We were never warned to leave, says Mandera quarry attack survivor

NAIROBI: A survivor of the slaughter of 36 people at a quarry in Mandera has dismissed claims by Deputy President William Ruto that they had been warned to leave the area.

Erick Mujibi, 58, said no warning was issued by either the county or national government prior to the attack.

"That is propaganda. Do you think I or anyone else can stay there knowing there will be an attack?" asked Mr Mujibi.

He said the only time they left the quarries was when gunmen killed 28 people after commandeering a Nairobi-bound bus.

They all moved to Mandera town and stayed there for almost a week before their employers assured them they had hired home guards to protect them.

The employers said they had liaised with the national government to provide security.

Mr Ruto said the 36 quarry workers killed by Al-Shabaab terrorists in Mandera had been advised to move for security reasons but they had refused.

The DP said police had advised the workers to relocate to a place close to Mandera town.

"We should have used force to get them out of there. Even after they were informed, they continued to stay there," Ruto said on Citizen TV's "Cheche" programme Wednesday.

But speaking at the City Mortuary, Mujibi said the Government was lying to Kenyans. He said without non-Muslims in Mandera, there will be no development.

GOOD WAGES

Mujibi said there were almost 4,000 miners working in various quarries in the area. He advised the Government on how to deal with insecurity there.

"For the Government to address insecurity in the area, they must clear all the manyatta near the Kenya-Somalia border. That must be 20 kilometres from Kenya and 20 kilometres in Somalia," he said.

He noted that for the last four years he has been in Mandera, there were incidents of theft but they had never experienced violent attacks that led to death such as the one witnessed on Tuesday.

Mujibi also vowed never to set foot in Mandera despite the fact that they were earning good wages.

The attackers separated Muslims from non-Muslims and shot the latter, residents and police said.

They shot dead 33 and beheaded three.

The victims were lined up and shot in the head at close range. Those who allegedly tried to escape were shot in the legs.

Witnesses said the attack occurred after midnight, when the victims were asleep in their tents at the quarry.

It came 10 days after Al-Shabab killed 28 people in a bus attack in the same area.

In reaction to the two incidents and others in the past, Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo resigned while Kajiado Central MP Joseph Nkaissery was nominated to replace Joseph ole Lenku at the helm of the Interior and Co-ordination of National Government ministry.