Police in Turkana on Monday, November 21, arrested a suspected cattle rustler and recovered an AK47 rifle as the crackdown on bandits intensifies in the Northern region.
In a statement, the National Police Service (NPS) said the suspect was arrested in Turkana Central following a tip-off from concerned members of the public.
The suspect is said to have been part of a group of four men sighted in California village armed with an AK 47 rifle.
"The swift response by officers from Lodwar Police Station who conducted a raid at a rented house led to the recovery of the firearm," NPS said adding that the arrested suspect is the owner of the house.
Police have launched a manhunt for the three other suspects who managed to escape arrest.
"The NPS calls upon members of public to partner with us in crime prevention by continuously sharing information," NPS added.
POLICE RECOVER AK-47 RIFLE
Police in Turkana County yesterday arrested a suspected cattle rustler in Turkana Central and recovered an AK 47 Assault Rifle with an empty magazine. pic.twitter.com/oNR5uhB8gz— National Police Service-Kenya (@NPSOfficial_KE) November 22, 2022
Turkana banditry menance
The arrest comes a week after the government deployed multi-agency security teams to the troubled Northern region, after a series of attacks.
In his first press conference on the security situation in the country on Monday, October 14, Kindiki warned that the government is not only targeting the bandits terrorising residents but the entire chain that has been the cattle rustling industry including financiers, beneficiaries and sympathisers.
Kindiki indicated that what is happening in the Northern part of the country borders crimes against humanity.
"It's increasingly appearing that what's happening in the Northern part of this country would very easily constitute crimes against humanity. Therefore the government is deploying multifaceted, multi-agency responses to the problem of banditry. We have information where they have been retreating to, we know the challenges that have been associated in the past in getting to them," he said.
"We want to make it clear as government that we are coming to dismantle not only the criminals themselves but also to bring down the entire chain that has been the livestock rustling industry: the financiers, spiritual supporters, the benefactors and those who purchase livestock stolen from Kenyans."
The response, the CS said, will be sustained until normalcy returns in the affected areas.
"The last few weeks the marauding gangs have dared the government of Kenya, and the message they have been sending has reached us… we are coming for you effective immediately and the response will be sustained until we set free our country from the fangs of bandits, criminals, murderers and profiteers of bloodshed," he said.
