The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) have been deployed in Kapedo to maintain security after a string of violent attacks against police officers and civilians in Turkana and Baringo counties, Kenya's Capital FM reported Monday (In the most recent attack, 17 Administration Police officers deployed to protect residents from cattle raids in the area were killed in an ambush on Saturday.
"We are just going to assist the police in whatever they are doing, we will assist them in carrying out the operation," said KDF Deputy Chief Lieutenant General Samson Mwathethe.
The KDF's deployment in Kapedo coincides with a call from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to restructure the national police force.
IPOA chairman Macharia Njeru pointed to the Kapedo incident as evidence of an ill-prepared and poorly functioning command structure in the police force.
"It is sad that we continue to lose large numbers of security personnel in the hands of criminal gangs," he said. "It however calls to question the competence of the top police command. While the facts and circumstances may vary, the attacks that the country has experienced in the last year bear a common thread in respect to police preparedness and response."
The IPOA outlined its recommendations for restructuring the police force in a report compiled on the June attacks in Mpeketoni, released in October.
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