We told police of suspicious people prior to attack, says Mandera landlord

The owner of the estate in Mandera where 14 people were killed by Al Shabaab militants has disputed claims by the Government that it did not have prior information over the impending attack.

Hajji Barre told the Press that a day before the attack, he had reported to the Mandera Police Station OCS the presence of suspicious people in shrubs near their houses.

"We reported the matter more than once, but the police took our information casually. Had the security officials taken the information seriously, maybe this incident could not have happened," said Mr Barre.

Barre whose wife of eight months, Neima Mohamed, was killed by the attackers as she pleaded with them to spare the lives of the quarry workers, said she did not die in vain.

Big loss

"My wife had an option to live, but she opted to die with her fellow Kenyans who were killed unjustly by the assailants. Despite feeling the pain of losing her, we know she has died for a worthy course," He added.

He added: "There is now a lot of emptiness in my life. The 14 young men killed by the attackers were more than just tenants to me; they were like my sons. Losing such big a number of people at once is a blow," he added.

Barre, 70, who on the fateful night was away, also refuted claims that security officers responded swiftly to the attack, adding that police arrived at the scene more than an hour later.

"The security officers arrived one and a half hours after the attack and by this time the attackers had already killed people and retreated," said Barre, whose property housed 50 people.

When the Press visited the scene, the belongings of those slain were scattered all over the compound. The incident happened in Soko Mbuzi village where non-locals and mostly quarry workers live.

They are said to have planted grenades on the doors, but most of the people were sleeping in tents outside their houses due to the hot weather.

The attackers reportedly hurled a petrol bomb at the tents before shooting. The attackers are said to have escaped to nearby bushes.

The police have also been criticised for not seeking reinforcement from the Kenya Defence Forces officers in the area, as their camp is located just a few metres from where the attack took place.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Nkaissery told the media in a press briefing following the attack that that they had no intelligence reports on an impending attack.

He also said that his officers responded swiftly to the attack, saving 136 out of 150 tenants targeted in the attack. In December last year, the militants also killed 36 non-Muslim quarry workers in Mandera.

The attack also took place at night when the victims were sleeping in their tents in Koromey, about 15km from Mandera town.