15-year-old camel herder speared to death in Garissa

A 15-year-old camel herder from Garissa County was on Saturday evening killed by people suspected to be farmers from neighbouring Kitui County as he returned home from the grazing fields.

Relatives of the boy condemned the killing and called for the immediate arrests of the culprits.

Speaking to journalists at the Garissa Referral Hospital mortuary where the body was taken for post-mortem, Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK) Bangale chairman Sheikh Ibrahim Mohamed said the herder, Dekow Mohamed, was ambushed using spears at Bisan Hargeysa in Bangale Division.

He said the boy died on the spot after he was stabbed several times in his stomach and his left side.

Part of the spear was left in his stomach and was removed by doctors when the body was taken to the mortuary.

Sheikh Mohamed said police from Kitui and Tana River counties who were notified of the incident were very slow to respond.

DELAYED POLICE RESPONSE

“The boy was attacked and killed at 7pm in the evening we contacted police, both in Tana River and Kitui counties but there was no response until 9pm when police from Okasi came.

"We are wondering, are we not Kenyans?” he posed while addressing journalists Sunday.

Boundaries-related conflicts have left hundreds dead in the past few years with the government being accused of doing little in solving the perennial squabbles.

Sheikh Mohamed at the same time called for calm following the killing of the young herder saying people should not take the law into their hands.

“We demand the immediate arrest of the criminals while we appeal to our people to remain calm and wait for the police to do their work,” he added.

FREQUENT CAMEL THEFTS

The locals claimed that besides the frequent killings by people suspected to be from their neighbouring county, camels are also stolen and slaughtered.

They said if this is not resolved amicably the situation might blow up and it may lead to more bloodshed.

Bura MP Ali Wario has at the same time condemned the incident terming it as unfortunate.

He said the problem keeps recurring because there was no clear boundary between the two counties.

He said according to Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the area belongs to Bura Constituency and is registered as polling station number 48 while at the office of the President it is put in Kitui County.

After post-mortem, the body of the deceased was returned by police to Bangale for burial in accordance with Muslim rights.