Mpeketoni attack: When World Cup joy turned into night of terror

George Wamae Chege, who was a Form 4 candidate during the Mpeketoni attack in 2014. [Maxwell Agwanda, Standard]

It’s 8pm, August 15 2014, World Cup is going on, there’s a match that you desperately want to watch but because you are a Form Four candidate you chose to sit that one out

Since you are in a day school, you can study and go back back home to sleep.

As you are buried in your books, you hear a bang followed by gunshots.

You’ve never heard gunshots before nor seen a gun at close range. You grew up in a peaceful environment and the only security people you are familiar with are watchmen.

The gunshots are followed by loud screams and commotion, and that is when you realise, all is not well.

You are forced to run from the classes and go back home, it’s chaos all over, you rush home and lock yourself in. That night no eye was shut.

The following morning you wake up and find bodies of your neighbours and relatives with gunshot wounds and neck injuries a clear sign that they were slaughtered. The trauma cannot even be fathomed.

This is the story of the men who survived the 2014 Mpeketoni attack.

In 2024, George Chege and John Munene were teenagers awaiting to sit their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.

"I remember like it was yesterday. We were at school in the evening studying in preparation for KCSE, I was in a day school, we would go home, then come back in the evening to study then go back home to rest. When we heard gun shots at 8pm we were forced to vacate and we rushed back home,” said Munene

For Munene the following morning the results of the sins of the night were revealed. It was not an event anyone wants to remember. But the memory has stuck in his mind

“We woke up very early that day to come and see the aftermath of the attack. It was traumatizing, there were bodies allover, the bullets, fire. We lost some of our closest friends, closest relatives. It was during World Cup some students had gone to watch the game. I remember a former classmate his name was William he was killed that night,” said Munene  

Everything changed. The peace they knew was bruised. “This place was very peaceful we were not used to seeing armored personnel, we were not used to seeing guns, the only people we knew were police officers. We did not know of KDF, Special units. But everything changed to seeing armored vehicles helicopters patrolling. Anytime we saw the vehicles we just wondered is there another attack. If you want to know how fresh that incident is in people minds, if people were to hear a gunshot right now, you would see how people would scatter,” Munene said

Chege was also in school studying for his national examinations. Around 8pm, the attackers arrived in a van carrying guns in boxes.

"It is a traumatizing story because we lost loved ones in the most brutal way. One of my neighbours and one of my uncles were slaughtered." said Chege adding "I don’t like remembering that story, my uncle was slaughtered like a goat his head and body were separated. The society change after that, we woke up and found bodies all over the place. I felt like I was losing my mind. It’s like the attack happened last night,” 

John Munene,, who was a Form 4 candidate during the Mpeketoni attack in 2014. [Maxwell Agwanda, Standard]

Mpeketoni was a peaceful area, insecurity had never been a problem, but the attack opened a new form of fear that even after 10 years a small trigger can awaken the skeletons of that time.

After the attack they had to seek shelter at a school for security reasons.

 “The whole community moved to a school, while there the police provided security. One day they opened the gate and they stood in one line, we were so scared and thought the attackers were back. We all ran through the barbed wire,” said Chege

That year candidates who sat for national exams in the area did not perform as they had expected. Since the attackers targeted men, boys were forced to wear dresses to protect themselves.

“They were scary times. Since they targeted men we had to wear dresses, so that if the attackers came they would think that we were girls. It was not a good place to be.

Moses Njoroge, an elder in Mpeketoni  said they had to find a way of saving their boys from imminent death.

 “The situation was so bad that in the evening we had to dress our boys in dresses just to protect them,”

Njoroge said after the attack he went to the morgue to look for one of his friends and the images of what he saw remain fresh in his mind to this day. 

 “Woii woiii! They were about 62 bodies in that mortuary, lying on the ground because the numbers were overwhelming" Said Njoroge "Bullets on the head, because most were close range shots and others cut in the necks and separated from bodies. It was sad,” he said.

