A young herder was shot dead and a National Police Reservist (NPR) remains unaccounted for after suspected armed raiders from Ethiopia attacked herders grazing their animals in Kibish Sub-County, Turkana County, in the latest flare-up of violence along the volatile Kenya-Ethiopia border.

Police said the attack happened at about noon on Monday, October 26, at the Lokoliram grazing fields. The attackers, believed to be from Ethiopia's Nyangatom community, opened fire on herders and their livestock before escaping with an undetermined number of animals, which were reportedly driven across the border into Ethiopia.

Reservists overwhelmed

Kialai Lugulei, 18, died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to police reports cited by The Star and Nairobi News. Two other people were hit by bullets and were treated at Kibish Health Centre before being discharged in stable condition.

Police said NPR officers who were on a routine patrol tried to repel the raiders but were overwhelmed by the heavily armed group. One reservist was reported missing after the confrontation, and his whereabouts had not been established by the time of the reports.

Kibish Sub-County Police Commander Sammy Nyongesa has deployed a multi-agency team drawn from the General Service Unit, the Administration Police and regular police officers. The team has been tasked with three things:

  • Tracing the missing reservist
  • Tracking and recovering the stolen livestock
  • Restoring calm among herding communities who fear revenge attacks

A border under pressure

Kibish sits close to the Ilemi Triangle, where Turkana herders compete with the Nyangatom and other Ethiopian pastoralist communities for scarce pasture and water. Raids and counter-raids are common, especially in the dry season, and the latest attack has raised fears of retaliation, according to The Star.

National Police Reservists, many of them local herders armed and supervised by the State, are often the first line of defence for pastoralist settlements far from police stations. Leaders in the region have repeatedly complained that the reservists are outnumbered and outgunned by raiders carrying automatic weapons.

Separate killing in Isiolo

On the same day, a 35-year-old herder, Siath Jawan, was shot dead in Isiolo County when suspected Samburu bandits stole sheep and goats, police said. Officers from the Anti-Stock Theft Unit and reservists pursued the suspects, exchanged fire with them and recovered all the stolen animals. Another herder was seriously injured and admitted to Isiolo Level 4 Hospital, where Jawan's body was also taken for a postmortem examination.

Both Turkana and Isiolo are covered by a long-running security operation targeting cattle rustling and illegal firearms in the North Rift and upper Eastern regions. Police say investigations into both incidents are ongoing.

Photos: Nairobi News (file); The Star (file). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.