Banditry suspect taken by gunmen still missing

Securyty oficers at Iten County Referral Hospital in Elgeyo Marakwet county where suspected bandits stormed and took a patient on April 9, 2023. [Christopher Kipsang, Standard] Police are yet to trace a man who was taken by gunmen from Iten County Hospital. The patient was injured during a raid in Baringo North, reports indicate. Investigators say Dennis Kemboi said he had been attacked in a banditry attack in Arror, Marakwet West, but it was later discovered that he lied about his injury to access medical services at the facility. "The man we are looking for did not sustain the chest injuries he was being treated for in Iten as earlier reported," Keiyo North Police commander Tom Makori said. "The police have established that he was shot during a different raid in Baringo North." He is one of three people who were brought to the Iten Hospital but two were referred to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret for specialised treatment. At around 1am on Monday, armed gunmen stormed the health facility and fled with Kemboi who was under police guard. The gang stormed into the men's ward and ordered everyone, including armed policemen, to remain silent as they frog-marched a nurse who led them to Kemboi's bed. Police suspect the 10 men, who were armed with AK-47 rifles, might have surveyed the hospital from Sunday afternoon as they plotted the rescue mission. Six of the gunmen reportedly gained entry into the well guarded health facility minutes after midnight after cutting a chain link between the hospital's morgue and staff quarters. Another group is said to have been monitoring the movements of police officers who were manning the hospital's gate. Patients and police officers watched as the gunmen whisked him away and disappeared into the darkness. By yesterday, the police were still looking for the missing patient who, according to officers, is a bandit wanted by police in Kerio Valley. Earlier, Baringo Police Commander Julius Kiragu said Kemboi led the raid that resulted in the killing of a 38-year-old man in Kinyach, Bartabwa ward, on February 5. Banditry links "Police in Baringo have been looking for him to answer questions regarding several cases of banditry attacks. Our counterparts in Elgeyo Marakwet have mounted a search and we are ready to join the mission to arrest him if asked. We suspect that he was the ring leader in a number of attacks we are investigating," said the police boss. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki told the National Assembly that the police are acting on leads that would lead to the arrest of the rescued patient. According to the CS, the patient was wanted for banditry-related cases in Kerio Valley. "We don't know where the patient (who was being treated at Iten) came from," Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wesley Rotich said. The governor said his administration has calmed workers and patients at the Iten hospital after panic gripped the facility following the incident. The governor said police officers have been deployed to tighten security at the hospital to assure residents and hospital staff of their safety. "The incident was unfortunate. We assure residents that services are ongoing and measures have been put in place to ensure no similar incident happens," Rotich said.

Banditry suspect taken by gunmen still missing

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