A 65-year-old man has been shot dead by suspected bandits while gathering firewood in Isiolo County, the latest killing in a region that remains under a special security operation targeting cattle rustling and banditry.

Police identified the victim as Loteleng Nakerebut, a resident of Rumuruti in neighbouring Laikipia County. He was attacked in the Moremun area of Burat Location at about 1pm on Friday, October 16, 2026, according to police accounts cited by The Star and Nairobi News.

Killed on the spot

The attack was reported to police by the deceased's uncle, who told officers that armed men had ambushed and shot his relative. Police said Nakerebut was hit by a single bullet that entered through the right side of his body and exited near the left ribs, killing him instantly.

Officers who visited the scene documented and photographed it as part of initial investigations. The body was later taken to the Isiolo County Referral Hospital mortuary, where it awaits a postmortem examination.

Police said the motive behind the killing had not been established. Patrols have since been intensified in the area over fears of further attacks or reprisals, The Star reported. Nairobi News reported that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations office in Isiolo has taken over the case.

A pattern of attacks

Burat, which lies on the outskirts of Isiolo town, has repeatedly been hit by deadly attacks linked to competition over pasture, water and livestock. Residents have long demanded a lasting solution, and the latest shooting is likely to renew pressure on security agencies to deliver one.

The killing came just days after another deadly raid in the wider region. Around midnight on October 14, armed men believed to be bandits stormed temporary herders' camps in Rikiaub B Village, Igembe Central Sub-County, Meru County, and opened fire indiscriminately, police said.

Geoffrey Kimathi, 57, a resident of Athwana Location in Tigania East, was killed after being shot in the back. A second herder was shot in the left leg below the knee and taken to hospital, where he was reported to be in fair condition. The attackers also killed 13 cows and injured 11 others.

Police said that attack was suspected to be a revenge raid linked to the earlier killing and slaughter of camels belonging to Somali herders by Meru cattle herders. Kimathi's body was taken to the Tigania Sub-County Hospital mortuary in Muthara. The incident has heightened concern over tensions between cattle and camel herders along the Isiolo-Meru border.

Operation still under way

Isiolo is one of several counties covered by an ongoing government security operation against cattle rustling and banditry. The operation also targets Baringo, West Pokot, Turkana, Samburu, Marsabit and Meru counties, among others in the North Rift and northern Kenya.

Authorities say the operation has helped contain crime in many of the affected areas, although sporadic attacks such as Friday's continue to claim lives. Alongside the security crackdown, the government has said it is pursuing development projects in the northern frontier and the Kerio Valley belt as part of its long-term plan to end banditry.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has said the long-term vision is to empower local communities to take an active role in the fight against livestock theft and to turn to legitimate economic activities, The Star reported.

For families in places like Moremun, where firewood collection and herding take people deep into the bush, the latest killing is a reminder that daily chores remain dangerous. Police investigations are expected to establish the identities of the attackers and whether the shooting is linked to the wider cycle of revenge attacks in the region.

Photos: Matthew Groenewold/CDC via Wikimedia Commons (public domain, boma in Isiolo County); Nairobi News (file).