It was not supposed to happen. President Kibaki had issued a dusk to dawn curfew and the five thousand families believed they would be safe although they had to spend another night in the cold.
Their hope proved to be a false dawn as death arrived yet again at 6am in the shape of raiders wearing red bandanas. President Kibaki’s edict was not worth the paper it was printed on.
By the time they left, four more villagers were dead in Semikaro and Nduru villages in Tana River County. “The attackers stormed the villages at 6am and we had to run for our dear lives to avoid being burnt in our houses. They were armed with superior guns, spears bows, and arrows,” said a villager, identified as Said Rova.
It came even as houses torched in the previous day’s massacre were still smouldering, the smoke billowing steadily into the sky, warning families not to dare return. Rova said the gang stormed the village and found him in his house.
“I made a quick decision and dashed to the bush although the policemen were stationed nearby. I could not run straight to where they were because the raiders could have shot me,” said Rova.
He lost everything as the attackers ransacked his house and took away all his earthly belongings. Roba watched as four of his immediate neighbours were gunned down in a hail of gunfire. Another villager, Majid Morowa, said he rushed out to rescue his neighbours after he fired some shots to scare the gang.
“As a police reservist, I fired some shots to rescue the villagers who were under siege,” he said. Morowa said the attackers had superior weapons and they forced the villagers out before burning their houses.
“These people are armed to the teeth while we are running out of bullets,” he said with pain and anguish in his deep voice. The Chara location chief, Jaricha Fumo, was not spared either and was among those who narrowly survived the attack. His home was among those raiders attacked and reduced to ashes.
“I’m just like any of the villagers because my home was attacked and my belongings stolen,” said the administrator. Mr Fumo said he was staying at Semikaro camp where about 40 police officers have been stationed to protect the internally displaced persons.
Scared villagers trooped out to primary schools where they sought protection after the latest wave of bloodletting. A day before, 38 were killed in Kilelengwani, including nine police officers.
Shaken officers
The over 100 killed in the past four weeks to Monday belonged to the Orma community and the killers were Pokomo. Tuesday was a revenge attack by the Orma on the latter. A message is being sent as General Election nears and it is not subtle.
Apart from 50 houses torched in a morning raid, which is the pattern of the conflict between the Orma and Pokomo, Tuesday’s attack at Semikaro village occurred near a police camp with 40 officers.
It is not clear what the officers did when Semikaro came under attack, but there was no indication any attacker was killed, although a police reservist told The Standard that he and other officers ran out of ammunition trying to defend the village.
The villages struck Tuesday are located in Chara location and are inhabited by the Pokomo, which have been accused of being behind Monday mass murder at Kilelengwani.
The Chara location chief said the raiders struck while people were asleep. “We were awoken up by sounds of gun shots and most of us tried to run to the nearby police camp, but four men were killed in the process,” Fumo said.
The shaken administrator said raiders outnumbered officers and could not be contained. The officers instead concentrated on guarding the internally displaced persons at Semikaro. The administrator threatened to resign following the rising security challenges.
“I have already informed the DC about my intention to resign because the security situation is worsening and the residents are blaming me for it,” Fumo said. ?
Police reservist Morowa Majid said the reservists in the location had exhausted their bullets since the fighting started, and could not engage the raiders. “We would have repulsed the raiders today, but we have run out of ammunition,” he said. The villagers were yesterday complaining about dwindling supplies in shops as public transport has been blocked.
The Kenya Red Cross team confirmed that so many people are missing, including children, but said they are still compiling the figures.
Thousands displaced
Last evening the Government announced the disarmament of all police reservists in the warring Orma and Pokomo communities. The recall of those on leave raised suspicions they could have been abetting the ethnic conflict.
At the same time the Kenya Red Cross announced that 246 houses were torched yesterday in six villages. Hassan Musa, the Red Cross co-ordinator, for Malindi and Magarini, also disclosed that 5,000 families from both tribes had so far been displaced after a month of conflict in the Tana Delta District.
Last evening Internal Security PS Mutea Iringo announced that all reservists from the two tribes would be disarmed to curb their possible complicity in the violence that has consumed about 100 lives.
Meanwhile Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere said the military might be called in to support police efforts in clashes-hit area by the weekend.
A senior police official disclosed that thousands of villagers in affected places would be gathered in protected camps before a security operation.
In Mombasa, religious leaders demanded the investigation of acting Internal Security Minister Yusuf Haji and Galole MP Dadho Godhana who have traded accusations over the violence.
Entire villages across the violence ravaged Tana Delta are deserted with refugees fleeing to Lamu, Malindi, and other parts of Tana River County so far untouched by the bloodletting.
Fleeing residents or those displaced by the violence said the curfew imposed by the Government after Monday attack on Kilelengwani was counterproductive, as they are now running short of basic supplies.
Senior police officers yesterday descended on the new killing fields at Semikaro, Angasa, Mbelezoni, Nduru, Shirikisho and Laini village and announced a reshuffle of key officials in the local District Security Committee.
Iteere and Coast PC Samuel Kilele viewed the four bodies after flying to the scene of attack in a police chopper. They were accompanied by Iringo and CID Director Ndegwa Muhuro, but Haji was conspicuously missing from the entourage that visited the mainly Pokomo village.
By PATRICK BEJA and PAUL GITAU
