Isiolo, September 16 — Five people, including two police officers, were killed in a reported bandit attack in Gotu, Isiolo County, on Wednesday.
Isiolo Governor Abdi Ibrahim Guyo confirmed the deaths and condemned the incident. “I strongly condemn the latest bandit attack in the Gotu area that has claimed the lives of five people, including two police officers,” he said.
One of the deceased officers held the rank of Chief Inspector at the Gotu Administration Police Service Tactical Unit camp. Reports indicate the victims were part of a search group looking for an elderly man allegedly killed by suspected bandits a day earlier at Madho Gurba Huka in Chari Ward.
According to local accounts, suspected bandits ambushed the search group, triggering an exchange of gunfire with security personnel. Three elders who were part of the search party were also reportedly among those killed.
The attack follows a string of recent banditry incidents in Isiolo, including an ambush on an Anti-Stock Theft Unit patrol in Kakili last week and a suspected bandit attack along the Meru-Isiolo border in August that killed two people.
Governor Guyo called on Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and national security agencies to “urgently strengthen security operations in Gotu and the surrounding areas.”