Inside the Deadly Return of Bandit Raids in Meru

By Kepher Otieno - Reporter

Kenya, 5 December 2025 - The brutal killing of three National Police Reservists (NPR) and two herders in coordinated bandit raids across Tigania, Buuri, and Igembe has plunged Meru County back into mourning and fear.

More than 200 heads of cattle were driven off in the same night, wiping out years of family savings in a single violent sweep.

In Athwana, Tigania West, distraught residents gathered under the scorching Thursday sun, still reeling from gunfire that once again echoes across their grazing lands.

Mothers spoke of sleepless nights straining to hear approaching danger, while young herders admitted they now fear taking livestock to pasture.

It was against this backdrop of raw grief that Deputy President Prof Kithure Kindiki visited the area – a familiar figure to many from his days as Interior Cabinet Secretary.

Addressing a tense crowd, he vowed an unrelenting crackdown on the resurgent criminal gangs.

“We will hunt them down wherever they hide and flush them out,” he declared, as children huddled close to parents in the open field.

For the widow of one fallen NPR officer, the pain remains unbearable.

She tearfully recalled how her husband repeatedly responded to bandit sightings despite exhaustion, saying, “Protecting the community was our duty.”

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Kindiki paid tribute to the fallen reservists, confirmed increased police deployments and strengthened NPR units, and urged the Meru community to rediscover the political unity that once defined the Mount Kenya region.

“We cannot fight each other when bandits are killing us,” echoed an elder from Tigania.

Turning to long-term stability, the Deputy President highlighted newly tarmacked roads – Kirindini–Mikinduri and Kunene–Miomponi – that will finally link farmers to better markets.

He also promised imminent drought relief supplies for Tigania and Meru North, where crops and livestock continue to perish.

As newly deployed security teams patrol the vast county, residents remain on edge.

Yet many left the meeting with cautious hope that sustained government presence will, this time, restore lasting peace and allow children to sleep without fear.