The main suspect behind North Rift banditry arrested
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested a man believed to be the mastermind of North Rift banditry.
He has been involved in banditry in Samburu, Malaso, Kapedo, Turkana and Elgeyo-Marakwet.
The detectives who were working alongside police officers arrested the man at a village in Tiaty West Sub-county.
A search conducted inside the suspect’s house resulted in the recovery of two AK47 rifles with 15 rounds of ammunition.
The man has been on the police’s radar for the last four years.
The total number of suspected bandits who have been arrested in Baringo County is now at three.
Police are hoping to use the information they received from the man to arrest his accomplices.
Baringo Police Commandant Julius Kiragu commended the arrest pointing out that it is a major milestone in the fight against banditry
On his part, Baringo County Commissioner Stephen Kutwa urged the public to remain vigilant and collaborate with police to end banditry.
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He said information from the public is crucial in identifying and arresting bandits.
The arrest comes at a time when the government has been intensifying its efforts to restore peace in the North Rift.
In October, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said as efforts to heighten the war on the gunmen continue, politics, ethnicity, culture, religion, or other affiliations must be separated from the fight.
“The government is determined to permanently destroy the intricate infrastructure of banditry by going for its benefactors, beneficiaries, accessories, planners, and executors,” he said.
In his report on the State of National Security, President William Ruto the government is in the process of developing and implementing a socioeconomic and political intervention strategy in the region.
The report dated October 26, noted that this is to help find durable peace in the banditry-stricken areas.
The government is also seeking to sustain enhanced security vigilance to forestall inter-communal conflicts.
It is also advancing the implementation of peace-building and conflict-resolution programs and expediting the resolution of land and boundary disputes.
Ruto added that they are seeking to sustain countermeasures to end banditry and proliferation of illicit arms.
The main suspect behind North Rift banditry arrested
