Grief, tears as seven victims of Tseikuru attacks are laid to rest

Kitui governor Julius Malombe (2nd Right) when he led other leaders for a requiem mass for seven victims of banditry killed last Saturday by suspected camel herders. The mass was held at Tseikuru primary school yesterday, Saturday May 2, 2026. (Philip Muasya, Standard) 

A heavy cloud of grief hung over Tseikuru Primary School in Kitui county yesterday and tears flowed freely as hundreds of mourners gathered for a requiem mass for seven victims killed last Saturday by  a gang wielding guns and machetes. 

Grief stricken families were inconsolable as prayers and hymns filled the somber air in a ceremony marked by raw emotion and collective mourning.

 The seven, a woman and six men were brutally killed at kwa-Kamari trading centre, about 60km east of Tseikuru town by a group of bandits suspected to be armed camel herders. 

The woman who operated an open air kiosk was gunned down alongside her two male customers as she prepared chapati.

 Four other victims were ambushed a few metres away and gunned down while tilling a neighbour’s farm. The thugs then escaped through the nearby Mwingi North national game reserve.

 Yesterday, Kitui governor Julius Malombe who led other local leaders in mourning the victims said the county government will work closely with the national government to strengthen security and put in place necessary infrastructure to protect lives and livelihoods.

 While calling for calm, the governor emphasised the urgency of finding lasting solutions to insecurity in the area.

 “This senseless loss of lives must come to an end. My administration is working jointly with the national government to ensure that our people and their properties are protected,” Malombe, who on Thursday held a peace meeting with his Garissa counterpart Nathif Jama at Nguni market said.

 Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka also addressed the mourners in a telephone call and expressed his deep sorrow for the loss of seven lives. Kalonzo called for firm and sustained security interventions to end recurring attacks along the perilous border with Tana River county.

 Other leaders present among them Kitui Woman Rep Irene Kasalu and Mwingi North MP Paul Nzengu as well as a section of MCAs echoed the need for enhanced security presence and long term strategies to restore peace.

 “It is the duty of the national government to protect people’s lives. Kitui residents are not lesser people, we expect the government to restore peace and arrest the killers,” Kasalu said. She called on security officers to act on intelligence to prevent future attacks.

 After the service, the caskets bearing the remains of the seven victims were slowly lifted and carried away to their respective homes for burial, as the grieving community struggles to absorb the weight of the massacre that has shattered Mwingi North.

 As part of efforts to boost security in the region, Malombe’s administration has constructed Kwa-Kamari Police Station.