Police in Tharaka South Sub-County are investigating the suspected murder of a seven-year-old boy whose body was found in River Thingithu on Thursday.
The deceased a Grade PP2 pupil at Gaciongoni Primary School, was found dead in the river within Karocho Location.
Police said a physical examination revealed visible burns and bruises on the boy’s body, prompting investigators to treat the incident as a suspected murder rather than an accidental drowning.
According to the mother, the boy’s estranged father allegedly went to her residence on Monday, August 17, at about 1:45pm and forcibly took the child away.
She said she became concerned the following day and began searching for her son after she could not locate him. The father, who is currently at large, allegedly told her that he did not know the boy’s whereabouts.
The mother subsequently reported the matter to the area chief.
The scene was processed and documented by investigators before the boy’s body was moved to Marimanti Level IV Hospital mortuary, where it was preserved pending a postmortem examination.
Police are pursuing the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death and the whereabouts of his father.
And a 10-year-old herder was killed during a suspected bandit attack in Isiolo North, with security officers recovering 36 stolen shoats following a fierce exchange of gunfire.
The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon along the cut-line between Aidafin and Gachuru, where suspected bandits reportedly attacked herders grazing shoats at about 12:30pm.
The attackers stole an unknown number of animals before driving the livestock towards Kamanga area in Samburu East Sub-County.
Security officers, including NPR personnel, were mobilised and pursued the attackers in an effort to recover the stolen livestock.
The patrol team caught up with the suspected bandits in a swampy area near Kamanga Hill, where a fierce exchange of gunfire erupted.
The bandits were overpowered and fled in different directions into nearby thickets, abandoning 36 shoats.
However, police said one of the herders aged about 10, was fatally stabbed in the neck during the attack.
Police and DCI officers visited and processed the scene before moving the boy’s body to Isiolo Level 5 Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary for preservation and autopsy.
The recovered shoats were positively identified and handed back to their owner.
Security agencies have intensified patrols and launched snap ambushes in the area in an effort to deter further attacks and banditry.
