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Number of massacres against the people
of
Northeastern
A historical timeline of massacres committed against the Kenyan Somalis
and sanctioned by the Kenya Security forces.
Congratulations for Killing the bandits-GG Kariuki on the Garissa
Massacre, 1981
Garissa Massacre.
"Although some houses were burnt down last night some people and property
destroyed, our policemen must be commended for their restraint and
the way they conducted themselves at a time they were hunting for
the armed Shifta bandits who killed the four civil servants."
As I was on the plane, I saw many houses were burnt down, but that
was because our security men were chasing people armed with
sophisticated weapons. On an occasion like that a gun does not
choose a target".
Those were the words of Mr G.G Kariuki then a Minister of State in
charge of internal security 18 years ago. The Minister was
addressing residents of Garissa who the previous night had their
houses torched and many of their loved ones massacred by security
forces on an operation.
The security operation was triggered by the killing of four civil
servants among them the then Dadaab District Officer Mr Johnson
Welimo while on his way to Garissa town by armed bandits, left
hundreds of the town's residents (mainly men) dead and thousands
homeless as the security personnel embarked on indiscriminate
killing of innocent wanainchi and torching of their houses.
Definitely by the end of his five hour tour of the area, Mr Kariuki
did leave the Garissa people more bitter than when we meet them, not
due to their loss of their loved ones and property by but to the
dashing of all their hopes of having the killer soldiers punished by
the Government G.G Kariuki represented.
Incidents of police brutality of such nature against residents of
not only Garissa district but the entire North Eastern Province is
not a new or strange occurrence.
Garissa massacre as it was christened is among many of these grisly
massacres instigated against innocent civilians in NEP by the very
people whom the constitution says should protect their lives and
property.
The massacre was carried out following the killing of the Dadaab D.O
and three other civil servants while on their way to Garissa from
Dadaab. They were killed by notorious bandit Abdi Mathobe.
The preparations for this dastardly and pusillanimous act started
earlier on in the day and was personally overseen by the then North
Eastern Provincial Commissioner Mr Benson Karia. All Somali force
members were quickly asked to convene and were immediately
transported out of the town, confides a then, member of the force
From 7.00 pm that night gun shots could be heard everywhere in the
town and huge flames leapt in the air as the security forces
embarked on torching houses and shooting anyone who came their way.
Though the shooting of people and torching of houses started from
the centre of the town the military officers in their mission of
pillage and plunder, some atop lorries and others on foot were in a
short time in every corner of the town. One other source confirmed
that the soldiers also used bayonets to rip open the bellies of many
of the victims of Garissa massacre while shooting anyone who tried
to run away.
It was a scene of horror and pandemonium as everyone tried to get
himself and family members to safety. Some managed, but alas! Others
ran into the danger they were fleeing and were shot dead.
Witnesses can today recount the military lorries packed to the brim
with bodies that were taken to Tana River and thrown into the river
to be fed on by the hungry crocodiles. Others were taken to areas
around the Modicar area 15 kilometres from the town where their
bodies were burnt.
It was a night of mystery. Many houses refused to burn and many guns
could not kill. Whenever such incidents happened the Security forces
would knock the house with a vehicle and hit the people with their
armoured vehicles, but still many survived through the grace of the
Almighty.
Many fled to the outskirts of the town to seek refuge in the
wilderness while others crossed the border of Kenya and Somalia
while still running, that very night. Then followed the following
morning when a curfew was announced and most of the town's residents
were assembled at the Garissa Primary school Playground.
Sitting in the scorching sun for nearly two days without water and
food, many were forced to drink their urine in order to survive.
Though the people were later allowed to go back to their homes - if
at all they had any left - many men were still held in police
custody for alleged involvement in banditry activities.
It's common talk that the people were released from captivity at the
playground after Somali strongman Mohammed Siyad Bare intervened and
threatened to attack Kenya if it didn't release the people, but this
is unconfirmed.
The history of the brutality meted out on residents of NEP can be
traced back to the time of Kenya's independence. Around the time of
independence in 1963, a secessionist movement that had both the
covert and overt support of the Republic of Somalia broke out in the
Province by the name of Shifta.
The movement led not only to a bloody war but also to hostility by
the immediate post independence Kenya Government. It further
complicated and polarised the relationship between the Northern
frontier Districts and the central authorities in Nairobi.
Thus 70 years of hostile colonial neglect was being further
exacerbated by a bloody secessionist war.
Even when the Shifta war came to an end, the situation and living
conditions of the people did not change immediately for the better.
The fact that the hostile attitude could not be a conducive
environment for any kind of progress may be the reason why parts of
northern Kenya are among the least developed in the Country.
The Secretary General of The Supreme Council Of Kenya Muslims, Mr
Ahmed Khalif says that it's of no use for the authorities to deal
with banditry as if it was a secessionist attempt. "We can say with
certainty that there is no secessionist movement in the region at
the moment and the main cause of insecurity is banditry from which
the residents suffer inordinately as they become victims of both
bandits and the security forces.
Banditry is today still a vicious circle that keeps the region's
residents from realising their potentials. The authorities have been
known to react to cases of banditry attacks with brutal and
thoughtless force, that usually brings more damage than the banditry
itself.
The Wagalla massacre of 1984 in Wajir District where over a thousand
people were butchered in cold blood by security is a fine example of
the sort of force used against the region's inhabitants. Infact
Wagalla massacre has no parallels in independent Kenya. Up to now no
proper no proper investigations has been done on the matter let a
lone any consideration with regard to compensation.
There have been numerous other incidents of less proportion but
nevertheless equally brutal and inhuman which tend to show the
callous attitude of the authorities and the security forces towards
the inhabitants of this region.
It's also a known fact that the most notorious and ruthless of all
NEP bandits were themselves victims of police brutality, says Mzee
Salah Farah a retired Administration Policeman. The Bandit leader
responsible for the deaths of many senior civil servants including
the Dadaab D.O Mr Johnson Welimo and scores of civil servants in
Garissa in 1980 was earlier castrated by police when they arrested
him with elephant tusks.
But the bandit, named Abdi Methobe, later escaped from prison and
feeling humiliated he hit back, raiding towns in broad daylight. He
was later killed by Members of the former Game Department while
crossing the Tana River in a canoe.
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