Citizen TV Reporter Emmanuel Cheboit Survives Bandit Attack in West Pokot
A day later, gunmen stormed a gold mining site nearby, firing at miners and setting fire to an excavator worth KSh16 million.
Footage from Citizen TV captured the moments of tension as the journalists and residents scampered for cover, with the bullets in the air. Photo/courtesy.
By Ruth Sang
Citizen TV journalist Emmanuel Cheboit narrowly escaped death on Monday, November 3, after he and his crew were caught in a bandit attack along the volatile West Pokot–Turkana border. The team had traveled to the region to report on the escalating insecurity when they suddenly came under fire from suspected bandits.
Reports indicated the attack took place in Kalomwai Village, on the border dividing West Pokot and Turkana counties. Cheboit, Citizen TV’s correspondent in Turkana, was conducting interviews with locals when armed assailants started shooting randomly in their direction. The journalist and a number of villagers had to flee the interviews for cover in some of the nearby homes as shots rang across the area.
Footage from Citizen TV captured the moments of tension as the journalists and residents scampered for cover, with the bullets in the air. The footage has gone viral, presenting a chilling glimpse of insecurity in the region and the dangers faced by journalists covering conflict zones.
There has been a fresh eruption of violence along the West Pokot–Turkana border, with reports indicating that at least ten people have been killed in the past two weeks. The growing insecurity engenders fear among residents and disrupts the social and economic ways of life. Just two days prior to the latest attack, two individuals were shot dead while returning home from church in the Nakumori area. A day later, gunmen stormed a nearby gold mining site, firing at miners and setting fire to an excavator valued at KSh16 million.
“These bandits have made our lives unbearable,” decried one resident. “They even recently attacked us after an event that was attended by the governor. We survived by the grace of God.” Locals have now appealed to President William Ruto’s administration to take urgent action, calling for the deployment of more police officers and military personnel to restore peace and security.
The latest incident comes just days after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen issued a stern warning to bandits operating in the North Rift region, where he called on those in possession of illegal firearms to hand themselves in voluntarily, promising amnesty to such individuals. “The government will not tolerate lawlessness. Those who refuse to surrender their weapons will face the full force of the law,” Murkomen said. The attack on Cheboit and his team has attracted condemnation from media organizations and human rights defenders, who have called for greater protection for journalists working in conflict-prone areas. As investigations continue, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers facing both residents and journalists alike in Kenya’s banditry-hit regions.
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