Leaders accuse military of killing seven in Moyale

By LIBAN GOLICHA

Moyale, Kenya : Moyale County leaders have protested the killing of seven people in Kate, among them two students, allegedly by the military.

The military was Thursday deployed in Kate following a militia attack.

The leaders, who were in Nairobi and Moyale, condemned the excessive force used by the military.

They claimed soldiers started shooting at residents indiscriminately upon their arrival after suspected armed militia stormed the village.

A Standard Seven pupil and a Form Four leaver were killed on the spot, while another pupil was shot, according to the leaders in Moyale led by Guyo Haleke.

The residents claimed the soldiers attacked the village an hour after the militia was pushed out of the area.

“The military went and attacked villagers instead of the militia that residents were fighting in the bush. They killed two students and injured one,” Mr Halake, a former Moyale MP said.

In Nairobi, a team led by area MP Roba Duba went to the Office of Deputy President yesterday morning to lodge complaints against the military action.

Mr Duba said the military attacked innocent villagers an hour after armed militia had left.

“Around 11.30am, soldiers arrived in Kate, presumably in pursuit of the attackers but killed two schoolboys,” Duba said on phone.

The MP said the Government must explain why soldiers raided women and children instead of flushing out the attackers.

Regret

Marsabit County Commissioner Isaiah Nakoru regretted the deaths. He confirmed that seven people were killed during the three-hour fight.

He, however, refuted claims that soldiers gunned down students, saying the two were felled in crossfire between military and militiamen.

“We regret that young people lost their lives in these clashes,” he said, while assuring investigations have been launched.

Meanwhile, calm returned to the volatile border town yesterday.

Transport along Moyale–Nairobi highway also resumed.