Kenya Defence Forces and their Somali Transitional Federal Government counterparts must be praised for freeing four aid workers who were kidnapped from Daadab camp.
It is obvious the humanitarian work the four were doing at Daadab puts them at risk great risk, but they do not deserve to victims of the ongoing war against terrorism.
It was good to see them back after a few days in custody and PointBlank is happy that the ordeal ended well. But their release from captivity is a stark reminder of two Kenyans who were kidnapped by Al Shabaab militiamen early this year and have never been rescued.
The last time PointBlank heard about Burderi DO Jesse Mule and Wajir South District Registrar of Persons Fredrick Wainaina was when Al Shabaab posted their photos on Twitter and later when the militants released a video of Mule pleading with Government to withdraw its forces from Somalia.
The trail has gone cold. It is tough to imagine what is going on in the lives of their loved ones, especially when they see other victims of kidnappings are being rescued. Perhaps the government is not doing enough.
Sunday has become the devil’s day
Long time ago, Sunday was a beautiful day. People visited various social places to unwind as they looked forward to Monday. And then, words like Sunday best made sense. But that was then, today, according to Mombasa resident Justin Osey, Sunday has become the darkest day in history of this country.
“On June 10, a helicopter crashed in Ngong killing Internal Security minister George Saitoti, his assistant Orwa Ojode and four others,” he explains.
Some days later, on June 24, four revellers were killed and scores injured as terrorists attacked a bar at Mshomoroni in Mombasa.
“Last Sunday, 17 people were killed and scores others injured when terrorists attacked two churches in Garissa. Other recent tragedies have also happened on Sunday,” recounts Osey.
Why Sunday? Osey blames it all on terrorists. “Sunday has become a “Breaking News Day”. When the day reaches, you sit at home and cross your fingers hoping that nothing bad will happen. You also fear going to social places,” he says.
As July crawls on, Osey prays that Sundays will return to what they used to be – a day for the family devoid of tragic events.
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