By Paul Wafula

TURKANA, KENYA: The suicidal operation that claimed the lives of 46 helpless officers in Suguta Valley did not have the support of the Provincial Security Intelligence Committee (PSIC) and was opposed by the operation commander, a new report has said.

A report which has revealed damning details of the November 10 fatal recovery mission that claimed the lives of 46 officers says the provincial committee had no interest in the operation dubbed Rudisha Ngombe. 

“This committee has established that the PSIC had little or no interest in the success of the operation. They appear not to be working as a team and if at all they ever meet, no minutes are taken,” the report says in part.

“The operation commander had opposed the launching of the operation and this resulted in its poor planning and execution. So far, no effort has been made to recover the animals stolen and the firearms lost,” the report says. 

The 51-page report has also confirmed that the officers deployed had little understanding of the terrain, giving the bandits an upper hand.  The operation was supposed to take place on November 8, last year, but did not take place because the Kenya Police Reservists (KPRs) who knew the terrain never turned up.

“The officers were prepared and briefed on the impending operation, which did not materialise because the KPRs who knew the route never turned up. On November 9, 2012, the officers were briefed by the operation commander to be ready by 0100hrs for the operation to take place that night,” the report says in part.

Briefing contents

The briefing contents were that the mission was to retrieve the stolen head of cattle from Lomelok village. The botched operation was mounted on  November 10, last year, at dawn reinforced by 56 Kenya Police Reservists from the Samburu community.

The raiders were estimated to be between 30 and 35 armed with simple weapons. The operation team was grouped into three platoons. On  November 9, at about 6pm, the officers assembled at the New District Commissioner’s office. They were briefed and instructed by the operation commander to assemble at 0100hrs for the operation that night.

The operation was mounted by the combined force of 107 police officers and 56 KPR from Samburu community. At about 1am, the combined team assembled for final briefing. In addition to the earlier briefing, they were instructed not to shoot women and children unless they were armed.

The KPRs who arrived were equally distributed into the three platoons. The reservists were not to shoot at all unless attacked by the raiders. At about 0330hrs, the troops boarded four lorries and one Land Cruiser from Baragoi Police Station and proceeded to Lomelok for the operation.

The report indicates that on the way, the road reached a dead end; they disembarked and formed three platoons as earlier planned ready for the operation. They then moved in single file formations according to their platoons. At around 7am, they managed to reach the first manyatta, which they found deserted and could not locate the animals.

The sector commanders disagreed on whether to continue with the operation or to withdraw since it was already daytime and animals had been relocated.

“In the process, the reservists managed to go up the next escarpment and located the animals in another manyatta at a distance down the valley. This was around 8am. After some disagreement, the commanders finally agreed to proceed through Lomelok valley and retrieve the sighted head of cattle,” it adds.