Man loses two sisters in Mandera bus massacre

For Kinoti Mutenja, losing two sisters at one go pierced his heart like an arrow.

His sisters, Fridah Kathambi, 30, and Winfred Karimi, 28, were among the 28 people massacred by terrorists in Mandera County on Saturday morning. The victims were felled by bullets to the head fired from behind.

The two sisters were both teachers in Mandera and had worked there for two years. Each had a child aged six and four respectively, the family said.

Mr Kinoti said Winfred was the first one to go to Mandera before she called Fridah to join her.

"There were five of us and now we have only one sister left after the two were killed. I can't believe they are dead," said Kinoti as he queued at the mortuary to identify the bodies.

He said Winfred called him on Friday to say they would arrive in Nairobi on Saturday depending on the road.

When he heard through the media that gunmen had ambushed a bus and killed 28 people, the first thing he did was to try to call the two.

December holidays

"I tried in vain. I called their friends who confirmed they were no more because they had been killed by the criminals," he said.

It is said before Mandera residents travel to Nairobi, they inform their loved ones because of the dangers they might encounter.

Among the dead were 22  teachers, one clinical officer, two police officers, a carpenter and a pharmacist, police and medical officials at the mortuary said. Most were aged between 23 and 30.

They were heading home for the December holidays after schools closed.

Police Constable Kennedy Otieno was with his wife Beatrice, who was pregnant when they met their deaths.