Two Kimongo Primary School pupils are among three people who were fatally shot by suspected bandits in two separate incidences in Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo Counties.
The two kids were shot during a retaliatory attack where an unknown number of livestock had been stolen.
The minors were ambushed while on their way home from school at the Soko Bora, close to Tot in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
The retaliation attack came later in the evening as in the afternoon, a 17-year-old boy was shot dead after headers were ambushed by armed bandits in the Kerio Valley.
The attackers struck as the herders led their cattle to the river for water.
They opened fire indiscriminately, forcing the group to flee as one bullet fatally struck Longoria Krop, killing him on the spot, as the police have confirmed.
The police have yet to report on whether the stolen livestock were recovered.
The killing of the two pupils comes a month after some schools that had been closed for almost three years due to banditry incidences in the region were reopened.
Operation Maliza Uhalifu Commander Stephen Huria visited some of the schools, assuring them of security.
The recent attacks come after a lull in banditry attacks following the ongoing Operation Maliza Uhalifu.
Even though several attacks have been reported, it is not as it was in the past few years.
Operation Maliza Uhalifu was launched in February 2023 in the North Rift.
It is a government security initiative that targets escalating banditry, cattle rustling, and violence in nine counties, including Baringo, Turkana, Samburu, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, Marsabit, Laikipia, Isiolo, and Meru.
The Hot spot areas in the selected counties were designated as “Disturbed” and “Dangerous” in the operation that brought together the National Police Service and the Kenya Defence Forces in a coordinated effort to restore peace and stability in the region.
