April 1, 2005
Mwaura Kimani
Nairobi
The dawn was like any other and Mr Ogusi Mohammed's family of 10 was preparing for the morning prayers. But at about 5.30am, everything changed. More than 30 gunmen invaded the homestead, killing two and injuring four family members.
The attackers are believed to be part of a gang of about 200 men in military uniform that invaded Lafey trading centre near Elwak, 130 kilometres from Mandera Town, on Wednesday morning.
The attack came as the hostility between the Murule and Garre clans intensified. Two weeks ago, 23 people believed to belong to the Murule clan were killed in a raid at El-golicha.
Mr Mohammed, 60, said Hodan Ahmed, 27, a mother of four, and her three-year-old son Quresha Isaak were shot dead by the gunmen as he watched.
"We first heard some noise by people approaching our home," said Mr Ogusi. "Then they stormed in brandishing guns. They didn't make any demands but started shooting, beginning with my daughter and then Isaak in the head."
"Two of my daughters were shot in the legs. I watched as they writhed in pain since the attackers were still on the scene."
Also injured was a woman and her four-year-old son.
Mr Mohammed said security forces arrived and a gunfight ensued.
"After about 20 minutes, I walked outside the house, as it was now quiet, and found four of the attackers had been killed. The security officers were combing the area around in search of more attackers," said Mr Ogusi.
Security officers later told him the rest of the gang had fled into Somalia.
The attack is still fresh in one of the daughters' mind. Nineteen-year-old Maimuna, whose left leg was fractured by bullets, said: "They shot me even as I pleaded with them not to harm us. They shot at me three times as one of them shouted, 'finish her.'"
Her sister Dunia could not gather the courage to speak. She was shot once in the arm.
When the Nation visited, the two were lying outside Mandera District Hospital waiting to be admitted for specialised treatment.
The injured woman and her son were admitted to hospital.
Mr Peter Mutiso, a nurse at the hospital, later said the victims were all in a stable condition.
Mandera East MP Isaak Shabaan, who took journalists to the scene, called on the Government to bring in more security forces "as the attacks seem to be far from over".
He said: "The Government should ensure that the international boundaries are not abused by outside militias," he said.
He called on the warring clans to stop the animosity between them. "The clans should realise they are both losers and end the war," said Mr Shabaan.
Tension was high when the Nation arrived at the scene. The MP's bodyguard shot in the air five times to disperse a mob that was stoning his convoy. Assistant police commissioner Sammy Maritim, deployed to Mandera to lead an operation against the raiders, said he believed the gang was from either Somalia or Ethiopia.
"Police are still following the militiamen, who fled toward the Somali border and security has been beefed up," said Mr Maritim.
He said the police were yet to confirm the identities of the dead, believed to be members of a militia from across the border. "We will also identify the military uniform they were in," added Mr Maritim.
The four bodies are at the district hospital. Police records show that more than 60 people have been shot dead in Mandera since the clan animosities burst into violence last December 18. Recently, police commissioner Mohammed Ali said more than 240 police officers had been deployed to the area to maintain peace.
The latest attack is a setback to the peace efforts spearheaded by Internal Security minister John Michuki.
Mandera DC Kimani Waweru said the attackers crossed from Somali and raided Bulla Koom, killing the two and injuring four.