Govt Employs Militia to Combat Insecurity After Ethiopia Militia Attack

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has revealed intentions to equip police reservists, a day after alleged Ethiopian militia attacked and killed Kenyan fishermen in the Kenya-Ethiopia border area of Todonyang in Turkana County.

Murkomen announced the government’s new plan on Monday, February 24, after visiting Todonyang to examine the situation and condole with the families devastated by the tragic incident.

According to the Interior CS’s statement, the government has started both immediate and long-term plans to reduce border insecurity in Kenya.

“National Police Reservists, who play a critical role in complementing regular security agencies, will now be better equipped and incentivised to deal with militias and other criminal gangs,” Murkomen said.

Police reservists in the country have in the past expressed worries over their welfare, with some of their issues focusing around a lack of proper compensation as they are officially volunteers complementing regular police personnel.

This difficulty was evident in Isiolo County in January 2025, when hundreds of camel herders organized a peaceful demonstration in Isiolo town, requesting the government to hasten the process of equipping police reservists.

The herders were afraid that their adversaries, who had more advanced weapons, would attack them.

Inadequate equipment has also been a problem for police reservists, making them vulnerable, particularly in isolated and unstable locations.

Murkomen stated that the government would improve the welfare of all police reservists and build more border checkpoints in order to address this.

Additionally, the CS directed the National Police Service leadership to step up efforts to find all Kenyans implicated in the incident, working with their Ethiopian counterparts. At least 22 Kenyans were still unaccounted for after the cross-border attack, according to reports on Monday.

The attack is thought to have been carried out by the Dassanech militia, who ambushed and opened fire on Turkana fisherman in Lake Turkana near River Omo.

Additionally, Turkana’s local communities received a strong warning from the National Police Service (NPS) on Sunday not to launch reprisal attacks.