By Osinde Obare

KENYA: Bodies of two Kenyans killed by gunmen in South Sudan, have arrived in Kitale for burial. The two were among the four killed in a convoy of United Nations (UN).

The bodies were brought by road to Kitale in Trans Nzoia County as burial arrangements are under way. And the Government came under scathing attack for failing to address the plight of Kenyans working in other states.

Emotions were high at Cherangany Nursing Home in Kitale when the bodies of Charles Namndala, 28, and Bernard Kamondo, 31, were delivered in a van bearing Southern Sudan registration numbers.

Relatives of the two families gathered at the hospital yesterday afternoon to view the bodies. Namndala and Kamondo were among 12 people, including five Indian peacekeepers killed on Tuesday when the convoy was ambushed in the troubled Eastern region of Jonglei.

Some 200 militants armed with rocket- propelled grenades attacked the convoy and killed the 12 people, including two Sudanese working for UN.

The two Kenyans were working with a drilling company in the newly independent country. The families narrated the agony of losing their loved ones and breadwinners.

Biting poverty

Namukuru Wekholiumbia, Namndala’s mother explained how poverty and unemployment forced her son to travel to Sudan to look for a job.

“It is true my son is no more. He was our sole breadwinner. Who is going to feed the family? I wish the attackers could have spared him,’’ wailed Namukuru, upon seeing the body of her son.

Namndala’s father Henry Wafula accused the Government of neglecting the jobless youth prompting them to risk their lives abroad.

Job opportunities

“My son went there to look for employment because our Government has no job opportunities for the youth. The Government has failed to monitor the security of Kenyans working in other states,’ Wafula lamented.

He said his son has been working in Sudan for the past five years to support the family and said his death was a big loss to the family.

Mandila has left behind a widow and four children aged between 1 and 6 years. Kimondo’s mother Dorcas Njeri said her son left the country in 2010 to seek employment in the neighbouring country and was saddened by his death.

“He had been of great help to the family since he left for South Sudan. He has been footing most of the family bills and even helped me repay debts owed to the Kenya Women Finance Trust,” said the deceased’s mother, Njeri.

The deceased’s sister Nancy Wanjiru who relocated to Kenya recalled how foreigners are mistreated in South Sudan.