A National Police Reservist (NPR) has been shot dead by unknown gunmen in Loiyangalani, Marsabit County, in the latest attack on security personnel in Kenya's volatile northern region.

Police identified the officer as Titus Lepalat, 38. He was riding a motorcycle with a female passenger and another person in the Museum area of Loiyangalani at about 8pm on Monday when they came under fire, according to a police report.

Body found next morning

The woman fled the scene for her safety and told police she did not know what happened to the others after she escaped. Officers who visited the area on Tuesday morning found Lepalat's body lying face down with a gunshot wound to the face. The whereabouts of the third person on the motorcycle were not immediately clear.

Investigators recovered the G3 rifle issued to the reservist, together with two magazines holding a total of 38 rounds. They also collected spent cartridges of two different calibres and one live round, as well as the officer's motorcycle, three mobile phones and clothing.

The scene was processed by detectives from the Loiyangalani Sub-County Criminal Investigations office. The body was moved to the Marsabit County Hospital mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination.

Police said one person has been arrested to assist with investigations, but the motive for the attack and the identity of the gunmen have not been established.

Area under security operation

Loiyangalani, on the eastern shores of Lake Turkana, is among the areas covered by a long-running government operation to mop up illegal firearms and tackle cattle rustling. The operation spans Baringo, West Pokot, Turkana, Samburu, Marsabit, Meru and Isiolo counties.

Reservists, who are often recruited from local communities and armed by the State, play a key role in guarding herders and villages in the region, which leaves them exposed to attacks.

The killing comes days after a separate raid in Kibish, Turkana County, in which an 18-year-old herder was shot dead and a reservist went missing after suspected raiders from Ethiopia struck grazing fields.

Wider plan

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has said the government's long-term plan for the northern frontier and the Kerio Valley combines security operations with investment and development, aimed at getting communities to take an active part in the fight against cattle rustling.

  • Victim: NPR officer Titus Lepalat, 38
  • Scene: Museum area, Loiyangalani, Marsabit County
  • Status: one person helping police; motive unknown

Photos: Kahawatungu; Fredrick Onyango / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.