Apart from the psychological trauma the attack brought a huge rift in the community. A people that would live in peace and harmony now feared each other. They could not sleep at night and were forced to stay alert. The killings brought a lot of hatred amongst the people where they felt one community was after the other community.

"We had a lot of fear, it reached a point where we scared of some vehicles, because the attackers would stop a vehicle and attack Christian Men. There was rift between the Christian and the Muslim. Because the target was male Christians,” said Njoroge

Mohammed Ali, a former teacher, had a movie shop that showed matches during the World Cup season. The night of the attack since it was during the World Cup season, his shop had more than 200 people.

At around 8pm he was called by security officers that there was an attack and he should warn his customers. He went and told his customers that there was an attack but they did not believe him, he said

They walked out to the main road and that is when they saw a vehicle of men chanting “Allah Wakbar”  "When it got closer a man walked out with a gun and fired shots. Everything broke lose. One of my customers called Gitau came on a motorbike telling me to run, he had gunshot wounds. Almost 60 people followed me to my house,” said Mohammed

From his house, they could hear the attackers chanting and singing. They later burned down the shop and nearby buildings and resumed shooting.

 “There was a nearby guest house called Mama Monica, they took out all the guests and started slaughtering the men. Women and children were left. It was a very traumatic night, I don’t even want to recall. When they were done, they started singing again and then left at around 2am. From 8pm to 2pm they did a lot of damage,” Mohammed said.

Mohammed faced backlash from his community, since the attackers had targeted Christians and he was Muslim. Most christians that had been affected said  his religion killed members of the other. Mohamed once walked into a friends hotel and they refused to serve him saying he was part of the attackers.

"It really affected me emotionally and economically. We had to move to my sisters house in Malindi,” said Mohammed

After a few years in Malindi Mohammed decided to go back and rebuild himself. He had lived in Mpeketoni since 1987, and that is the home he knew. He is now rebuilding his shop and tells people that Mpeketoni has healed.

A health specialist Junior F. Mukudi, describes the psychological effects that terror attack has on affected people and society.

“ They develop what we call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD),there’s fear of such attack might happen again,” said Mukudi

Mukudi adds that terror effects can lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms

“What helps one person might not help the other. The healthy mechanism involves going for therapy, and social groups. Unhealthy coping mechanism can involve self-harm, or engaging in unhealthy sexual behavior,” he said

According to Director Disaster management in Lamu County, Shee Kupi, efforts have been made to heal society following the incident.

“From the time the attacks happened and people moved. We started sensitizing the community, on matters peace and safety. Lamu is a tourist destination and right now the safety is back. We came up with Lamu County Peace Building and Conflict Management Policy, that has involved the whole community,” said Shee Kupi

Kupi adds that they have a disaster docket called Emergency Operation Center that deals with drought, floods, fires. The community is sensitized on the disasters and how to manage.

Rahfa Mohammed the Chairperson of Lamu Women Alliance, said different groups have been sensitizing the community on ways to improve security, peace and improve tourism.

“We’ve had programs that enlighten our children and prevent them from joining terrorist groups,” said Mohammed

The Mpeketoni attack caused a huge rift between religions.  Area priest Father, Evangelos Thiani said the attack brought a disconnect among communities in the area.

“Inter religious dialogue is important. It is for the religious leaders to talk to each other, see how they used to live before, what brought the attack, why it happened. For sure radicalization was involved and it is normal people who were influence. When leaders join hands then the community comes together,” said Thiani

Thiani said sensitization should be used to rebuild what was lost.

“Religion can be used for good or for bad, depending on who is using it. If you look at the Muslim and Christian religions all are about peace, cohesion, love, people working together. The attack took everything to square zero,” he said

A muslim cleric Sheikh Abubakar Bini said it is paramount for religious leaders to preach peace.

“The attackers hid the Muslim religion, and it is up to us as Muslim leaders to sensitize the community to make sure such groups are not encouraged. Religious leaders should meet and plan ways to sensitize the masses,” said Sheikh Bini