www.Kisii.Com: Syndicated news from only reputable sources [Nation, and Standard Newspapers, Kenya Times, KBC, etc.]
Residents Asked to Allow Burial of Mob Violence Victims
- Details
- Published on Monday, 16 July 2007 22:35
Those lynched will be buried this week, relatives said yesterday as they rebuilt burnt houses in preparation for the burials.
The relatives of Mr Nyauma Mosomi and Ms Teresia Osoro who were lynched on accusations of abducting two people have demanded the arrest of those behind the killings. Two other people who were killed had tried to intervene.
District commissioner Abdilahi Leloon urged residents to allow the lynched suspects be buried at their homes.
Speaking in Kisii Town, the DC said: "Dead people tell no tales. If somebody has died, he dies with his or her evil deeds, so let villagers allow relatives to bury the suspects."He singled out Councillor Livingstone Omoke who was killed last Sunday and is yet to be buried. Bogiakumu villagers told the DC to his face on Friday at Suneka that the councillor will not be buried at his home.
"Mr Omoke was a leader and it will be shameful if he is not buried at his home. Please allow his relatives to inter his remains at his home," the DC said during the Friday meeting amid murmurs.
Yesterday, Mr Leloon said villagers should not punish the dead. "If they killed or lynched them, why again punish them in death?" he askedBodies of several suspected gangsters are lying at various mortuaries in Kisii after villagers rejected their burials.Speaking at Suneka on Friday, the DC said vigilante groups would be banned if they are found to be behind the wave of lynching.
Accompanied by area police chief Augustine Kimantiria and Suneka DO Scholastica Kosgei, he termed the vigilantes' activities including the searching of homes and soliciting money illegal.
He condemned the public execution of suspects and instead told residents to hand them over to the police for necessary action.At Keumbu area, residents accused the police and the Provincial Administration in Kisii of complicity and failure to arrest those behind the killings.
At the home of Mr Mosomi, who died, villagers accused the Government of being behind the killing.
"There were meetings where names of suspected witches were forwarded. Where were assistant chiefs when plans to kill were being plotted and when the the mob unleashed terror for more than six hours?" asked a Mr Nyauma, Mr Mosomi's brother.
