5 people have been left dead in separate banditry attacks in Samburu, Baringo and Elgeyo Marakwet counties.

In Baringo, bandits attacked and killed a 59-year old man as he attended to his livestock near Yatya Primary School while two others were ambushed and fatally shot in Liter area in East Marakwet.

“It is very unfortunate that for all these years, problems of insecurities have been happening. Unfortunately, the local leaders have never been talking to each other. They were busy talking to each other through the media,” Ahmed Hussein, a community leader, said.

The attacks prompted protests among locals in Kabarnet and Marigat town where locals accused the government of failing to deal with the banditry menace in the area.

In Lolmolog village Samburu County a man and his son lost their lives to after being attacked  by bandits who made away with 150 cattle that were later recovered by security officers.

“Majangili wamevamia familia na ndugu yangu mmoja marehemu sahizi…waliingilia yeye usiku kwa nyumba wakamuua papo hapo, wakapiga mtoto risasi, ambaye tulifikisha hospitali alikata roho akitibiwa. Kwa sasa wote wamelala hapa kwa mochari Maralal, baba na mtoto wake mdogo,” said Shadrack Lesoipa, a brother to the deceased.

Relatives to the deceased completely saddened by the news, gathered outside the Samburu County Referral Hospital, trying to make sense of the whole situation.

“Ni uchungu sana tukiendelea kupoteza watu kila siku, usiku na mchana, na hatuoni hata njia yoyote ambayo tunaweza saidika kwa sababu serikali tu wanatuangalia watu wakikufa na hatuelewi ni nini. Kwa sababu saa hizi ukipata ripoti ya hapa Samburu West, zaidi ya watu 200 wamepoteza maisha,” Kuntai Lesoipa, a family member said.

Samburu police boss Thomas Ototo asked residents to be vigilant saying that police have heightened alert levels in the area.

Expressing doubt about the government’s resolve to tackling the banditry attacks in the area, the impacted regions asked why the problem was still persisting a year after the government’s declaration of the regions as dangerous and disturbed and even launched a security operation to bring calm in the areas.