Was Nadome attack politically motivated?

Youths keep guard at Silale near Nadome in Baringo County on Tuesday after raiders attacked the area, killing almost 70 people.

A few days ago, Kenyans were shocked and taken aback by the media revelations that dozens of villagers had been killed in the latest incident of banditry attacks. The initial reports indicated that around 400 heavily armed bandits had raided Nadome and other villages located along the Pokot and Turkana border, killed unknown number of people and stole hundreds of cattle. Hours later, the journalists, who flew to the battlefields, would file stories of how some of the victims met their deaths. The scribes would also talk about the challenges they encountered before they accessed the area. Apart from sweltering heat, they endured tough terrain to get to the scene of the incident.

But as it would emerge, the government and the media would not agree on exact number of the casualties.  While the state maintained that only 16 persons lost their lives, the media put the death toll at 54. The security forces also vehemently denied reports that they did not respond to the distress calls immediately after being informed that the attackers had invaded the villages.