Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Scores flee Narok land clashes
Police and a Red Cross official at one of the houses burned down in land clashes at Enkoiperiar village in Trans Mara. PHOTO/JACKLINE MORAA
Fifteen houses were torched on Tuesday, prompting hundreds of people to flee three villages of Trans Mara West District in Narok County.
The displaced people are camping at a police station.
It was the second night of violence in area.
Eight people were killed on Monday night when the violence, now blamed on land by the government, first erupted.
Although it had been said that the killing of a herds-boy caused the violence, Narok County Commissioner Kassim Farah yesterday attributed it to land issues.
“The underlying issues of the killing and displacement of hundreds of people is land,” said Mr Farrah.
According to preliminary investigations, he said, the raping of a 12-year-old girl and the killing of an 11-year-old boy were just the triggers.
He said members of the Kisii, Maasai, Kipsigis and Kuria communities were fighting over the land.
The case is at the High Court in Nakuru awaiting judgment.
Mr Farrah asked the Judiciary to move expeditiously in determining the matter.
“We appeal for the judge dealing with the matter to finalise it so that the animosity between communities can come to an end.”
The administrator said they were closing in on two suspects believed to be behind the killing of eight people on Monday night.
Mr Fred Mititi, the Kisii County chairman of Kenya Red Cross Society, said 70 families were camping at Lolgorian while 50 are at Enkoperiar. The Red Cross issued non-food items that included blankets, mosquito nets and soap to affected families.
Tension remained high in parts of Ntirango and Loliondo as the violence spread to Sominini village in Lolgorian. Hundreds of homes have been abandoned.
The Tuesday night arson came even as police said they had deployed more personnel to curb the violence.
One of the victims, Mrs Monicah Sese, whose house was burnt, said that she was warned by some villagers at Sominini not to spend the night in the village.
“I had to sleep in a thicket ... I saw smoke bellowing from my house before I even got there,” she recalled.
Mr Stephen Moenga, who also spent the night in a forest, said that he was given five minutes to vacate or else he be cut into pieces. “I do not know any other home. I was born here, I don’t have anywhere to go. I ask the government to intervene so that I can get back to my land.
Mr Stephen Moenga, who also spent the night in a forest, said that he was given five minutes to vacate or else he be cut into pieces. “I do not know any other home. I was born here, I don’t have anywhere to go. I ask the government to intervene so that I can get back to my land.
Anti-Stock Theft Unit, AP and GSU officers have been deployed in the area.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Vehicles sent to tribal clash area
PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH Narok Governor Samuel Tunai. NATION MEDIA GROUP
By Nation Correspondent
Governor Samuel Tunai of Trans Mara Wednesday said the county government had provided vehicles to ferry police to a village hit by tribal violence.
The extra vehicles would be used by security officials to defuse tension as he urged local leaders to preach peace.
Eight people were killed during the clashes at Trans Mara’s Enkiwanja Village.
The violence was sparked by the killing of a Maasai boy by unknown people. The community blamed the attack on their Kisii counterparts, leading to the deadly skirmishes.
Speaking before touring the area, Mr Tunai called on the communities living in the cosmopolitan area to co-exist peacefully.
He asked the residents to differentiate between crime and tribal animosity.
“I am calling on the two sides to give the security personnel a chance to carry out investigations into the cases of the herdsboy killed and the girl raped two weeks ago,” he said.
Eleven-year-old Lerama ole Yiasi was found dead near River Siteti two days after he went missing at Oliashir village. Villagers claimed the boy was strangled elsewhere and his body dumped in the river.
Mr Tunai said General Service Unit and regular police were patrolling the area as families continued to flee fearing fresh attacks.
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