Over 200 armed bandits engaged police officers in a six-hour gun battle after they laid siege on the GSU camp and the adjacent Kapindasum Primary School.
According to preliminary reports and witness accounts, the bandits in a daring move surrounded the GSU camp and started engaging police in a heavy gunfight.
It sparked tension in all the neighboring areas. Panic gripped Kapindasum village with scenes of pupils cowering on the floor, afraid for their lives as gunshots rent the air for over six hours.
Witnesses stated that armed bandits attacked GSU officers on a routine patrol, prompting a gunfight that lasted more than six hours, paralyzing all activity in the area and prompting questions as to why officers from the besieged GSU camp did not receive any support or reinforcement from the multiagency operation teams that have deployed and set base in the county, classified as disturbed and dangerous.
Confirming the incident police boss David Too says the bandits arrived in shifts and ambushed officers at the GSU camp, catching the officers off guard.
The number of casualties from Tuesday’s attack is yet to be established, with reports that fighting is still ongoing.
By the time of this publication, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki had not issued a comprehensive report on the incident.
The attack came months after the government sent reinforcements to help tackle banditry in the region.
CS Kindiki vowed to set camp in the disturbed areas till banditry is eliminated.
The renewed attacks saw the killing of a police reservist killed and three others injured.
