The Kenyan government announced this evening that the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) would be deployed domestically to participate in responding to the massacre of, at latest count, 42 Kenyan police officers in an ambush by cattle raiding “bandits” with sophisticated weapons.

It goes without saying that this mass killing of police is a shock in itself.  It is also troubling for its implications for the capacity of the police to address violence in other instances, such as unrest related to the upcoming March election.  The “bandits” are reported to have had weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades that are well beyond the “firepower” associated with the usual run of cattle raids.

Related articles

• Police: 38 Kenyan officers killed in ambush involving cattle rustlers (cnn.com)
• Kibaki deploys Kenyan military to Samburu (capitalfm.co.ke)
• Hundreds flee area of Kenya where police died (utsandiego.com)
• 38 Kenyan officers killed in worst single incident (panarmenian.net)