Baragoi families decry ‘loud silence’ by the State

By Alex Kiprotich

Kenya: In the most brutal attack against the police, 42 officers including reservists were felled under heavy bandit firefire in Suguta Valley seven months ago.

The Standard visited the homes of the 16 reservists. eight of them from Bendera Manyatta and the other eight from Ngilai Manyatta.

When word went round that journalists were visiting the homes, an old man was summoned who blew a traditional horn to call for a meeting of elders who wanted to know our intentions.

We learnt that since the massacre, residents are very cautious of visitors as they suspect they could be enemy spies.

“We do not just allow anyone here after what happened to our people,” said an elder.

Word went round of our presence when we asked for directions at Baragoi centre. Homeguards were quickly mobilised while we were kept waiting by our source.

At the house of Thomas Leakano who was the head of Kenya Police Reservists in the region and killed during the raid, we are ushered into the compound by Tokoron Leret — the elder who was tasked to take us round.

As Leret introduces our mission, one woman, who was keenly following the conversation, walks out and enters a hut in the manyatta.

The lady — Rekema — refuses to be interviewed or even her picture taken as she is still traumatised by the death of her husband.

Rekema’s trauma is borne of the fact that not only has she been widowed at an early age but now has the added responsibility of bringing up six children aged between one and eight years alone following the death of her husband.

Leakono had been a reservist for the last ten years and just before he was killed, he had been promoted to the rank of Sergeant and the head of the unit in the region.

“Traditionally, when someone is killed, everything is thrown away,” said Lesepe when I asked him if we can get his picture.

Just like the community throw away all the belongings of the dead, the Government, which enlisted Leakono as a homeguard seems to have washed its hands off the family the moment the killer bullet stopped the heartbeat of the 40-year-old.

“Government? Which one? We have never heard anything from them. In fact, we collected our body ourselves,” said Julius a brother to the deceased tells The Standard team.

Killed like dogs

At the adjacent homestead, we meet Lentoimaga Jumweto, a 70-year-old frail-looking grandmother, holding a two-year-old child on her lap.

Jumweto, who is the mother to Alois Musa Lentoimaga, the current Samburu North MP lost one of her son’s Titus.

He left behind three children aged between two and four years.

“They killed my son who had been in the service for 10 years. And this is all they left us with,” she said pointing at the child on her lap and the other supporting himself against her feeble frame.

Metres from the home, the family of Lomogun Lemarkelei is still mourning the loss of their 25-year-old son Tetenwa Lemarkelei.

Tetenwa, just like his fellow home guard Tukan Leret, was 22, had not married, meaning their deaths were a big blow to their families.

“They were killed like dogs and worse still they had not sired children,” said Lemarkelei while driving his walking stick into the ground.

And at Ngilai Manyatta, we meet 18-year-old Mantiwan Lengerelei, a widow. Her husband of five years Lkotiyan was also killed in the Baragoi massacre but since then, the Government has never given them any assistance.

“We are just struggling with our lives. My one and half-year-old son Daniel will never know who his father is,” she said.

Raeli Lentirankui, is yet another widow whose daughter Nempiris was born just two weeks old after the massacre that claimed the life of her husband Nyaligui.