Two Killed In a Clash Of Herders in Isiolo

Tension is high in Mlango, Burat ward, Isiolo County, following the death of two herders on Friday in a gunfight between armed herders from  Turkana and Somali communities in Isiolo and those from neighboring Samburu County who forcibly invaded their grazing area.

Confirming the incident , Isiolo County Commissioner Geoffrey Omoding, said armed Samburu  herders forced their way into the Mlango area in search of pasture, eliciting a reaction from the host Turkana and Somali Community herders who graze in the area, and a gunfight ensued. The two people who died were from Samburu County.

Four herders from Isiolo and one from Samburu County were shot. Those from Isiolo County were taken to the Isiolo County Teaching and Referral Hospital, while those from Samburu County were taken to Archers' Post Hospital.

Following the development, a group of Isiolo Community leaders and residents led by Senator Fatuma Dullo have urged government security agencies to act quickly and flush out armed herders from neighboring Counties of Samburu and Marsabit who have allegedly forced their way into the few remaining Isiolo grasslands without permission.

Senator Dullo, while visiting the injured at  Isiolo County Teaching and Referral Hospital , said that the attacks, in which armed herders from neighboring counties forcefully graze in traditional grazing areas for local pastoralist communities, have become very common in recent decades, causing conflict and unnecessary loss of life.

 Burat Ward  MCA Nicholas Lorot accused County security agents of negligence, noting that they failed to act and stop the attack despite warnings from local leaders and residents about an impending conflict in the Mlango area.

According to Samuel Lokoro, Chairperson of the Isiolo Sub County Grazing Committee, the attack occurred in broad daylight at 10 a.m., and it took security officers more than four hours to arrive at the scene despite being notified immediately after the gunfight began.

He decried the fact that herders from neighboring counties have made it a habit to invade Isiolo grazing areas and wreak havoc over the years, adding that it was past time for government security agencies to act quickly to drive away unauthorized herders from other Counties in order to avoid further conflicts with the host communities.

Osman Shariff Abukar, an Isiolo resident, however, attacked local political leaders, accusing them of a lack of commitment and honesty in ending the region's banditry culture. He stated that massive resources.