Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has explained the delay in confirming the exact number of people killed in the February 22 Todonyang attack in Turkana County, attributing it to difficulties in recovering bodies and verifying victims.

Speaking in Lodwar on Wednesday, Murkomen said the verification process is still underway and challenged by the nature of the incident, where some of the victims are believed to have drowned in Lake Turkana during the cross-border assault by suspected militia from neighbouring Ethiopia.

“There is still pending verification of the exact numbers, partly because people suspected to have lost their lives disappeared into the lake. Without recovering the bodies, it is very difficult to state with certainty how many people died,” he said.

He pointed out that although there are several reports of missing persons, the government cannot legally declare them dead without evidence.
“You can only say they are missing. You cannot legally declare them dead unless there is confirmation,” he stated.

“Some reports even suggest a few people could be alive across the border in Ethiopia, although that remains unverified,” Murkomen added.

He further noted that the confusion over the actual figures has been worsened by the fact that many of the people affected were not from Todonyang itself.
“Some came from as far as Kitale, Lodwar, and Kipish. That is part of the reason there is disparity in the figures,” he said.

Murkomen appealed to the local community to assist in the verification exercise by providing information on the people who were fishing in the lake at the time of the attack.

“Tunataka kusaidiana na wananchi kule Todonyang watupatie idadi ya wale tunajua ukweli walikuwa wanafanya fishing hapo na walipatana kwa hiyo janga ya mapigano,” he said.

While acknowledging community concerns over rising insecurity in the area, Murkomen said that plans are underway to strengthen the security presence, but admitted that financial limitations remain a challenge.

He revealed a proposal to deploy a multi-agency team to the region, which he described as critical due to its location.

“Todonyang is a key entry point with active cross-border commerce, fishing, and livestock farming. But it also suffers from boundary encroachment due to poor security presence. This is an issue we must address conclusively,” said Murkomen.

The February attack occurred when a group of Kenyan fishermen on a regular fishing expedition in Lake Turkana were ambushed by suspected Dassanech militia from Ethiopia.

Murkomen was in Turkana for the 15th edition of the Jukwaa la Usalama county tours.

He was expected to hold a town hall meeting with community leaders, National Government Administrative Officers, security officials, and elected leaders at the Ekales Cultural Centre following a security briefing.