Advocacy & campaigns
Kenya: November attacks in Samburu
DiasporaKenyan
2009-11-19, Issue 458
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/60357
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For over five months, police forces taunted local residents as they underwent exercises along the Wamba-Isiolo Road for what they announced in the Daily Nation as ‘Operation Walk and Shoot’. Since then residents have lived in fear for that to be carried out. Today, their fears were realised. This is what Tina Ramme wrote on her Facebook updates:
‘Just before daybreak, six lorries filled to capacity with red beret Government Security Unit forces were employed to the Lerata-Marsabit-Wamba Junction. Shortly afterwards, eight more lorries arrive in Ngara Mara and Archers Post, six Kenya Police helicopters were seen at tree level outside Archer’s post at 10am, as well as hundreds of armed ground troops.’
Thousands of residents have been displaced as they now flee in terror, remembering the February 21 attack on Lerata and Kalama communities, when police helicopters strafed at innocent villagers from helicopter, including school children and elderly grandmothers, beating, raping, and terrorising communities.
Another facebooker who is extensively campaigning for justice in Samburu writes as below:
Mzee Lenaiboy facebooked on the November Samburu attacks:
‘TOO DAMNED PREDICTABLE. ON SAT 15TH BORANA ATTACK AND KILL 4 TURKANA NEAR ISIOLO: SUNDAY AM 16TH TURKANA RETALIATE AND KILL 10-11 BORANA INCLUDING 5 HOME GUARDS, NEXT HON KUTI AND OTHE BORANA LEADERS HOLD A PRESS CONFERENCE BROADCAST BY KTN ASKING FOR GOVERNMENT ACTION. AND SHORTLY AFTERWARD A MAJOR SECURITY ACTION I…S MOUNTED BY GOK FORCES IN SAMBURU EAST.
VERY VERY OMINOUS INDEED PLEASE PRAY FOR THE LIVES OF INNOCENT PEOPLE NOW CAUGHT IN THE DEADLY CROSS FIRES.’
Referring to the above postings by Tina Ramme, Lenaiboy writes on his Facebook profile:
‘THIS WAS POSTED ABOUT AN HOUR AGO BY TINA RAMME WHO ADDS:
“Police Forces Invade Samburu! At Dawn, Monday, Nov 16, Kenyan police attacked from multiple entry points in Samburu. All entrances in and out of the Samburu East communities are closed, and all communications were blacked out for at least 9 hours today while police initiated aggressive tactics on innocent villagers in Lerata, Kalama, Ngara Mara, and Archer’s Post.”
‘AT THIS POINT IT IS NOT AT ALL CLEAR WHAT IS GOING ON BUT SECURITY OPERATIONS OF THIS MAGNITUDE CLEARLY HAVE TO BE ORGANISED AND PLANNED SO IT IS VERY HARD TO DRAW ANY CONCLUSIONS EXCEPT THAT THE PEOPLE OF SAMBURU EAST ARE BEING TARGETED BY ELEMENTS OF THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT. AS THIS WAS BEING PLANNED THE WHOLE COALITION LEADERSHIP WAS AT THE COAST TRYING TO AGREE ON THE NEW KENYAN CONSTITUTIONAL STRATEGY WHILE THEIR FIRST OBLIGATION IS TO PROTECT THEIR OWN.’
BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS
* This story first appeared in Diaspora Kenyan
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