HULUGHO, Kenya — The government has moved to calm fears in Hulugho Township following the killing of a local chief and a primary school teacher in suspected Al-Shabaab attacks, dispatching senior police officials to the area as investigations intensify.
A high-level security delegation led by Deputy Inspector-General of the Administration Police Service, Gilbert Masengeli, visited Hulugho on Tuesday on behalf of Inspector-General Douglas Kanja, meeting bereaved families and residents amid heightened security operations.
The two victims — Hulugho Primary School teacher Stephen Vundi Musili and Chief Abdifatah Mohamud — were killed in separate but coordinated attacks early Monday morning, which police believe were carried out by suspected Al-Shabaab militants.
According to police accounts, the chief was shot before assailants detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) inside his Probox vehicle.
The attackers later stormed the teacher’s home, dragged him outside and shot him dead.
Masengeli, accompanied by senior officers including GSU Commandant Ranson Lolmodooni, TSC Director of Administration Ibrahim Mumin, and TSC Director of Staffing Antonina Lentoijoni, also visited Hulugho Primary School, where they met teachers and pupils and offered condolences following the killing of the educator.
In a statement shared on X, the National Police Service said the Inspector-General had assured residents that multi-agency security teams were working round the clock to track down those responsible.
“The IG-NPS assured the bereaved local community of Hulugho that the multi-agency security teams in the area are working tirelessly towards the arrest and apprehension of the criminal elements responsible for this senseless act,” the statement read.
Police described the attack as unusual for the area, noting that Hulugho had not previously experienced such incidents.
Masengeli urged residents to cooperate closely with security agencies by sharing intelligence to help prevent further attacks.
Following community engagements, the DIG held a closed-door briefing with officers and formed-up units deployed to the region, where he reviewed ongoing operations and strategies aimed at strengthening security within the township and along surrounding border areas.
He directed officers to adopt a more proactive approach to policing, with increased focus on vulnerable locations and movement corridors.
The attack comes against the backdrop of rising security threats in northeastern Kenya.
In February last year, suspected Al-Shabaab militants abducted five chiefs in Elwak, Mandera County, highlighting continued targeting of government officials in the region.
Chief Abdifatah Mohamud was laid to rest on Tuesday in accordance with Islamic rites, as residents mourned the loss of both a community administrator and a young teacher whose deaths have shaken the township.
