Learning has been suspended at Mandongoi Primary School in Ngomeni, Kitui County, due to increased insecurity and tension.
Students and teachers stayed away from school on Monday because they were afraid of being attacked by armed camel herders.
Following reports that armed camel herders opened fire at Kanyuni on Sunday around 9 p.m., about 350 students at the institution did not show up for classes.
According to Jeremiah Nyayo, a local pastor, the gunfire from more than three kilometers away terrified the people, driving them to flee into the bush.
Mutie Mutua, a peasant, alleged that a Somali camel herder stabbed him at the back of his skull twenty-four hours previously.
Mutia, 42, claimed he was attacked while driving out a herd of 100 camels that had wandered into his Kanyunyi property following a heated discussion with the camel herder.
Nicholas Mutua, the subcounty police chief in Kyuso, confirmed the occurrence. Mutua stated that no one was hurt because the rounds missed the target.
“It is true, criminals shot at a villager on Sunday night but he was not hit. I am currently leading an operation in the area. We are trailing the gunmen and at the same time evicting the herder and camels,” he said.
Mandongoi school headteacher Joel Maundu who spoke to the Star on phone said the volatile situation had disrupted learning.
“Since the learners have fled with their parents into the bush and other safer areas fearing for their lives, majority of them as well as teachers were did not show up on Monday,” he said.
