Five Killed, Including Two Police Officers, in Bandit Attack in Gotu, Isiolo County

Five people, including two police officers, have been killed in a suspected bandit attack in Gotu, Isiolo County, in the latest security incident to hit the region.

Isiolo Governor Abdi Ibrahim Guyo confirmed the deaths on Wednesday, September 16, condemning the attack and calling for urgent government action to protect both residents and security personnel.

"I strongly condemn the latest bandit attack in the Gotu area that has claimed the lives of five people, including two police officers. It is deeply saddening and unacceptable that our people and security officers continue to lose their lives to armed banditry. These repeated attacks are causing fear, disrupting livelihoods and undermining peace in our communities," Guyo said in a statement.

According to reports from the area, the victims were part of a group that had gone to recover the body of an elderly man allegedly killed by suspected bandits the previous day at Madho Gurba Huka, a grazing area in Chari Ward. The search party was reportedly ambushed, triggering an exchange of gunfire between the attackers and security officers accompanying the group. A Gotu resident said three elders who had joined the search were also among those killed.

The attack adds to a string of recent security incidents in Isiolo. Just last week, a police constable was injured when an Anti-Stock Theft Unit patrol was ambushed by suspected bandits in Kakili, Burat Ward, while two people were reportedly killed in a separate suspected bandit attack along the Meru-Isiolo border in August.

In response, Governor Guyo has called on Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and national security agencies to step up operations in Gotu and surrounding areas. "I urge the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration Kipchumba Murkomen and the national security agencies to urgently strengthen security operations in Gotu and the surrounding areas, enhance patrols and intelligence gathering and take decisive action against those responsible," he said.

Security agencies have continued operations targeting illegal firearms in the region. In August, the DCI reported that a joint multi-agency team recovered an M16 rifle in Kakili, Burat Location, and authorities say an ongoing operation in Isiolo has led to further firearm recoveries and arrests so far this year.