Two bodies of missing Kenyan fishermen in Todonyang recovered, CS Murkomen calls for calm

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has urged calm as the search for missing Kenyan fishermen continues following last Saturday’s attack in Todonyang, near the Kenya-Ethiopia border.

The victims, a man and a woman, both in their late 20s or early 30s, serve as a grim reminder of the growing insecurity in the region.

"We have so far recovered two bodies, but the search operation is underway," said Murkomen.

Murkomen traced the roots of the deadly conflict to a chilling act of violence—a suspected Kenyan criminal allegedly killed three people on the Ethiopian side, igniting a brutal cycle of revenge. In a retaliatory strike, attackers from the Ethiopian side ambushed Kenyans on Lake Turkana.

"On Saturday, in an unfortunate incident, there was a rogue Kenyan who went to cause problems on the Ethiopian side from Kenya, and the information we have now is that he killed three on the Ethiopian side," he explained.

Following his visit to the area on Monday, Murkomen revealed that the government has initiated talks with Ethiopian authorities to secure access to the conflict zone.

He expressed optimism that a coordinated effort involving local security teams from both Kenya and Ethiopia will pave the way for progress and help restore stability in the region.

"The search and rescue of the missing persons is ongoing, and I will inform the country accordingly on progress," stated Murkomen.

But a storm is brewing as Turkana leaders in Parliament are rejecting claims that the attack was a retaliatory strike, slamming the government’s response as inadequate and slow.

They accuse authorities of failing to recover the victims’ bodies and are now demanding immediate action.

Their ultimatum is clear: deploy more coastguards to secure the area or send in the military to defend the border.

"There is only one coastguard boat and eight officers manning the entire Lake Turkana, and there is no network," Turkana South MP Ariko John Namoit said.

His Turkana West counterpart Daniel Nanok added, "We are being told that the area near Omo waters is full of bodies. It’s not a small matter."

But the government has called for calm and patience, assuring affected families that the search operation is underway.