Daily Nation
Monday, May 13, 2013
A policeman and a Kenya Revenue Authority official were killed
when gunmen fired into a police canteen in Mandera on Saturday night.
Three other police officers were seriously injured in the 8pm attack.
The attackers entered the police compound through the fence as the gate was guarded.
Police said they fist threw a grenade into the compound before firing more than 200 shots.
The canteen is frequented by government officials in the area because it is considered a safe zone.
The injured officers were airlifted to Nairobi on Sunday evening.
Inspector General David Kimaiyo, CID boss Ndegwa
Muhoro and leaders from Mandera and Wajir counties flew to the area on
Sunday morning to assess the security situation.
The attacks took place just a day after the
government deployed the military to the region to flush out a militia
group that has been terrorising residents.
Deputy President William Ruto ordered the police boss to send additional 200 police officers to the area.
Last Friday, five people were killed in Mandera’s Rhamu area in clashes between the Gare and Degodia clans.
The Mandera attack is the latest in a crime wave that has hit many parts of the country.
Accordint to Daily Nation records, more
than 50 people have been killed and 80 others seriously injured in the
past month as criminal gangs unleash terror on the public.
Robberies, carjackings and home invasions have been the most common crimes.
The crime wave continues despite the police saying
their “security machinery is working round the clock to address these
threats”.
In Bungoma County, for instance, at least 10 people were killed and 58 others injured by gangs on the nights of April 25 and 26.
Fear has gripped residents after leaflets warning
of attacks were dropped. Last week, police thwarted two attacks at
Namwacha and Tulumba.
The gangs mainly attack villages that are difficult to access due to the poor state of roads.
Their strategy is to strike at night then vanish into darkness. At times, they disguise themselves as victims after carrying out the attacks.
“Police need to extend their patrols and operations to villages where the attackers are hiding,” said area resident Anthony Masika.
Cash reward
Last Thursday, Mr Kimaiyo offered a reward of Sh100,000 to anyone with information on the criminal gangs.
He said GSU personnel and officers from the Rapid Response Unit of the Administration Police had been deployed to reinforce security in the region.
“More resources have also been added to Bungoma and Busia counties to enhance and strengthen security,” he said.
He has ordered the transfer of officers who have overstayed in the two counties.
In Busia, four people were killed and 17 others seriously injured between April 21 and 30.
In Narok, a militia group suspected to be from Tanzania killed six people last week. Residents later lynched three of the bandits as they tried to flee.
Last month, nine people died after gunmen raided a hotel in Garissa.
On April 28, raiders attacked Freretown police post in Mombasa and injured a police officer before robbing him of a firearm.
A day later, gangsters attacked a family in Thika and defiled four girls before robbing them of Sh20,000, household goods and ATM cards. They stayed in the house for four hours.
The criminals drunk beer they found in the house before defiling the daughters aged 16, 18 and 21, and a neighbour’s daughter who had visited the family.
Neighbour’s car
They escaped in a neighbour’s car which was recovered in Nairobi’s Kariobangi estate.
In Nairobi, a taxi driver was killed by three men who had hired his car in Westlands last week.
Also last week, five motorists were carjacked and three other vehicles stolen the same night. Panic has gripped most residents of Nairobi, especially in Kileleshwa, where five robberies have been reported in the past one week.
Last Wednesday, two people were carjacked in Nairobi’s Ngara area and robbed of cash.