NAIROBI, Kenya May 24 \u2013 Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has pledged an intensified crackdown on bandits in Kerio Valley following the brutal killing of Fr. Alloys Cheruiyot Bett in Tot.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Nandi County during a condolence visit to the priest\u2019s family, Murkomen condemned the attack, linking it to recent efforts by the government to dismantle cattle rustling networks in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cFr. Bett\u2019s murder is a targeted act of terror meant to instill fear and derail our security operations. We will not back down,\u201d said Murkomen.<\/p>\n
He noted that the government\u2019s crackdown has significantly reduced livestock theft, prompting bandits to turn to killing civilians in retaliation. <\/p>\n
Recent victims include Bonface Ongote, Simon Njaga, and now Fr. Bett\u2014all known peace advocates.<\/p>\n
Murkomen urged communities in Kerio Valley to fully cooperate with security agencies, assuring that the government remains committed to rooting out criminal elements.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the last five months alone, incidents of banditry have dropped by over 50 percent compared to 2024. We must not allow criminals to reverse these gains,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The CS paid tribute to Fr. Bett, calling him a tireless peace champion who went beyond his pastoral duties to promote harmony in the region.<\/p>\n
Father Bett was shot dead by armed assailants in Kabartile Village, Baringo County.<\/p>\n
Police say six suspects have been arrested, with initial investigations ruling out banditry or cattle rustling as the motive.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya May 24 \u2013 Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has pledged an intensified crackdown on bandits in Kerio Valley following the brutal killing of Fr. Alloys Cheruiyot Bett in Tot. Speaking in Nandi County during a condolence visit to the priest\u2019s family, Murkomen condemned the attack, linking it to recent efforts by the government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115513\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}