Failed police mission in Suguta valley blamed on tip-off

It is suspected that bandits who ambushed and killed security officers were tipped on the planned operation.

“Baragoi is a cosmopolitan place and the cattle rustlers have their people who leaked the information on the impending mission in Suguta Valley,” a police source told The Standard.

The botched operation can be traced to a meeting of the Rift Valley Provincial Security Committee held two weeks ago at the provincial headquarters in Nakuru, which authorised the deployment of the officers to the bandit prone area.

The meeting resolved to deploy the officers drawn from various formations of the Kenya Police Service to reinforce the security team in Baragoi following increased bandit attacks.

“It was agreed that the officers were to go to the area specifically to reinforce the team in Baragoi and were not there to carry out any dangerous operation as it happened,” said a source at the Rift Valley Provincial headquarters.

enough intelligence

The contingent comprising mostly of youthful officers left for Baragoi from Nakuru on November 6 under the command of a senior operations officer in the province.

Unlike other operations that are coordinated from the provincial headquarters, this one was mostly being run from Baragoi.

Killings are now being blamed on officers coordinating the team in Baragoi for sending the security team before gathering enough intelligence on the area and the bandits.

When he visited the area early this week, Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere scoffed at calls for his resignation, saying commanders on the ground should shoulder the blame of the attack.

The Standard learnt that a high profile security team flew to Turkana South yesterday where the bandits are suspected to have sought refuge in a bid to recover the stolen animals and apprehend the suspects.

This came as national outrage rose over the casual manner in which the State has handled the killings.

Source: Standard Digital