Catholic bishop killed as violence rages in north

The Catholic bishop of Isiolo was shot dead last night as violence continued in northern Kenya, with a further three people killed in spite of a major security clampdown.

Bishop Luigi Locati, a 75-year-old missionary, was shot dead when three armed bandits ambushed him as he walked to his house from the church compound, some 70 metres away.

He was hit twice in the head and died on the spot, according to a watchman at the scene.

Confirming the killing, Isiolo police division head Hillary Muguku said it was still early to establish the motive of the killing.

He said nothing was stolen from the bishop but did not rule out a connection to the killings in Marsabit, some 260km away.

Isiolo is inhabited by a similar mix of communities to Marsabit — including Boranas and Gabras, who are also involved in the current skirmishes — and is part of the northern security area in which travellers heading for Marsabit and the frontier town of Moyale are given police escorts.

The bishop, an Italian, was in the company of another watchman who was escorting him to his residence for supper when the gang opened fire.

The watchman could not be traced after the shooting and his condition was unknown.

But his colleague Mr Michael Muthaura, who was left on guard duty, was wounded in the head and his left arm.

Mr Muthaura spoke to the Nation on telephone at 9pm from Isiolo district hospital.

He did not know if he had been shot but complained of sharp pains in the head an hand.

"At first I heard two gunshots and immediately rushed to find out what had happened," he said.

"I had barely made four steps when I saw three people from a distance who immediately ran towards me," he added.

He was ordered to put down his weapons — a bow and arrows — and immediately felt sharp pains in his head and arm.

By 10pm yesterday area District Commissioner and the area police chief Mr Muguku were leading the hunt for the killers.

It also emerged that this was not the first time the bishop has been attacked at his home.

Bishop Cornelius Korir, chairman of the Kenya Episcopal Conference, said:" It is very sad that a missionary who has dedicated his life to serving the poor has been killed. It is very sad for Kenya and Kenyans."

He added: "It is even very sad for us Bishops because we were with him in Nairobi yesterday for a workshop; sad, sad."

Bishop Korir who was informed by Nyeri Archbishop Nicodemus Kirima of the murder said the Isiolo cleric had dedicated his entire life to helping the poor.

Fr Constantine Odour of Chuka described the bishop as "a humble old man who had dedicated his life to the welfare of the people of Isiolo".

Fr Oduor said the bishop had made a big mark on the lives of the people since he was their first bishop since it was created from the larger Meru diocese.

Troops flown in

In Marsabit, the death toll rose to 92 as 2,000 soldiers, troops from the crack General Service Unit, and police officers were flown to the killing fields from Nairobi and neighbouring districts.

They were sent to track down the up to 1,000 raiders who plunged the area into chaos on Tuesday, massacring children at Turbi primary school, burning homes and wiping out entire families.

Five pupils from the primary school were still missing yesterday and the headmaster said he feared they had been kidnapped by the militias.

As the killings continued yesterday, one person was murdered at Sololo and the other two at Rawana, a few kilometres from the town. There were no immediate details as to how they met their deaths.

Houses burnt

About ten empty houses were burnt to the ground in Maikona trading centre on Wednesday evening as tension in the war-torn district remained high. The villagers had fled to escape the slaughter.

But amid the carnage there was hope ... as one person was dragged alive from beneath a pile of nine bodies of people killed in an attack on a priest's Land Cruiser.

The 35-year-old Catholic catechist, identified as Bude Wako, was at first feared to have died in the raid when the

group of men, women and children were pulled from their vehicle and hacked and speared to death as their priest was forced to look on in horror.

The priest, a missionary, was giving them a lift to Marsabit when the raiders struck.

Army Brigadier M. Oyugi and Eastern provincial deputy police chief Gerald Oluoch have been put in joint command of the security operation.

Four helicopters — two each from the military and the police — were at their disposal to ferry troops to the front line and to track down the raiders.

Other officers are combing the rough terrain of Turbi, in search of the gangs who were armed with AK 47 assault rifles, sub machine guns and hand grenades.

But local residents said the security men were unlikely to catch the attackers because most of them had already melted back across the Ethiopian border.

The security team was planning however to patrol the porous border between the countries to try to prevent them sneaking back to mount further attacks, Government officials said.

However, in an apparent contradiction of claims that the raiders had swooped down from Ethiopia, Government spokesman Alfred Mutua held a Press briefing to announce that the attacks were a product of historical banditry and revenge missions among communities in the region.

Dr Mutua said: "The Government would like to point out that this is a local issue. It is time we dealt with our own problems instead of blaming others."

And defending the Government against accusations that the massacre was an outcome of its negligence he said a series of meetings to defuse growing tensions between clans in the region had been taking place held since January.

The first senior Government officials to visit Turbi since the first wave of killings were named as Mr Mirugi Kariuki and Mr Joseph Kingi.

Both assistant ministers from the Office of the President, they joined the security contingent and flew out of Nairobi shortly after 11am.

Also in the team that left the capital's Wilson Airport in two police helicopters were MPs Abdi Taru Sasura (Saku) and Guracha Galgalo (Marsabit). They arrived at Marsabit airstrip at 3pm.

Mr Sasura and Dr Galgalo were left at Marsabit Town after declining to accompany the team to Turbi, which is in the neighbouring North Horr constituency of Kanu deputy leader Dr Bonana Godana.

Fighting for their lives

Instead they went to Marsabit hospital to console the dozens of injured and bereaved people admitted there, many of whom are fighting for their lives.

Another group of injured was flown to Nairobi for specialised treatment.

The Eastern Province security committee led by PC John Nandasaba also flew to Marsabit to assess the situation.

The team, whose departure was overseen by the deputy director in charge of medical services, Dr Joachim Micheni, also took more medical supplies to Marsabit hospital.

Police spokesman Jasper Ombati said officers on the ground, supported by a squadron of armoured cars, had not yet come into contact with the raiders, apart from the bodies of the 10 known to have been killed.

Forensic experts from CID headquarters in Nairobi were also taken to Turbi, he revealed.

Mr Ombati said that according to police records the death toll stood at 66 — 34 adults and 22 children, although residents had counted 89 bodies by Wednesday, and a further three people were killed yesterday, bringing the toll to 92.

Apart from 5,000 goats and sheep which had been recovered, 110 head of cattle, 20 camels and four donkeys had also been stolen and so far had not been traced, he said.

The soldiers and police detachments were flown north as the Government tried to save face on the way it handled the crisis, after coming under heavy criticism from leaders.

Families were forced to seek their own transport and to hire vehicles and planes to ferry the injured to hospital.

The Government did not even help bury the dead or set up a fund to help the bereaved, the displaced and those whose houses were burnt by the attackers.

Residents and leaders accused the police and the army of taking hours to respond to the attack and initially of treating it too casually.

They said a small group police officers sent to Turbi from Marsabit after the incident happened were no match for the large number of well armed raiders.

Residents said tension has been building in the district since January due to sporadic killings. Each community has been launching retaliatory attacks whenever one of their own was killed.

The incidents should have sent strong signals to the Government that all was not well, and security forces should have been deployed as necessary.

They said this would probably have averted Tuesday's violence.

From the way the attacks were carried out, it was evident the police and the Provincial Administration were caught napping.

"There is no Government presence in Marsabit and in other remote areas," said one senior Government official who comes from the area but works in another district.

Only charities and pressure groups like Unicef, Amref, and the International Committee of the Red Cross were in contact with the people, he added.

Reported by -Fred Mukinda, Stephen Muiruri, Mugo Njeru, Muchemi Wachira and Muriithi Muriuki