20 bodies recovered after Turkana attack

Business

By Lucas Ng’asike

Twenty bodies have been recovered following clashes at the Kenya–Ethiopia border. The bodies, mainly of women and children, had gunshot wounds and were scattered in the plains of Todonyang in Turkana North, a kilometre from Todonyang Police Post.

The bodies were recovered as 50 other people were reported missing, raising fears that the number of the dead could be higher.

Those who survived the ordeal, including a woman who pretended to be dead, were nursing serious gunshot wounds at a local hospital.

Catholic missionaries at Todonyang border point wrap bodies of victims of the Turkana murders in polythene bags, ready for transportation to Todonyang Catholic Mission Church. [PHOTO: LUCAS NG’ASIKE /STANDARD]

The Government confirmed yesterday that Merille militia from the neighbouring Ethiopia had attacked Turkana pastoralists inside the Kenyan territory when they were returning home from barter trade at the border point.

Militiamen

Among the dead were four Merille militiamen killed by Turkana herdsmen in retaliation.

Rift Valley PC Osman Warfa said 37 Turkanas had been killed, while a cleric said five Merille militiamen had been killed, bringing the death toll to 42. The youngest victim of the attack was a three-week-old boy whose head was shattered by a bullet.

The bodies were lying naked on the plain grounds near villages inhabited by the Merille militia at Natira area along the border.

A high-level security team led by Mr Warfa and Turkana North MP John Munyes flew to the area on Tuesday. "We have seen the bodies and confirmed the execution was carried out inside the Kenyan border," Warfa said at the scene.

The PC and the security team were, however, forced to leave the area in a huff after suspected members of the militia started advancing to where they were and opened fire at people in nearby villages.

Todonyang Catholic Priest, Fr Stephen Ochieng’ called the MP’s aide, Mr Moses Ikoel, to report that the militia had forced them to abandon five bodies.

"The priest informed me that they were forced to flee and abandon five bodies at the scene," he told The Standard.

Mass burial

But Munyes vowed to return to the area and ensure all bodies had been collected and taken to Todonyang Catholic Mission Church awaiting mass burial.

The MP feared if left uncollected, the militia, who culturally remove male organs and take them back home as a show of bravery, would mutilate the bodies.

"I know the Merille kill the Turkana and remove private organs. They do this every August when they are circumcising their boys. These are ritual killings we cannot accept," Munyes said.

Warfa said Ethiopian authorities have been informed of the killings.

"I am very optimistic that something will be done by the two governments to address the escalating insecurity along the Kenya-Ethiopia border," he said.

The PC commended the Catholic Church for their frantic efforts to house several families in a church compound after they were displaced by the attack.

He said a food consignment was expected to leave Lodwar National Cereal and Produce Board to the area for affected families.

Rift Valley Provincial Police boss Francis Munyambu said diplomatic channels would first be explored in addressing the deteriorating insecurity along the Kenya–Ethioipia border.

"We cannot just wake up one day and start flushing out the Merille from the Kenyan soil. We need to dialogue with our Ethiopian counterparts and find out how best to do it," said Munyambu.

Munyes urged the Government to look for a permanent solution to stop Ethiopians from executing Kenyans.

"In the past one year, more than 100 people, including Kenya security personnel, have been killed in Todonyang and the Government is doing little to address the problem," he said.

Barter trade

Munyes noted that many people are still missing and he suspected they might have been killed inside Ethiopian villages.

"I will go to the border to verify reports of the missing people and meet affected families," the MP said.

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