I had to be strong for our children and keep away selfish in-laws

Samson Sirikwa father of the late KDF soldier Wesley Sirikwa at the grave of his son at their home in Lelmokwo village, Nandi County. Wesley was killed in Somalia Elade attack last year. (Photo.Boniface Okendo/Standard)

An alluring canopy of overgrown blue-gum trees welcomes you to Lelmokwo home of Samson Sirikwa on the outskirts of Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County.

Their long leaves cast a shade on the final resting place of Wesley Kimeli Sirikwa, 23, one of the youngest members of the Kenya Defence Forces infantry that fell in El Adde.

He had barely served the force for three years when he was felled by the enemy’s fire in the crack of dawn attack on in January 15 last year that shocked the nation.

When we arrived at the home, we were confronted by a reception of extreme odds: A warmly welcoming father and, understandably, a reluctant daughter.

“Why do you want to remind us about what was so painful? If it’s a visitation you are most welcome, but if it’s media work we will have to consult as a family first,” said Irene Jelimo.

The old man, however, held his ground and dismissed her in our presence. Voices were raised, arguments traded and phone calls made as we cowed in shame before they retreated in the background to consult. When they came back, Jelimo had calmed down. Overruled.

“You can proceed with him, but not us. My seniors had their way but don’t take any pictures,” she warned as she disappeared in the background and as Mzee took over to update us on the happenings of the last 12 months.

It was clear that the family is still reeling in post-tragedy shock and trauma.

“He had told me he was about to get married to his girlfriend, an Administration Police officer based in Kericho with whom they had a child. I’d showed him a place to build and we had even begun digging a pit latrine and clearing the area before the attack,” Sirikwa said.

Sirikwa told of how his son had refused to go back to the military after his maiden annual leave, but was convinced by his seniors and dispatched to Somalia.

“He brought in a timber agent and showed him all these trees stretching over and around our farm. He wanted only three things to trade them off with -- a tractor, a plough and a trailer. Unfortunately the plan fell off when he agreed to go back,” he said.

When the compensation fell through, Sirikwa said, he bought off a tractor in fulfillment of his son’s wishes. He now says a trailer would seal his son’s wishes.

“We divided the Sh4.5 million that came between myself and my wife. I used my proceeds to buy the tractor. Whatever my wife wants to do with her share it’s really up to her,” he said.

He did not sound conversant with the compensation details.

“It’s just that Sh4.5 million which they have used to buy the tractor, no more!” Jelimo shouted from the background when she heard her father’s helplessness with compensation queries.

Sirikwa complained of two other pledges made during the funeral of his son; recruitment of at least five children into the disciplined forces and refund of funeral expenses. Again, the old man was categorical: “If they refunded and it went into her account how would I know? As for the employment, I know that none of our kin have got any placement in the forces courtesy of the pledge made.”

Sirikwa was in good spirits. He insisted on taking us to nearby farms to see the tractor for ourselves and to know he meant what he said. As we drove to the farms, he showed us a number of parcels his month-old tractor had ploughed at a cost of Sh2,500 per acre.

As we approached the farms and the sound of the tractor could be heard, he tapped us: “Siunaskia nanii... (Can you hear the sound?)” It turned out that it was a different tractor and we moved further. We found his tractor marking out the areas to plough.

His face lit up the moment he saw the new machine, a Massey Ferguson 275. “Unaona vile inalipua chini, unaona my friend?” he beckoned.

Across the road in Chelabal, Kapseret, next to the Eldoret International Airport, Lorna Kosgey is standing stoic in the midst of turbulent aftermath of her husband’s burial. At 34, she’s among the youngest of El Adde widows.

Sergeant Abraham Kimeli, the father of her three children, had worked with KDF for 22 years before the fateful day. Prior to the tragic events, he had lengthy telephone conversation with his children and little was expected of the fate that befell their camp at El Adde in Somalia.

We found Lorna resting in an imposing building that sits on six acres of prime land next to the airport. Her troops, two boys and a girl, played outside with mock guns while the girl tidied up the compound.

“We began constructing this house long before this happened. In fact, I surprised him with the house-plan because he was not a hands-on person. He would give me his ATM card for use and I used the money to come up with the plan and begin the construction,” she says.

Opening up to her past with unmistakable nostalgia, Lorna says she used to complain to her husband when he walked home empty handed, with only three bottles of soda and packets of military biscuits.

“He would say, ‘we will eat what you cook’ and proceed to give me his ATM card to do the shopping myself. He was a good man because on an average month he only spent Sh5,000 on himself and gave the rest to us,” she remembers.

Lorna believes her husband prepared her to raise the children alone. She takes a long peep through the huge windows of her house and exclaims a tough lesson she has learnt over the last 12 months.

The compensation process brought out her warrior spirit out, we gathered. She told us that she has had to stand firm to protect the compensation money from prying eyes of extended relatives. She is resolute that her children come first and everybody else second.

“The reality of life is that if I waver and agree to divide the money among his family, they will all vanish and these children will suffer irredeemably. And they (the children) will blame me. In doing what I am doing, I am looking far away into the future,” she says.

Kosgey believes that if she was not strong and did not have strong family members of her own, she would have been edged out by now by the in-laws. She said there had been a lot of speculations among the extended family members that she was paid a huge amount of money.

She says of the modest amount she has received so far, she has finished building her house, bought a prime plot for development, built a modern store and is in the process of buying dairy cows. She has also put education funds in fixed accounts for her three children.

Outside, Kimeli’s grave stands on the right side of the home, overgrown grass on it selling it out. Kosgey pleads for the remaining compensation from African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to further secure the future of her children.

Medical cover

“Besides AMISOM compensation, they had promised to hire at least one of our relatives and it has not happened. There is also the matter of medical cover for the children, which we are unable to access at the moment,” she says.

Many more families have come to terms with the absence of their kin, but the memories of their last moments with their loved ones are still fresh in their minds.

“We cannot avoid death. We have accepted it because he took an oath of service. The incident hit us hard. We lost our first born and the family’s pillar and bread winner,” James Seurei told The Standard on Sunday.

His elder brother, KDF Corporal Musa Choge, was among the soldiers killed in the attack. He hailed from Cherangany in Trans Nzoia County and had built a home at Maili Nne in Uasin Gishu County.

His family had been kept in hope for about two months as his phone remained active in the hands of the enemy.

Weeks later, devastating news hit the relatives that he was dead. To this day, Seurei keeps mobile phone conversations he had with Choge on January 14. The communication centered on the well being of the family, with Corporal Choge inquiring about his children’s education.

“We have spoken to the children to cope and accept his (Choge’s) absence. They are fine, although when they see anything military on TV, they recall their father,” said Seurei.

Seurei urges the government to push for a speedy compensation by AMISOM.

“We have been cleared by KDF and we urge our President and Defence Cabinet Secretary to assist us so that we can receive compensation as promised by AMISOM,” he said.