Wiper party leader Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka has strongly condemned a deadly bandit attack in Tseikuru, Mwingi North, Kitui County, in which seven people were killed, describing it as “a governance failure of the gravest order” and demanding urgent action from President William Ruto and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Kalonzo said the attack, carried out by what he described as “a gang of approximately 40 heavily armed bandits,” left “six men and one woman… killed” in Kwa Kamari Trading Centre, adding that “their bodies bore gunshot wounds and machete cuts” while one survivor remains hospitalised in critical condition.
He said the incident represented “the deadliest banditry incident in the region in forty years,” warning that “four decades have passed without carnage of this scale in Tseikuru, until yesterday, under the watch of President William Samoei Ruto.”
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Kalonzo demanded immediate answers from the Head of State, asking: “Who armed them? Who permitted them to move freely across county borders carrying weapons of war?”
He also directed criticism at Interior CS Murkomen, questioning how armed attackers were able to operate despite reported intelligence and prior encroachment alerts.
“Why were armed men allowed to move freely through Kitui County carrying AK-47 rifles, while the people of Tseikuru had nothing but their bare hands?” he posed.
Kalonzo called for urgent intervention, urging the Inspector General of Police to “immediately deploy adequate security personnel to Tseikuru and the wider Mwingi North region,” alongside a full investigation and prosecution of those involved.
He further demanded “the immediate disarmament of all illegal firearms across Kitui County and the surrounding region without fear or favour.”
Kalonzo maintained that “the Government of Kenya bears one fundamental, non-negotiable duty: to protect the lives of its citizens,” insisting that the victims’ deaths “will not be buried under the weight of political convenience.”
His remarks came as the National Police Service (NPS) confirmed the attack and announced the deployment of senior officers and reinforcements to the area.
In its statement on Sunday, the NPS said it was “deeply perturbed by deaths reported at Tseikuru Sub-county,” linking the violence to a “pattern of retaliatory attacks involving two communities the Kamba and the Somali-which must not only be condemned but also stopped immediately.”
The police said earlier incidents included a March 29 killing of a Kamba herdsman, followed by retaliatory attacks that left four Somali victims dead, and the latest assault that killed seven people believed to be from the Kamba community.
Inspector General Douglas Kanja has dispatched a high-level team led by Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat, who is already on the ground in Tseikuru, while additional reinforcements are being deployed.
The NPS called for calm, urging communities to exercise restraint and warning that “the whole aspect of these attacks will be investigated exhaustively and to a logical conclusion.”
Authorities also appealed to residents to share information through police channels, including toll-free numbers 999 and 911, and the #FichuaKwaDCI hotline.
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