Bungoma attacks victims cry for justice a year on

Bungoma, Kenya: “Elections brought tragedy. We are still carrying the scars of the violence brutally visited on our people in this village,” says a victim of last year’s killings in Bungoma.

Many residents of Kikwechi village in Bungoma County carry scars, while others were maimed after an armed gang attacked them with machetes and guns.

The deadly attacks, which spread to Busia County, left more than 50 dead and 100 people injured, some permanently.

Grace Namaswa, a 15-year-old Standard Eight pupil at Kikwechi ACK Primary School, is among those who escaped with serious injuries.

A large scar on her eyebrow, just above her eyes, left her with a lifetime reminder of the massacre.

A knife stab to her left eye exposed her eyeball, leaving her with a permanent injury.

“They punctured my eyelid with a knife. I struggle to read and sometimes tears fall from my eyes without control,” Grace told The Standard on Sunday.

She risks losing her sight if an operation is not conducted to correct the problem.

Fighting to control her emotions, Grace adds: “I keep on asking myself, why me! I fear losing my sight. I plead for help so that I can continue with my studies.”

Bungoma County has been facing a wave of criminal attacks for a year now, a situation that is scaring away investors. Violence erupted in Bungoma and Busia counties soon after last year’s elections. Thirteen people were killed and hundreds injured.

 Butchered and maimed

It all began on April 28 last year, when a gang hacked to death two Bungoma County residents and injured at least 100 others in Akabait, Segera and Benga.

These villages were targeted in another attack three days later, when seven people were killed and 50 injured.

On May 8, barely a week after the first attack, unidentified gunmen killed a businessman and injured 10 others in Mashambani and Wing villages in Busia County.

The families in Kikwechi have never known who killed and maimed their sons and daughters.

Neither the government nor the police have offered answers. Survivors and their kin are left to fill that gap with mere speculation and rumour. Many painfully recall what happened the night they were attacked.

“We heard noise outside. They were shouting mwizi, mwizi, mwizi (thief, thief, thief!) prompting us to come out of our houses. But there were no thieves. We were instead met with machetes chopping our necks, hands, everywhere, prompting us to cry for help,” says Grace’s mother Rosemary Mabele, who is now a widow.

Mabele does not understand why innocent children were butchered and maimed in Kikwechi, a village that is barely 20 kilometres away from the Kenya-Uganda border.

“They attacked three of my children, slashing them using machetes. They almost left my daughter blind. I wonder why these people were never arrested and why the Government has failed to compensate us,” she says.

Mabele’s neighbour Peter Nyongesa was left with a big wound on the jaw, while Nathan Simiyu got a deep cut in the head.

At Kikwechi Primary School, we meet more than 10 pupils carrying big scars on their bodies.

“Some find it difficult to hold items as their hands were almost chopped off. A KCPE candidate has difficulty reading as her eyes were almost gouged out,” Evans Wanyama Juma, the school’s headteacher, says.

Augustine Wanjala, a Standard Five pupil, was hacked and left for dead. His hands were severed and had to receive specialised treatment at Moi Teaching and  Referral Hospital in Eldoret to survive.

Fear is still palpable in Kikwechi. As we turned off the Chwele-Kimilili road on our way to the village, fear was palpable. Some villagers peeped out of their windows, perhaps wondering who these strangers were and what they were upto. Others just kept a safe distance.

“Every new person coming here is treated with suspicion because people think they are on another mission, perhaps surveying the area for attack when the night falls,” said Juma.

We are told it is risky for a stranger to walk into the village or  walk around aimlessly on the road that connects Bungoma from Mayanja to Cheptais in Mt Elgon District.

Politically instigated

“Recently, four people were lynched here when a vehicle they were travelling in rolled and the four walked out seeking help,” said Fred Wambete, a local.

Wambete, also a survivor, said the mob lynched the four after they allegedly saw one holding a gun. Their bodies were then burnt to avenge last year’s killings.

“There is so much anger among the residents. They are still seeking the murderers,” said Wambete.

Villagers blame politicians for what happened. “This spot is on the border of Kanduyi, Bumula and Sirisia constituencies, which voted overwhelmingly for CORD candidates, including Senator Moses Wetang’ula and MPs Wafula Wamunyinyi (Kanduyi) and John Waluke (Sirisia). The only difference is that most of them voted for Kenneth Lusaka as the Governor, even though he ran on an Amani ticket,” said a resident, who did not wish to be named.

But Bungoma County Police Commandant Charles Munyoli denies that the killings were politically instigated.

“I cannot comment on that because I am not a politician. What I know is it was pure thuggery,” Munyoli explained. “Some of the killings include that of a woman who was raped and her three daughters killed in a dispute over land. We have arrested four suspects who are now in court.” Recently, two men killed their father over land in Bumula.

“Some of the killings have to do with family feuds over property, including land, and we have brought those involved to book,” he told The Standard on Sunday.

Delayed justice

The police chief says peace has returned to the area.

“We arrested more than 17 suspects and the matter is still in court. However, we want to inform Bungoma residents the matter is under control,” Munyoli said.

While the police are busy defending their work, Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka says the current security structures are a stumbling block in establishing any truth about the killings.

“When killings take place in Bungoma, people expect the governor to provide a solution. Unfortunately, the way laws on security are structured, governors do not have any major role,” said Lusaka.

“As much as security is a national function, we need to be involved as it impacts negatively on the county when such killings take place.”

He said a legal proposal to have governors chair security meetings with the police and the county commissioners will go a long way in alleviating such incidences.

“Governors have proposed formation of County Police Authority, to incorporate the governor, but until such a body is anchored in the law, we shall continue to be spectators on matters of security.”

Lusaka called for a serious intelligence-gathering unit in the county. “Intelligence is what matters as far as security is concerned,” he added.

Bungoma County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed the courts handling the cases, have delayed justice for the victims.