By Robert Wanyonyi

Western,Kenya: Politicians in Western Kenya warn it is just a matter of time before a fresh round of killings erupts in Bungoma and Busia counties.

Despite State efforts to boost security, they say this has only led to a lull before more attacks, even worse than before, begin.

“I don’t think the gang members have been arrested,” says Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula. “The police arrested more than 600 suspects, but I don’t believe they caught the real culprits. The majority of those arrested were picked up after merely being found out of their homes late in the night. The real culprits are walking scot free somewhere.”

The Ford-Kenya party leader says the attacks were politically motivated. He says most of those killed or maimed were his supporters and chief campaigners in the last General Election. The Senate Minority Leader lists the two most prominent victims, former secondary school principal John Simiyu and businessman Timothy Nyongesa, among his chief campaigners and sponsors during the elections.

He has occasionally challenged his political rivals to name even a single of their supporters or aides attacked or killed by the gang.

Poll petitions

This forces us to pose the question: “Are you linking the attacks to the election petition cases ongoing in the local courts, especially in Bungoma County, where your election is being challenged by your long-time political rival Musikari Kombo?”

It is an emphatic “No” from the senator. Police turned their attention on Wetangula’s camp after it emerged one of the killer gangs was being referred to as the Kabuchai Defence Force. This reference to Wetangula’s birthplace saw detectives question his brother Fred Wetangula and former Bumula MP Bifwoli Wakoli.

The Bungoma Senator, however, says his rivals may have coined the name to trick police into thinking he or his confidantes (Fred, Wakoli and others), sponsored the attacks. He dismisses this as illogical: “How can I win an election then turn around to attack the same people who supported and voted for me? The police must pull up their socks and do their work professionally. The killers are walking scot-free out there and could even be planning more attacks!”

The Senator produces leaflets he claimed were thrown at his gate at Namuyemba estate in Bungoma town warning of attacks on his family. “I will not keep quiet when my people are being maimed and killed,” he says.

In a separate interview with The Standard On Saturday, Kombo denies claims that his camp came up with the name Kabuchai Defence Force to implicate Wetangula and his allies. He denies any hand in the attacks and wants police to pursue all leads pertaining to the Kabuchai force’s activities, saying initial investigations have shown that majority of those arrested in connection with the recent criminal activities hail from Kabuchai.

“The police must follow up on this Kabuchai thing because all people can’t be wrong,” says the former Local Government minister.

“If someone is trying to use my election petition as an excuse to attack innocent people, then that person must withdraw from even being my supporter or witness in the case because I don’t stand for such (activities).”

Three men alleging to have been hired to take part in the killings recently revealed details previously unheard. They say they were hired and transported to islands in Lake Victoria, where they were promised Sh10,000 each for every person killed, with a Sh100,000 down payment (see related story). Their accounts were reinforced when Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka said Sh100,000 was given out by a politician (name withheld) to some youths to launch attacks at Kikwechi, Mukwa and Kibabii villages in Bungoma County.

“We have 23 suspects in custody,” says Lusaka. “All of them have mentioned a certain politician as the sponsor of the attacks. He paid them Sh100,000 to begin their operations with a promise of more money later. When he didn’t do his part of the bargain, majority of the youths quit.”

Orders to kill or injure

According to the three “defectors”, robbery was not the real motive of the attacks.  Gang members were given firm orders by their trainers to only kill or injure their victims. They were told their oaths would ensure they were not arrested or killed and that they would be paid handsomely.

The three say Busia and Bungoma counties were chosen because they are the least policed in the region. They believe the attacks were merely to test the waters before “a bigger assignment” in the future. The region’s leaders, who are awaiting the outcome of police investigations, share this fear. “I have all the names (of the politicians involved) and I will reveal them at the right time,” says Mr Lusaka.

Investigations by The Standard On Saturday established that the gangsters had different names in Busia and Bungoma. While in Bungoma they were known as Kabuchai Defense Force, in Busia they were Muungano Cotu Mahakama.

“When the public lynched two members of the gang recently, they said their group was known as Muungano Cotu Mahakama,” says Mary Ariku, area Chief for Kwangamor Location in Busia County. “We tried to save their lives but the public overpowered us and killed them.”

Following the spate of attacks, residents have formed vigilante groups to protect themselves. They have lynched 18 suspects so far, six of them now found to have been innocent.

The vigilantes say they are tired of frequent releases of suspects from police custody, the most controversial being the deportation of four Ugandans suspected to be members of the gang.

Wetangula and Kombo agree on one thing: Efforts by residents to form vigilante groups to “defend themselves” have helped reduce the attacks compared to when they relied on the police alone.

These sentiments are also shared by Lusaka and MPs Wafula Wamunyinyi (Kanduyi), Major John Waluke (Sirisia), Dr Chris Wamalwa (Kiminini) and Dr Reginalda Wanyonyi (Representative, Bungoma).

The leaders say, the police, recently boosted by the arrival of the General Service Unit, are harassing innocent residents. But Bungoma South Deputy OCPD Mutune Maweu defends the officers saying they are up to the task.

“We have managed to calm the situation by arresting several suspects who have been arraigned in court,” Maweu says. “We intend to round up more soon. I urge the public not to take the law into their own hands.”

Meanwhile, a man from Mumias earlier named as the paymaster for the killer gangs has denied any involvement. In an interview with Bungoma-based West FM, ODM National Youth Leader Rashid Mohammed said politicians linking him to the gang were intimidated by his rising popularity, especially among youth in the region.

Asked why he thought he was the one described in the story in The Standard, Rashid said the details used ruled out other politicians. “I am the only national youth leader of a political party from Mumias and I also own a house in Mumias and Kisumu, as reported,” he said. “But I want to tell everyone that I don’t own a firearm. Neither am I violent as portrayed (in the story). Mine is a crusade against corruption.”

As the blame game continues, businesses in the region have taken a major hit with many closing shop.

“Customers avoid staying out late for fear of being attacked by the gangs or arrested by the police,” says a worker at Drips Bar in Bungoma town. “This has cost us dearly. We pray that things return to normal.”