End killings by bandits and terrorists, Uhuru Kenyatta told

A girl lies alone after her parents fled from bandits. Many of her agemates were killed in Nadome. (Photo:Boniface Thuku/Standard)

Kenyans have demanded the Government restores security following the massacre of over 200 people in just one month, in the terrorist attack in Garissa and recent ethnic conflict in the Turkana- Pokot belt.

And the apprehension grew after reports that even with the outrage about the slaughter on Monday of at least 54 at Nadome in Turkana County, there was another daring raid on Wednesday in which a GSU officer was injured at Nakwamoru in Turkana South Constituency.

"The officer was shot in the right hand palm as he protected the people who had been attacked by about 30 suspected raiders," said Turkana County Police Commander Karisa Mwaringa.

Worse still, Deputy Inspector General of Police Grace Kaindi, Rift Valley Regional Co-ordinator Osman Warfa, Assistant Deputy IG Administration Police Peter Pamba and Silale MCA Nelson Lotela escaped death narrowly after they were ambushed by bandits at Kalpat in Nadome. The team was attacked while disembarking from a police helicopter on a mission to assess security situation in the area following the Monday massacre.

Catholic bishops

Thursday, MPs, professionals and other leaders demanded an end to the senseless killings, with Catholic bishops scheduled to state their concerns about spiralling insecurity today.

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party summed up the despair, telling President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto that Kenyans were now weary of the killings, and want the Head of State to "give us back our country."

The National Assembly Committee on Administration and National Security stressed similar public discontent with a declaration that it was "frustrated" with persistent insecurity.

"The authorities need to up their game! There's a camp with the military, the General Service Unit and the Rapid Deployment Unit, just 35km away from where the attacks took place, but it took them 48 hours to respond. People are now desperate," said committee Chairman Asman Kamama.

The unequivocal message was that Kenyans want action taken and would not settle for fleeting tough talk by officials that is the routine whenever tragedy strikes.

With the Government still tight-lipped about the death toll from Monday's attack in Nadome where raiders butchered mainly women and children, reports that officials were trying to exert pressure on aid workers to downplay the scale of casualties raised questions about the security team's priorities.

Security team

And the attack turned the spot on President Kenyatta to demand from his security team that the atrocities that not only cause anguish to innocent Kenyans but undermine the economy are brought to an end.

"The state of the national economy, our public safety and security, and our international standing depend fundamentally on our ability to secure this nation on a sustainable basis," President Kenyatta had stated on March 26 during the State of the Nation address in Parliament.

But shortly afterwards, Al-Shabaab gunmen massacred 148 people in Garissa.

Fresh reports now suggest the death toll from Monday's raid in Nadome could be as high as 100.