Eight remandees escaped when suspected Turkana bandits shot dead Marti Police station driver Constable Humphrey Oroba at Charda, along the Maralal -Baragoi -South Horr road in Samburu North Sub-county on Monday evening.

The bandits also stole the officer’s firearm, an AK47 rifle loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the bandits wanted to steal the officers’ firearms and not to rescue the suspects.

The driver and two other officers from Marti Police Station were escorting the eight remandees from Maralal GK Prison to Baragoi for a court session.

According to the National Police Service headquarters, two of the suspects faced defilement cases, while three others had been charged with gang defilement.

The other three suspects were facing robbery with violence charges, possession of a firearm, and causing grievous harm, respectively.

Marti police station deputy commander Inspector Robert Amuke said the officers were escorting the suspects for a mobile court session that was scheduled for yesterday.

Following the attack, officers from the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), Marti station and General Service Unit (GSU) rushed to the scene to reinforce their colleagues and mount a search.

“On arrival at the scene, the officers found the driver dead with his body having multiple gunshot wounds. His firearm AK47 riffle, serial number 59014079 with 30 rounds of ammunitions, was also missing,” police report reads.

A joint team led by the Samburu North Sub-County Police Commander (SCPC) later found the other two officers, Constable Nicholas Yegon and Constable Kitasho Oloimaatha, unharmed and with their firearms.

The suspects have been identified as Kennedy Lekisaat (defilement), Ewoi Lonyogorot (defilement), Namulem Losam (possession of firearm), Lorunyei Akware (gang defilement), Lopasho Ekoriana (gang defilement), Saul lekisaat (defilement), Lokwawi Adoro (murder and robbery with violence), and Golong Arii (assault and grievous harm).

Police said the body of the deceased officer was moved to Baragoi Sub-County Hospital mortuary pending autopsy. A joint security operation was immediately launched to re-arrest the suspects and the attackers.

In the past two years, almost 250 suspects, most of them accused of serious offences, have escaped from custody.