Autopsy reveals brutality of Tana River clashes
A group of women wait to collect the bodies of their relatives at the Hola Referral Hospital mortuary in Tana River County.
What you need to know:
- One of the deceased was shot in the head, while the other died from being stabbed repeatedly.
- Hundreds of women and children have fled their homes in Bura and sought refugee in Hola.
At the Hola Referral Hospital mortuary, families of four men killed over the weekend gathered to reclaim the bodies of their kin.
Men gathered under a tree, while women converged separately to deliberate the fate of their loved ones amid the postmortem procedure, others groaning in low tones.
They walked into the morgue and exited through the other door filled with anguish and utter grief.
Their sorrowful faces painted a clear picture of the pain occasioned by their loss more than words could explain.
"That was very brutal, they didn't deserve to die like that, it is difficult to believe that the hands of humans did what I have seen in that room," said Fatuma Abdallah, a bereaved.
Ms Abdallah, who lost two brothers in the Meti Village attack, condemned the manner in which the killing was done.
According to her, it appears like the killers were trying to hide something after they had killed the men.
"Our kin are deformed, they are scary to look at. I have seen inside that room is not for the faint-hearted. I cannot wish it on anyone, it was an act of deep hate," she said.
According to members of the community, the four men met their death in Meti where they had gone to avenge the murder of some of community members killed earlier.
They raided the village at dawn, alongside unknown others, but were unfortunate to meet their deaths on that day.
According to a postmortem report, one of the men was shot in the head, while the other died from being stabbed repeatedly.
A police officer who sought anonymity said the manner in which the bodies were deformed is an indication of efforts to conceal bullet wounds.
"They were deep cuts, like someone was trying to remove the bullets, very deep cuts with a sharp object like a dagger in the neck and the head, another body had a bullet penetration in the head," the officer said.
The murder of the four men brought the death toll to 20 people since the skirmishes started in Tana North Sub-County.
Meanwhile, Tana River County Commissioner David Koskei said security has been beefed up across the sub-county as security personnel continue to mop up illegal firearms.
"We are very intentional with this exercise. Community elders have been tasked with persuading their people to stand down or face prosecution," he said.
Relative calm has been witnessed in the area in the last three days, although hundreds of women and children have fled their homes in Bura and sought refugee in Hola.
