Bandits attack education officials in Isiolo

Isiolo, Kenya: Four Isiolo County education officials escaped death narrowly after they were attacked by armed bandits at Losesia in Samburu East.

The officials, who included the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) County Director of Education Joseph Indire, were returning to Isiolo town from Merti District on Wednesday when they were attacked by the bandits.

They had toured schools in the remote district to monitor the on-going Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE).

''We had opted to use the Gotu route but on reaching there, we found the bridge (on Ewaso Ng'iro River) was not passable. We drove back to use the Archers Post road,'' said Indire.

The officer said armed men fired at the double cabin Land Cruiser vehicle at Losesis area at around 3 pm.

The first window on the left side door was shattered by bullets.

''The driver did not stop and sped off. Fortunately, no one was injured,'' said the official.

The Losesia road connecting Isiolo with Merti is mostly used by Isiolo residents during rainy season as the only other alternative route is through Gotu, whose makeshift bridge is submerged when the river bursts its banks.

Motorists complain that bandits attack them at Losesia due to rivalry between herders from Isiolo and Samburu.

It's a bandits hotspot where dozens have been killed in the past.