsides.
The officers were part of a team heading for a disarmament operation in the volatile East Pokot, Baringo South and North Sub-counties.
Despite the accident, Baringo County Commissioner Henry Wafula assured that the security operation to disarm the cattle rustlers would go on, stating, 'An accident affecting 12 officers cannot stop a planned disarmament operation by the government, we have enough resources to carry out our mandate.'
