The National Police Service (NPS) has revealed intentions to create permanent security facilities in Kitui County due to recent escalation of bandit activities causing regional instability.
The announcement was made on Saturday, June 6, during an important security conference addressing recent suspected bandit incidents.
The conference included high-ranking police officials, notably the principal deputy to the deputy inspector general of the Kenya Police Service (KPS), Patrick Tito, along with other key representatives from the Administration Police Service (APS), the General Service Unit (GSU), and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
According to an NPS statement following the meeting, these camps will improve monitoring, quick police deployment, and general security in the area.
“The team also shared with residents the intention to establish strategic security posts in the region to enhance monitoring, rapid response, and overall security,” the NPS stated in their announcement.
This decision follows several weeks of deadly banditry attacks resulting in multiple fatalities.
Police reports suggest these attacks were retaliatory actions between two community groups.
On April 26, seven individuals lost their lives when herders attacked residents in Mwingi, with multiple houses set on fire.
In subsequent days, two additional victims, including a child, were killed in the same location.
Official reports indicate that on March 1, a 44-year-old local herder was killed near the Mwingi Game Reserve by Somali herders.
This incident led members of one community to initiate a retaliatory strike on March 30, resulting in at least four deaths from the opposing group, followed by another counterattack reported in Kwa Kamari village, Tseikuru.
These violent incidents triggered local protests, causing traffic blockages along the Mwingi-Garissa road, which led to suspension of services on that route.