Nyeri village that has lost 40 to Al Shabaab

Friends and relatives of the 12 victims killed when gunmen attacked a guest house in Mandera County break down after identifying the bodies at the Chiromo mortuary in Nairobi. Ten people were rescued from the lodging, which had several occupants. [Photo: David Njaaga/Standard]

Three more families from Nyeri are mourning the Tuesday dawn killing of their relatives in an attack on a guest house in Mandera, bringing the total accounted deaths to seven.

Chaka, which is renown in Nyeri for quarry work, has born the brunt of terror attacks in Mandera, which have killed more than 40 people.

By Wednesday morning, the family of Joseph Muriuki Maina, 50, was yet to come to terms with his death.

In a strange twist of fate, the same family lost a brother-in-law last year in a similar attack against quarry workers who had migrated to the volatile region for casual work.

When The Standard visited the homestead in Gatei village, about five kilometres from Chaka, Nancy Wanjiru Maina, Muriuki's sister, and her sister-in-law Ann Wairimu could not hold back their tears as they tried to deal with their grief.

Ms Wanjiru lost a brother-in-law in another attack last year.

The family said they received the news of Muriuki's death on Tuesday afternoon and were yet to travel to Nairobi to identify his body.

"We received calls from other villagers still working in Mandera who informed us that Muriuki was among those killed. He went to Mandera two years ago and only came back recently to attend a neighbour's funeral before leaving again," said Wanjiru.

She described her brother as a hardworking and sociable man.

"Why did they kill him? As a family, we can only forgive the killers and pray that they will change their ways," she said.

Wanjiru said her husband, Anthony Ndamburi, also worked in the quarries in Mandera.

"My husband is also in Mandera but he is safe. I spoke with him by phone on Tuesday and he assured me that he was safe," she said as she wiped the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

Village women

As we talked to Wanjiru, Ms Wairimu burst into wails that attracted village women attending a meeting in the neighbouring Gatei Primary School. It took them more than one hour to calm her down.

During the Tuesday attack, Nyeri County lost at least six residents, among them a man and his nephew.

Those identified include Amos Njogu, 56, and his nephew Simon Mwangi, 34, who come from Nyaribo; a Mr Makumi from Gitathiini in Tetu, a man named MM Njoroge, also from Tetu, and Muriuki from Gatei village.

Others are a man identified as Mbogo from Maragima village and another one identified as Maina from Thunguma village on the outskirts of Nyeri town.