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No End to Chaos in Volatile Region
- Details
- Published on Saturday, 02 June 2007 06:29
On November 28, Nyabitunwa villagers, Gucha District, woke up to a rude shock; paramilitary General Service Unit officers deployed in the area to keep peace had a different mission. Unlike their usual routine pursuit of stolen animals, they were on a different assignment. They arrived in three police vehicles, armed to the teeth, and got down to business - torched 15 houses, destroyed a dozen others, battered those who could not escape and plundered maize and banana plantations. Reason? One of their own had been killed four days earlier while driving stolen cattle from Gucha back to Trans Mara. They mourned the death with a trail of mayhem and destruction that left at least two people with gunshot wounds. The villagers have sought refuge elsewhere, and they only visit their desolate village during the day.
Suffered gunshot wounds
Since the resurgence of the violence, which is not unusual as the elections approach, two people have lost their lives - a police officer and a villager - while six others have suffered gunshot wounds in the past three weeks.On December 1, police shot and critically injured four people at Magena market, who, according to the administration, attacked them while driving stolen animals back to Trans Mara.They also stormed Akemo Valley Nursing Home in Trans Mara two days later and arrested two of the injured. The two were identified as Mr Darius Auka of Rogongo Secondary School and Ibrahim Otara Nyabere of Nduru Secondary School.
Tension is high in the area after the incident as those on the Gucha side of the border believe police favour their neighbours in Trans Mara. They spoke bitterly of the little assistance from security personnel whenever their animals are stolen. Despite President Moi's appeal last year to the Kisii and Maasai leaders to end the clashes that claimed about 30 lives then, little seems to have been achieved as every month people are maimed or killed in cattle rustling incidents.
Some administration officials and the Catholic Church share in the people's concerns, saying some politicians have failed to ask their communities to refrain from violence. On the day of the mayhem, Mzee Martin Omwega, 65, was awoken by screams. He immediately grabbed his clothes and shouted for the whole family members to flee.
He thought their neighbours had invaded their homes because some animals had been stolen in Trans Mara, but this time round he heard continuous gunfire unlike the case in previous raids. The father of 15 said: "Everybody did not know what was happening, we just ran and ran and ran; some of our children got lost in the confusion."
Mr Omwega, whose three houses were burnt is now a nomad: "We come here during the day to cook in the open. We seek shelter elsewhere in the evening."The family splits into groups to look for accommodation about five kilometres from where their homes used to be. His elder and younger brothers Ongangi Omwega and Nyakanga Omwega also lost a house each.
The panic in the village is evident. When the Nation drove into the area, women with babies strapped on their backs ran and hid in the tea and maize plantations. The youth looking after cattle nearby held tightly to their arrows, spears and clubs as they started driving their animals away from us.Later they realised that we were harmless, and then emerged from their hiding places. Soiled and unkempt, they rushed to where we were to tell us their agonising story. Born in the village, Mr Omwega has never witnessed such an incident before. "I was born here but I have never seen anything like this. We cannot understand why a government that is supposed to protect us has turned against us."
At this point, a distraught Omwega turns to his children and says: "Look at these children, where do I take them now? I am seeking shelter in other people's homes." Inside the house, everything was reduced to ashes, and for those that did not go up in smoke, doors were shattered and goods destroyed. In the nearby farm, bananas were slashed and a few pawpaw trees brought down.Animals were not spared either; at least three cows, two donkeys and sheep were killed.
Church meeting room
Five other grass-thatched houses, two belonging to Mr Samuel Okoyo Ombati and Oigara Okoyo and one to his son Stephen Okoyo, were also torched. A Catholic church meeting room and a school kitchen were also razed. Also gutted were houses belonging to Mr Isaac Nyabuto Ayori and Mr Samuel Otumba. Stephen, a farmer, only saved his small radio, which he clung to during the interview. "When we heard the gun fire, we escaped. They then vented their anger on our houses," said the bitter father of five. He asked why the officers destroyed property. "Even if they were looking for stolen cattle, why do this to innocent people?" Mzee Ombati, 60, had a day earlier suffered injuries during a confrontation between the villagers and the officers pursuing stolen animals. As he talked to us, it was evident that he was in great pain. He recalled he was hit several times with gun buts when he asked the officers why they were beating people. But perhaps the saddest case is that of two secondary students shot and later taken forcibly out of hospital.
On Thursday, when the Nation visited the area, a frail Mr Ombati was relaxing on a mat outside what used to be his houses. Nothing was salvaged. Some of his children escaped naked and to date they survive on borrowed clothes. As Ombati narrated his ordeal, his neighbour, the Rev Charles Omweno of the Anglican Church, was wondering why God had let his people suffer. He had served as a church minister for 24 years in the area, but he has never witnessed such an upheaval. The officers were unable to burn his house, but they shattered window panes, tore Bibles and broke furniture. Bullet marks were on the house and spent cartridges littered his compound.
A dejected Rev Omweno said: "I do not know why police, who are supposed to restore security, can do this. Look at me, am I a criminal? Why should they do this?" Since the incident, he has sought refugee four kilometres away. To many in locals, peace will ever be elusive if the current government continues to rule. The crisis has spawned anti-government feelings on both sides of the border. Administrators fear speaking about the situation as this, according to them, would re-ignite the conflict.
Gucha District Commissioner Hassan Noor Hassan said: "Please let us not discuss this. At least the tension is now low. Do you want to re-ignite the problem?" Mr Hassan defended the GSU's action, but conceded that police shot defiant youths who prevented them from returning cattle stolen from Trans Mara. He, however, could not say who were responsible for burning of the houses, only saying: "Our business is not to burn houses, but to protect lives." Catholic priest Vincent Simba of the Nyangusu Parish shares in the plight of the people: "When we reported the matter to the police, no action was taken. They said the villagers had not recorded statements about the invasion." He claimed cattle rustling was schemed by a cartel on both districts, arguing that there could be political undertones. "These skirmishes soared in 1992 and 1997, and now we are faced with a similar situation. If police are attacking innocent people, do you think any one is secure."Father Simba said the tension in the area would interfere with campaigns, and expressed fears that the locals might not vote.
The priest said different detachments of security personnel were unfriendly, and incidents of cross-border fire exchange among themselves was common. Trans Mara DC Fred Mutsami explained that the administration had received such complaints and had taken action.Some Maasai villagers on the border blame a powerful Cabinet Minister of failing to restore peace in the area.
