President William Ruto has claimed that five chiefs were abducted in an attempt to prevent his visit to Mandera County. Speaking during his address to residents of the region, Ruto dismissed the move, stating that such efforts would not deter him from visiting any part of the country.
He assured Mandera residents of his commitment to ensuring security in the Northern region, emphasizing that his administration would not allow criminals to take control.
“You know, these fools thought that by doing what they did yesterday, I wouldn’t come here. They are mad. I haven’t just come to Mandera—I have come with Mandera, and I am staying in Mandera,” the President said in Swahili.
President Ruto further stressed that every region of Kenya is important and vowed to protect all parts of the country from criminal activities, including terrorism.
“I want to make it absolutely clear that every part of Kenya is important, and we are not going to cede an inch of our country to criminals and those who want to unleash mayhem in our republic,” he stated.
He also reassured Mandera residents that security agencies would pursue the suspected militants responsible for the abduction of the chiefs.
The abduction of the five chiefs took place a day before President Ruto’s visit, with authorities suspecting Al-Shabaab militants were behind the attack.
According to police reports and eyewitness accounts, the administrators were traveling in a vehicle to Elwak when they were ambushed and kidnapped between Bamba Owla and Ires Suki.
Mandera South police commander Julius Njeru confirmed that the chiefs were on their way from Wargadud to Elwak for a security coordination meeting ahead of the President’s visit. Security agencies have since launched a search operation to rescue the abducted officials.
