Kenyans enraged by slow reaction of State to brutal killings

By Standard Team

Four days after they were killed, and with the long silence from State House still reigning, the bodies of the fallen heroes arrived in Nairobi.

The bodies landed in the capital where Vigilance House sits, on a day Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere vowed he would not resign because he claimed the bungled mission targeting cattle rustlers should be blamed on field commanders who organised it.

As national outrage rose over the casual manner in which the State has handled the killings, particularly leaving out bodies to rot in trucks outside a primary school till the fourth day on Tuesday, two more officers were rescued from the bushes of Suguta Valley.

Children sent to sell milk by their parents stumbled upon the frail, famished and scared officers, hiding in the bushes from Saturday morning when they were ambushed and shot by Turkana rustlers.

In the sobering twist of fate, the soldiers could not even carry their guns, a task that fell on the children they were supposed to protect. The children also gave them some of the milk they were going to deliver to drink. They were admitted to Maralal District Hospital.

Not far away in Baragoi, where the police officers most of them freshly out of college and the majority inexperienced on the rough terrain hosting the ‘village of death’, all the reservists killed alongside the General Service Unit, Administration and Regular police staff were buried.

The national outrage targeted the political leadership led by President Kibaki over its silence. The President on Tuesday commissioned Syokimau commuter train service but though prayers were said for the police officers killed, he did not mention them in his speech.

He, however, broke his silence last evening and ordered Kenya Defence Forces to deploy to Samburu and support officers pursuing the bandits.

Worst tragedy

Also on the spot were the Presidential aspirants, including Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who have pushed on with their campaigns despite the worst tragedy to befall police since independence as if it amounted to nothing. 

Police and Army officers continued searching for missing colleagues as it emerged among those killed was a GSU senior superintendent.

His counterpart in the Administration Police force was among those who have not been found.

Three families that had received news about their next of kin being among the dead, camped at Wilson Airport from morning waiting for the bodies to be brought.

The scent of death engulfed the airport, particularly the Police Air Wing area, when the bodies that had began to decompose in Samburu’s scorching sun were offloaded from two police choppers.

At hand to receive the bodies was Iteere and his top offices. The highest-ranking government official present was an Assistant minister in PM’s office, Mr Alfred Khangati.

Found in bushes

Two police officers who survived the attack in Suguta — Abdi Noor and Andrew Mwangalo — told The Standard they were rescued by children in Suguta’s bushes.  

Leaders accused authorities of neglect, saying the slain officers were not only led into a deathtrap but suffered the indignity of having their bodies abandoned in the wilderness for days.

As 24 decomposing bodies of the weekend attack were flown to Nairobi on Tuesday, MPs condemned the silence by President Kibaki and the PM arguing this bore testimony no one wanted to take responsibility.

Earlier, the chairman of Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Mr Fred Kapondi, termed the poor response as “really discouraging.”

Kapondi said Suguta Valley had a history of bloody attacks but it had never been secured leading to the recent slaughter. “The bandits wanted to wipe out the police officers and they just did so. How authorities let that happen and the subsequent handling of those slain in the line of duty raises questions,” Kapondi added.

Defence and Foreign Relations Chairman Adan Keynan said he was perplexed by the silence exhibited by the country’s top leadership over the matter three days after it had occurred. “I am consulting with Kapondi’s team with a view of setting up a parliamentary inquiry to investigate this massacre,” added Keynan.

Keynan said with the slow pace and lackluster reaction by government, Parliament would have to find out what went wrong in order to stop recurrence. “This is criminal, barbaric and unacceptable in this day and age and it shows there was a clear total lapse of the security,” he added.

Keynan demanded that the government moves with speed to bring the perpetrators of “this heinous act” to book. “This is also a wake up call to our security to clearly look at the security situation in every part of Kenya as well as ensure they comb the affected area and get the perpetrators,” he advised.

The chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Dr Boni Khalwale said authorities not only let down officers by poorly equipping them but also abandoned them even in death. “The President and PM have failed the test of leadership by not standing with the officers who had laid their lives on the line for the country,” Khalwale charged. 

Planning Assistant Minister Peter Kenneth called for an overhaul of the security services leadership and questioned why the National Security Intelligence Service never detected the impending attacks.

“We need a total overhaul of top leadership of security agencies. They should be led by individuals who are ready to work for security and safety of all Kenyans,” Kenneth said.

The Kenya National Congress presidential aspirant continued: “Insecurity has deteriorated to a level where security personnel who are supposed to guard us have become targets and even get killed. The question is, has the NSIS become moribund to a level that it should be disbanded?”

Death trap

Kisumu Town West MP Olago Aluoch simply lamented: “The police put young recruits in a death trap.” He added: “I expected the President and PM to come out strongly on this.”

Dujis MP Aden Dualle, who spoke from Chiromo mortuary where he joined families of two constituents killed in the attacks, said it was shameful that the bodies had been left in the bush for three days.

“The nation has lost its conscience. The president’s silence is worrying. The PM, who is supervisor of government functions, is busy on the campaign trail,” Dualle added.

Turkana Central MP Ekwe Ethuro said the deafening silence from the Executive was an indicator to how government rated problems faced by the pastoralist communities.  “Disarmament is not an option because guns are there because the government has failed,” he added. Yatta MP Charles Kilonzo described the incident, as “unacceptable”, saying the police Air Wing should be properly equipped so it can provide air cover.

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